Today my group (Kiah Yeen, Shuang Shuang and I) visited Mr Tay. He was very cheerful and positive today which was a really good thing. He was also in the mood to talk as he chatted a lot with us today. He taught us some simple Japanese words and even some Khek (Hakka) when i told him my dialect was actually Khek. He also explained that somehow, drinking butter with coffee helps him lay off smoking; something that intrigued me. He had been smoking for 70 years and only quit smoking 3 years ago because cigarettes were too expensive and buttercino was a much cheaper alternative. So glad that he kicked the habit though! Apparently, he found out about this method himself? He also told us many stories of the past which were very interesting to listen, especially when he injected lots of sound effects and hand gestures. 

Mr Tay also kept thanking us countless of times during the whole visit. Something seemingly insignificant and easy to us, such as reading the letterbox mails and bringing him down for coffee can actually mean so much to him and he is so grateful for all the volunteers' help. Just giving him our 2 hours can mean the world to him. It was great to see him in such a good mood and all of us kept cracking up as he chatted with us. Initially, it was quite difficult to talk to him as we were not fluent in hokkien and we also had to talk loudly for him to be able to hear. However, seeing him in such good spirits made everything worthwhile. Really do hope he continues to stay this happy(:

Joleen