The 30th of March was quite a taxing day, both for us and some of the residents, but we all made it. After having worked for a University-related event late into the night, my friend and I awoke and attended class before heading off to volunteer. Upon our arrival, one of the residents was having a breakdown. She thought her family abandoned her, after they visited and she didn't go home with them. It was difficult to see an older adult in such a state, my heart went out to her.
Not to be deterred by an interruption, however, we began a game of Pokeno for the waiting women (they become incredibly impatient, if you recall). It was apparent, as we played, the women were having trouble hearing one of the volunteers, a woman as well. This makes sense because, according to class, hearing of higher pitches goes before lower pitches as one ages. Eventually, I took over and the game went along more smoothly.
The problems with senses didn't stop there. Shortly after, we gave them green shakes in celebration of March and St. Patrick's Day. We played a game they call "word mining" in which they attempted to create different words from a category word. We began with "St. Patrick's Day," and that is when more problems arose. Every few minutes, we would hear "I can't see the board well." We attempted to adjust it as best as possible, but every move made it harder for someone else to see. This correlates with what we learned in class concerning eyesight in late adulthood - vision tends to begin to degrade. They had difficulty with contrasting colors, in particular.
Overall, problems included, this was a great day for volunteering and another wonderful experience. I look forward to finishing out the semester on a good note, however long that takes.
Nice post! Good observations and descriptions, and it sounds like you handled all of the problems/difficulties throughout the day very well!
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