Not all superheroes wear capes.
Last week, my family went to watch Shazam! the movie. However, I met another person (Thomas) who very much more deserved to be called a superhero.
Earlier this Saturday morning, my dad and I headed to Ngee Ann Polytechnic to join an event organised by SST parent volunteer group called "Dialogue in the dark". I have never been there, but from what I heard, it was designed to allow ordinary people like me to understand how it is like to be visually challenged and to better appreciate our own eyes.
As my Dad drove us there, I thought of some things I hoped to achieve by the end of the activity. First, I wanted to be able to experience what it is like to suddenly lose my eyesight. Second, I wanted to know the difficulty in moving around without our eyes. Lastly, as this was a father-and-son activity, I hoped to develop a stronger bond with my father. As my Dad drove us there, I thought of some things I hoped to achieve by the end of the activity. First, I wanted to be able to experience what it is like to suddenly lose my eyesight. Second, I wanted to know the difficulty in moving around without our eyes. Lastly, as this was a father-and-son activity, I hoped to develop a stronger bond with my father.
After the registration was done, Dad and I got involved with the activity immediately. As we walked into the entrance of the dark room, the door behind us closed. The next thing we knew was that we were plunged into total darkness. We now had to depend on our other senses and a walking stick to find our way around.
Luckily, we were led by a very experienced guide named Thomas. With his help, we soon arrived at our first destination, the garden. I felt the stones and pebbles beneath my feet. I heard the "crunching" noises as I stepped on the floor. I touched the leaves by the side and enjoyed the sound of the water flowing in the drains as well as the birds chirping melodiously in a distance. It dawned onto me that I have taken all these for granted. Inside the garden was a statue. I knew it was Sir Stamford Raffles statue by touching the name that was engraved at the side of it. Thomas even complimented me on this!
Not long, we walked out of the park and hopped on a ferry ride in the Singapore river. Since I could not see a thing, I used all my other senses to focus my attention on everything around me. I heard music as we passed through Clark Quay, the roar of speed boats whizzing by the local waters and the sputtering of the water rapidly rushing out from the Merlion's mouth. I also enjoyed the nice cool breeze that greeted my face.
Soon, we arrived at Chinatown's five foot way. The atmosphere was filled with a bustling number of people and vehicles on the roads and pavement. Thomas guided us through the whole neighbourhood. We touched door frames, window blinds and a variety of food including fruits, vegetables and spices. As I often accompanied my grandmother to the supermarket, I could differentiate all the food items displayed over there.
The most challenging thing was to cross a road. It might sound like an easy task, but wait till you try it blindfolded! For me, I did not know when to move or how to keep onto the lane. I was really afraid that a car would hit me too! Through the guide's lead, we managed to reach the other side of the road by following the sound of the traffic light beeping and using our walking sticks.
After travelling for quite a while, we reached a café. It was just like any typical café, with calm music and the aroma of coffee filling up the place. When it was our turn at the counter, we were given the menu verbally. We could order cookies, ice-cream sundaes and drinks like milo, coffee and soft drinks. For me, I ordered a cookie. As I savoured it, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty my cookie was. The flavour was bursting in my mouth! I think that it tasted so good because we focused all our attention and tastebuds on eating the cookie. It was the same with the ice-cream sundae my father bought and shared with me. However, it was quite inconvenient for me to eat it as I could not see where to scoop the ice-cream.
As we shared our food, I laid on my father’s shoulder, thinking about what would happen if I suddenly lost my eyesight. The thought was so scary, a shiver went down my spine! At that moment, I could feel my father holding my hand tightly. I think that my father is thinking about the same thing too. This experience has made us cherish each other even more, and to bond as much as we can, whenever there is an opportunity to do so.
After a nice snack in the café, it was time to leave. As I walked out of the café, a small spark of light appeared among the darkness. With each step I took, the spark of light got larger until my surroundings was entirely filled with light. I could finally see again! We had reached the end of the activity. I felt that this experience has been invaluable and certainly met all my expectations.
I said goodbye to our wonderful guide. During the activity, he shared many stories about his life. One heart-warming story was how his wife still dated him and married him even after knowing he is blind! However, the one that left the strongest impression was that despite losing his eyes (due to a bomb accident in the army), he looked at the positive side of all things and is still able to live a happy life with his family! Through his stories, I feel that even if you cannot see or have a disability, you can still carry on by making the best with what you have.
Even after leaving the place, my father and I kept talking about how meaningful this event was! I hope to participate in more activities like this again soon.
Comentarios