Sunday, February 17, 2008 @ Sunday, February 17, 2008
C.O.P.E.
Another weekend has drawn to a close, but my homework doesn't seem to end here...the endless struggle to complete assignments one after another...really is starting to feel the strain of the workload...the struggle continues...

Anyway, last Friday, it was one of the C.O.P.E. programmes organized by our very own TJ LEO club. the objective was supposed to be to accompany the old folks from the nearby Block 12 at TJ to the Long Beach Restaurant at East Coast Park. 3 hours were spent there...and boy, I felt so glad to see the elderly again. Hmm...I dunno why, but the last time i saw the lively crowd of elderly people were during the lightings at Orchard Road during Christmas eve. To see them again was certainly reminiscence of the good old days, as their friendly banters and good ol' spirit was never unwavering. While waiting for the food, we chatted and joked about each other(mainly the elderly). The main caretaker there- Jimmy, was the resident joker as usual...always speaking in a wide array of languages to taunt the elderly (jokingly, of course!) The elderly beside me, a 82 year old Malay man named Enjom was definitely my favourite elderly to talk to. Gosh, he was such a joy to talk to and of course mainly listen to. Despite the fact that that he spoke mostly Malay and a little bit of English, we had little problems communicating with each other. Guess it has gotta be destiny...ahaha... Hmm, the food is also both delicious and well-cooked. The delicacies ranged from the expensive Shark's Fin to the basic kang kong, from the soft flesh of the steamed promfret to the fried crunchiness of the "Kentucky" chicken...Gosh..all these desciption seemed to make me more hungry...haha.. At the end of it all, it was of course a little sad to part ways, but I was glad that the elderly did manage to enjoy themselves...with the company of the fellow LEO members.

The next morning, it was another CIP-initiated programme. Decked in our colouful array of TJ clothes, we gathered at Simei MRT station. We were supposed to go to Orange Valley Nursing Home, which was situated next to Changi General Hospital. This was like any other home visits, with a slight twist; as my p.d. was sick, I was tasked to take charge along with the President of LEO, Jia Yun...GOD!!!! I was so NERVOUS la...because 1) it was pretty last minute. 2) I don't know half the people going(mostly J1s and TAs) and I was to introduce the games and song...ARGHH!!! Actually, it's not like I'm afraid or what...but all the suddenness in being assigned to do all these in such a short time makes my heart pump with much needed adrenaline...and of course...heightened the tension and anxiety level... After getting into the building, the both of us got into schedule, introducing the Chinese song and of course the number game...MAN, I felt so demoralised when i saw the blank looks on the face of the elders as i attempted to speak (or rather..shout) as loud as I could- partially cos several of the elderly had difficulty in hearing, aka hearing impaired. Luckily, with the silent encouragement of the fellow LEO members and of course my own determination...I got through the initial "stage-fright". Very soon, I was engaging the elderly with slight confidence....and with the aid of a mike kindly given by the lady-incharge, I managed to get throught the entire 2 hours of games, song and some brief introduction of New Year's resolutions...We even got to go up to feed the elderly(as it was their lunch time). Basically, I learnt quite a bit on Communication in CHINESE...something which i had barely done so for the past couple of months... Hmm...let's just say that the home visit was a personal success for me!

Gosh...back to my homework....or should I slack a little while...haiz...the temptations of the Internet... :P

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