Last Day At Mexico

For my third volunteer work, I had to go to Aegis Living by myself for the first time. At first, I was nervous and scared because I did not know if there were other volunteers that will be there and if I had to lead the activities by myself. When I arrived, I did the usual requirements that volunteers have to do, which are to sign in and wash your hands upon entering. Being at the nursing home at 9 am, there were about 8 seniors downstairs doing their morning crosswords. Knowing that they have a morning exercise every Saturday in the activity room, I set up the chairs and the weights for the seniors. Luckily, another volunteer arrived to helped me out. However, Sonya, from Mission, has also never led the exercise before. As we set up the room for the upcoming activity, we both hoped for another volunteer to come along and help us out.

The hour before we started the morning exercise, I sat with with the seniors to chat and do some crosswords with them. In particular, I met Dorothy and Deena, who both have been living at Aegis Living for about two years. When I approached them, they were very welcoming and dragged me to do some crosswords with them. As I sat, stories about boyfriends and family and some playful bickering between the two bestfriends came up. "We make fun of each other, but I love you and that is what makes life fun," Dorothy mentioned to Deena. It was so nice to see that that kind of friendship occur even in older people. As an hour of laughter, random talks, and three pages of crosswords passed, Sonya and I dragged all the seniors around us in the actvity room for the morning exercise. Like I feared, I had to lead the exercise using a packet that has different kinds of stretches. Thankfully however, Nikki, the activity director, finally arrived and took over my spot. The exercise went on smoothly for another 45 minutes and everyone felt refreshed and awakened. After this event, we gathered all the seniors closer to each other and continued with their lessons on Mexico. Every month, the seniors learn about a new country, talking about the experiences that they had at that certain place, if they had any. For the last session about Mexico, Nikki had me, Sonya, and herself read some stories about the Poinsettias, a popular flower known in Mexico, and the Crystal Palace, a popular cave in Mexico where crystals are found. After we read these stories, Nikki and the seniors talked about their own personal stories they have connected with Mexico. One story that was shared was by one of the seniors name Ron. He talked about when he was in the army and was based in one of the cities in Mexico. As the conversation died out and everyone said their own stories, Nikki ended the activity and the seniors headed out to prepare for lunch. After this session, Sonya and I helped Nikki decorate the lobby for Memorial Day by putting up some flags by the balcony. By the time we were finished with this, 12 pm struck and it was time for Sonya and I to leave.

Once again, I had a successful volunteer work, creating new and stronger bonds with the seniors I met. With every visit I have in Aegis Living, I become even more comfortable with the people I encounter and the work place I help at. In a way, I am becoming proud of myself because honestly, in the beginning of this project, my goal was just to get this equity project done. However, as weeks passed, volunteering at Aegis Living feels like a routine for me and an activity that has been part of my Saturday morning. Morover, it feels great knowing that in an indirect way, I am helping to prevent elderly abuse. Even though I cannot work to stop all the abuses that seniors experience, I am able to be a friend to them, which I think is one of the most important things in life. I think when looking for a place to volunteer at, people should find a place that will affect them as a person and will form memories and experiences that they will remember and like. With this condition, each individual can grow as a person and really see how it feels like to make a difference in our society.

       Nikki on the left, and Ron in the middle talking about his experience in Mexico.

            Dorothy(left) and Deena (Right) working on their crosswords.