I had learnt so much in the visit last week. Last Saturday, my whole class gathered at school for a special visit to the elderly home.
Last Saturday, we gathered at the new-wing playground in our school. Our teachers, Miss Lee and Mr. Chan told us the instructions for that day. Afterwards, they told us briefly about the arrangement of activities and we set off. We got on a school bus and practised for our performances quietly. I was feeling both excited and worried. I knew it would be a lot of fun playing with the elderly but what if the elderly hated us and found us annoying, what if they “ booed” at our performances, what if…… I kept thinking about the worst of everything when we arrived.
We got off the bus and before entering, Miss Lee reminded us once more to be kind and most importantly, smile! I was feeling uneasy already but I still made myself smile. So, wearing a fake clownish smile on my face, I stepped inside the elderly home.
There were many beds, some were occupied by the elderly, some were not. We were all looking around curiously, peeping into different rooms when the superintendent of the elderly home came forward to us. He welcomed us warmly and thanked us for sparing our time to help out. We followed him to a big living room where we put our things down. Then, we went to meet the elderly. Some were in bed, so we gently tapped them on the shoulder and woke them up. We firstly introduced ourselves and then helped them to the big living room. I started to feel more relaxed now, all the elderly were friendly to us, saying “hi” and “hello”. None of them seemed to be grouchy or moody, I was relieved.
There was a small stage in the living room and we performed on it. We got into our costumes and did a drama for them, it was very funny and they broke into smiles. Also we did a musical for them, singing, dancing and acting at the same time. It was a big success, they applauded loudly and some even whistled, I was overjoyed. After that, we played some easy games with them and had a wonderful time.
We gave them presents too! There were all sorts of gifts, like biscuits, rice and towels too! They were very pleased when they received our gifts and thanked us over and over. We chatted with them for a while, sharing with each other our background stories before they went to watch a television programme.
When they were watching the programme, we started cleaning up for them, mopping the floor, wiping the windows and making the beds. It was a lot of hard work and we were exhausted by the time we finished but when we looked up and saw what we had accomplished, we all felt that the hard work was worth it. The rooms were beautiful, they were clean and glittered under the sunlight.
When the elderly came back from the programme, they all gasped in surprise. Their jaws were hanging down and when they recovered from the shock, they thanked us very dearly, with all their hearts.
It was nearly time to go, all of us felt a bit sad as we had to leave, but we took some photos together to remind ourselves what a great time we had had together. We also promised to send them the photos and to visit them soon! When we were leaving, all the elderly waved widely to us, smiling happily. At that moment, I felt that this visit was the most meaningful visit ever. Not only did I make people happy but I gained a lot too!
This trip was very meaningful, we did a wonderful job making the elderly happy and I understand that one little kind deed from us means the world to them. I will visit them as frequently as I could, to make them smile!