But I will now try to re-write a new Monday post because it is worth remembering.
To summarise the day, I spent Monday learning and serving. Took part in the event Servathon 2012 with Sofeah, we only one of the operations but that took up our entire morning and most of the afternoon. So from 9 to 4 Sof & I and about 50 other people we're cleaning and painting flats of the less fortunate elderly citizens in Bedok. It was a different experience, I've done food distribution to similar households in Punggol and participated in interaction activities with seniors in Toa Payoh but I've never entered any of their flats before. So Monday was a first for me. My group was split into two teams and I was in team B (we never really used our names) with Sof. We were a team of 6 and as we worked together we got to know each other better. New friends heh. Unfortunately we didn't exchange contact numbers etc etc because.. Idk I'm not sure really. But we didn't. I really like them though, they are all really nice.
Anyway, the flat we were assigned to was the home of an elderly Malay woman. As we walked into the flat the first thing I noticed was the thin layer of dust covering the floor. Sof soon pointed that out to me too. The faded beige curtains hung over the window grilles that the dust learnt to rest on but other than dust lying around silently, the flat was very tidy and neat. Our team got to work, working in pairs, 2 to the windows, 2 to the mops and 2 to the toilet. Sof and I were scrubbing the toilet.
When I first signed up for this operation my father had told me to "clean up your house first lah" and I have yet to do that. And I am embarrassed and I think tomorrow I shall spend 12.12.12 scrubbing the toilet floor. Just a side thought.
After the scrubbing, mopping, dusting, polishing, etc etc we washed out the 3 fans in the flat and spoke to the elderly woman. She did most of the talking, speaking mainly to Sofeah because Sofeah's the most proficient in Malay. I understood some of the things she said. And I spoke as much Malay as I could. But nah, I fail. Lol. I try, ok?
She told Sofeah that her daughter married an Australian and had migrated to Melbourne. Her daughter had been asking her to migrate as well but she can't because she has no money. And the thing is, she's not going to ask her children for money, I'm not sure why. I think it's a mother thing. She spoke about her sons and her grandchildren. I couldn't understand what she said but she cried while speaking about it. Sigh pie. She also told us that there was once, masked men knocked on her door in the middle of the night. Robbers, perhaps, preying on the vulnerable.
We worked in the house then moved on to paint the flat gate. That took a really long time. The rain interrupted us for awhile.
The residents treated us (volunteers) really nicely, buying us drinks from Shop&Save and offering us food. It was really heartwarming to know that they were so grateful and thoughtful. Sigh I really need more experiences like this, there's so much to learn from the people around us.
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Sofeah & I also attended the dinner organised to mark the end of the Servathon. I honestly did not know that it was a social event lol. I thought it was just makan then zhao. But I'm glad I went anyway, we really enjoyed ourselves. Unexpectedly making more friends while enjoying good food. The dinner was held at Vivocity, one of the restaurants on the third floor.
Well, I'm really glad I had such a fulfilling Monday. And I have to thank the organisation for providing us with this opportunity. So cliche lol but for real man, Citycare really provided us with a great experience and great company and great food throughout the day.
Ok I apologise for the abrupt end to this post but I am very tired!
It's good though, recounting Monday has completely eased my frustration. Alright, good night everyone. May the moon shine bright tonight.
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