It was my third time doing visits with T.H.E. Seniors but my first time visiting Mdm Chow Moi and Mdm Cheng.

We went to Mdm Chow Moi's house first and she is a really adorable old lady with a really great smile (despite being toothless). We sat around and chat with her. Yesterday she was in the Hokkien mood and spoke quite some Hokkien though she usually speaks Cantonese. I am not really proficient in speaking these dialects so I did not really speak much to her directly. The fellow volunteers helped to translate the conversations as well. I feel that language barrier does hinder our interactions a little but one does not need to understand the language to tell that she was really happy that we were there to accompany her. After a while, we started to watch TV together. She also told us that recently, there was once she watched TV till 4am in the morning! Mdm Chow Moi smiles and laughs a lot and it is really nice to know such a cheery 90-year-old lady. Furthermore, seeing her stand at her door down the corridor waving goodbye to us till the lift came made me experienced for myself what the other volunteers had shared about during the orientation sessions - that these visits really mean a lot to these elderly and this makes me want to go back more often :)

We visited Mdm Cheng after 11.30am when she got back home from her regular chicken rice breakfast/lunch session with her friend. Mdm Cheng speaks Cantonese and Chinese. To be honest, sometimes I find it a little hard to think of things to say to the elderly as I have not done volunteering in the elderly sector before. However, I attempted to ask some questions and slowly got the hang of it. I hope I will get better at conversing with them as time pass by. We spoke to Mdm Cheng about television shows, her family, food, mooncakes, mid-autumn festivals and etc.

I feel that each visit gives everyone a different personal takeaway. For me, I feel motivated to do more for these elderly who appreciate and cherish all the little things so much. I look forward to learning more from these elderly and listening to their stories :)

Mei Na