Educational Trip to Educate the Heart

Hey! The most awaited day has arrived. Since we will leave the campus at around 6:30, I got up earlier than usual. As I'll be leaving directly after the programme, I made my bed, cleaned it up, and packed a few clothing. Before boarding the bus, my fellow TESL-ians and I ate breakfast that had been specially prepared and sponsored by the café. 

The blind centre is where we are going to start.

While we waited for the manager of the blind centre to open the gate for us, we captured some pictures together.

The floor was first swept before a handful of my pals began mopping it and splashing water on it. The two uncles' hair was trimmed by our lecturer, Madam Felicita, who brought her own electric hair trimmer. I had no idea she could cut hair so well.

Not gonna lie but several of us burst into tears as soon as they saw them. Only two blind men resided in the centre as the rest remained outside to work. One of the uncles expressed his desire to return home but complained that no one was available to pick him up. My eyes began to "rain" as soon as I heard that. I wiped my tears away and carried on with the rest of the cleaning after realising that love and support were what they needed most.

Our second stop is here. An old folk’s home.

 I frequently pass this area, yet I was unaware that it was an old folk’s home.

The person who came to greet us and show us around was this aunt. She was overjoyed that we had arrived. Perhaps all this time, she needed a companion the most. 

We gathered in their small auditorium to watch some performances after doing some cleaning.

This is my first time conversing in Mandarin since graduating from high school. To be honest, I forgot a lot of Mandarin words and encountered difficulties to express myself because I could not really find appropriate words for my sentences. It seems that I will need to find a Chinese friend in order to converse in Mandarin.

We sang a few songs for them and Shaleha performed a traditional dance. Some enjoyed the performances, while others showed no emotion. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who feels this way, but I noticed emptiness in a few of their eyes.

After the performance, I spoke with an elderly lady. She never stops smiling while she speaks to me. She talked a lot about her sister and the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration with her sister. Her eyes filled with joy and happiness as she will be able to 'escape' from the "human-made-cage". I still remember asking her, "What do you think about staying here?" She was unable to respond, and I could see that she was trying to hold back her tears. I patted her on the shoulder and told her, "It's okay to cry," but I guess she is better at hiding her emotions as she smiles again and the tears disappear in a split second.

This trip taught me a lot of life lessons. One of them is to leave no one behind so that everyone feels needed and included, as I can see that a few of them were stuck in their own 'world' and did not know how to express their emotions. The most crucial lesson I learned was to always appreciate whatever we have around us, no matter how small or large, expensive or cheap, new or old, etc., because we often lose the moon while busy counting the stars.

I’m not good in writing poem but here is a poem that I wrote for this trip.

 

Often that we feel, world is unfair,

But so little that we know life was even worst for some,

No one wish to stand on the muddy shoes,

Since no choice left,

Keep going is the only answer available.

 

The world is gloomy in their eyes,

But their heart holds the brightest lamp,

Though they always invisible to man’s eyes,

But they hold the highest position,

Not in the eyes of man but in the eyes of God.

 

Quiet places are some’s favourite place,

But this quiet place is not everyone’s favourite,

Looks quiet from the outside,

But quieter on the inside,

Either the place or in the heart.

 

Some are forced to be here,

Some chose to stay here,

No one loves to be here,

At those age,

Accompany is their only need.

Thank you!