I've passed that gate umpteen times but I've never thought of entering. Yesterday, I made my first turn into the compound.
A friendly, elderly lady informed someone and another elderly Indian lady welcomed me into her office. She is the centre's administrator; pleasant and very unlike the grim, old security guard I met on my way in. Then, we chatted for a brief moment and I explained my situation and how long I plan to drop by. One of the questions she asked was, "So, what is your course of study?"
"Finance?" I replied, knitting my brows with big, invisible question mark above my head. Now what does that have to do with...
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just trying to find out if there is a connection between what you do and why you might be here," she said.
Oh.
I came to the conclusion that many others must have dropped by with something under their sleeves. Well, I have none.
Anyway, let's talk about the following today when I told the administrator I'd drop by again. It was this morning, 8.30am. From there, I was led by the administrator who took me around and into a gym where I'd be spending one hour with a teacher/instructor. Well, I'd be a regular person in that gym for the following three weeks. Okay, so really, I myself needed a gym BUT, that was not why I was there. Huh, think again!
The instructor called for a girl around the age of eight. The little girl hobbled her way to the instructor and I, smiling. Boy, I was clueless.
"All you have to do is to watch her. Make sure she does her stretching exercises somewhere safe. Against the wall. She is unable to maintain her balance."
Here's a new term I learnt today:
Cerebral Palsy
Symptoms can be as simple as having difficulty with fine motor tasks like writing or using scissors, or as profound as being unable to maintain balance or walk. Severely afflicted patients may have involuntary movements, such as uncontrollable hand motions and drooling. Others suffer from associated medical disorders, such as seizures and mental retardation.
In my first 4 hours of presence in the building, the symptoms presented themselves to me as children and teenagers with the disability live their normal, routine lives: learning to speak, read, count, swim etc. I was an outsider, really. It was a whole new world I've never known.
"The Spastic Children Association of Penang".
I wonder what else life will teach me in my following weeks at the centre. It is something my mom hasn't found out YET. I'll let her know, maybe later. (Pauses to think.) Yeah. Later.
A friendly, elderly lady informed someone and another elderly Indian lady welcomed me into her office. She is the centre's administrator; pleasant and very unlike the grim, old security guard I met on my way in. Then, we chatted for a brief moment and I explained my situation and how long I plan to drop by. One of the questions she asked was, "So, what is your course of study?"
"Finance?" I replied, knitting my brows with big, invisible question mark above my head. Now what does that have to do with...
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just trying to find out if there is a connection between what you do and why you might be here," she said.
Oh.
I came to the conclusion that many others must have dropped by with something under their sleeves. Well, I have none.
Anyway, let's talk about the following today when I told the administrator I'd drop by again. It was this morning, 8.30am. From there, I was led by the administrator who took me around and into a gym where I'd be spending one hour with a teacher/instructor. Well, I'd be a regular person in that gym for the following three weeks. Okay, so really, I myself needed a gym BUT, that was not why I was there. Huh, think again!
The instructor called for a girl around the age of eight. The little girl hobbled her way to the instructor and I, smiling. Boy, I was clueless.
"All you have to do is to watch her. Make sure she does her stretching exercises somewhere safe. Against the wall. She is unable to maintain her balance."
Here's a new term I learnt today:
Cerebral Palsy
Symptoms can be as simple as having difficulty with fine motor tasks like writing or using scissors, or as profound as being unable to maintain balance or walk. Severely afflicted patients may have involuntary movements, such as uncontrollable hand motions and drooling. Others suffer from associated medical disorders, such as seizures and mental retardation.
In my first 4 hours of presence in the building, the symptoms presented themselves to me as children and teenagers with the disability live their normal, routine lives: learning to speak, read, count, swim etc. I was an outsider, really. It was a whole new world I've never known.
"The Spastic Children Association of Penang".
I wonder what else life will teach me in my following weeks at the centre. It is something my mom hasn't found out YET. I'll let her know, maybe later. (Pauses to think.) Yeah. Later.
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