urghhhh…

CIP at the old folks’ home last night was quite a horror (to me at least). i was expecting to do typical chores there but it wasn’t the case at all. it’s kinda hard to describe the place….apart from it being hot and stuffy, but that’s besides the point. i was completely lost and (admittedly) frustrated there. i couldn’t fit in at all cos all the people there were barking in cantonese and hokkien. shermaine was kinda jovial and jolly towards the old folks, while i was leaning towards to overly-passive-and-dying-to leave-that-place side. chin ting was somewhere in between (more towards my side i bet). it sure wouldn’t be so bad if i could understand every word that everyone’s barking across the room. throughout the volunteer work, it felt as if i was plucked from singapore and placed in…say…ethiopia or uganda and surrounded by all the tribal people who are surrounding me…staring at me intently. lol. it’s quite a weird and dramatic illustration but that’s kinda how i felt.

well, that’s not to say i didn’t try to interact with the old folks. i tried alright! when the old folks were playing games (some simple game…like a fusion of bingo and TOTO. no point going into details though cos it’s not the main thing..), i tried to help them. but many of the old folks are FIERCE! when i approached them, they waved me away! as in not the friendly kind of wave…but the “get-lost” kind of wave. zzZ. then i remembered some old woman said “bian bian..siam” when i inched closer to her. i can understand basic hokkien alright! that phrase means..”don’t need, don’t need. go away”, but in a much more crude and coarse way. zzZ. and to top it off, i was kinda criticized and told off by some grouchy old and fat volunteer there when i tried to help her by giving out the freebies to the old people who wanted them. not pleasant at all.

i’m not an incompassionate person. but i had enough.

shoutbacks!

  • SHIQAH // #1: i was just joking. hahaha. #2: really? honestly? do u mean it..? ha..

Posted: Thursday, 5 March 2009 | 8:18 pm | Chronicles.

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