A.R.K.

Have you seen that movie "Evan Almighty"? It's a little on the religious side but it sends a great message with a lot of well known actors, like Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman. In the movie, Steve Carell as Congressman Evan Baxter, is supposed to build this grand ark like the biblical story of Noah. He goes through major criticisms and abandonment, probably what Noah went through, but in the end, God (played by the playful Morgan Freeman) makes a grand point. Evan saves about a hundred lives with his ark and then God shows Evan that it was an Act of Random Kindness.

Today I did a little ARK of my own. I signed up with a Singaporean volunteer service called SG Cares. I wanted to do something meaningful during my stay in Singapore and my friend told me about SG Cares. SG Cares is an organization that helps match volunteers to non-profit groups who need help. I volunteered today at a rehabilitation center in Ang Mo Kio. My job was to wheel patients to and from their rooms to see a movie and keep them company in the process. The patients at the center are both young and old, but most of them are elderly. My biggest reservation about volunteering at the center was the language barrier. I thought that if I didn't know how to communicate with them they would become frustrated with me. So when one of the patients called me over to help them, I freaked out and asked one of the volunteers to help me. It turned out that the patient knew English but she had a bit of a slur so I thought she was speaking a different language. After I had wheeled her around a bit (we got lost while trying to find her bed) we talked about the movie and the director's other movies. She was very sweet and was understanding of my language barrier. She didn't get frustrated when I kept saying "what?" I'm glad I met the kind auntie (in Singapore "auntie" and "uncle" is used for almost any woman or man that you meet). When I went to leave her bed side she squeezed my hand in thanks and I told her, with complete sincerity, that I would be back. So I'm going to volunteer at the center again. If there's more patients like the kind auntie then I shouldn't worry about communicating. I should focus on being a friendly face and a person willing to help. Volunteering can be scary in a different country, but you learn the culture faster and pick up some of the language while your at it.