Their way~ what about ours???

This chapter of my life actually set back in 2007 when Labuan was selected to host the "Sukan Paralimpik Zon Sabah Sarawak".. Mom was the head committee for the catering and I was unofficially designated as her loyal assistant hehe~


It was just the begining of the long semester break and since the briefing for all committees were done during my final, so I've missed the part where the committees were trained on how to deal with disabled athletes.. My part was to distribute food so I actually interact directly with all the athletes when it was time for meal. The tough part of this job was mom and I had to rush to all different venues.


It was a very memorable event.. So much different than all the events that I've participated in life. This was where I met Pakcik Budi, a one-legged musician who won against two-legged athletes in badminton. This was where I met Mahathir, a sweet boy who's much much better than me in ten pin bowling.. I wrote about these wonderful people in my old blog~


The first day of the event was quite a shock for me.. I didn't have a slight idea that it would be so0o0o0 challenging.. Being committee in lots of program wasn't enough to prepare myself for this one.. As catering, I was only expecting to just pass the polystyrine to the athletes.. But it was more than just that..

For the blind, you have to tell them it's food and help them grip the spoon and then if there's sambal in the meal, then you'll have to ask whether they eat spicy food or not and if not, you must help them remove the sambal.. And then there were the deaf, the down syndrome, the crippled , the limbless and many more.. They have different needs and have to be treated differently..


So0o0o0 it was on the first day that I encountered these adorable things.. I was giving out some refreshments when the athletes from different parts of Borneo arrived that evening~ I was handing over a plastic filled with food to a deaf teenage boy (since he's deaf so he can't talk as well) and after taking the plastic he said "Aaaaaa" while patting my shoulder..

I thought he needed water "Mau air ka?? Sekejap ah~"

But then I heard a voice from behind saying "Dia cakap terima kasih bha tu~" It was his coach. And I was like "Owh~ ok~ heee sama-sama" and patted the boy's shoulder..

And then while giving food to a group of 'special' children, they hop around happily while clapping their hands. At first, I thought it was a beginning of tantrums but then I found that was their way of saying thanks. Well, what surprised me most was that I continue to encounter all these gestures throughout the 5 days.. They never stop doing them everytime I pass the food...

You know what, when my mom first signed me up for the catering job for that event, I thought the job was so minor that I wouldn't have the chance to get involve with the athletes. But my perception was wallowed when these athletes were actually so grateful and did all those things just to show how happy they were with the small duty that I was obliged to do.. You see, these athletes were so sweet.. They appreciated even the smallest things done to them..

Trying to say thanks even when they can't talk..

Trying to say thanks with thumbs up...

Trying to say thanks with a simple hug..

Yeah~ that's their way~ But what about us...? Our gratiude can be expressed with simple words that could be expelled in a split second but we often forget to do so especially for simple things done for us~ 1 thing these special people taught us was "there's nothing too small to be least appreciated"

I said this once in my old blog and am going to say this again

"Isn't it amazing how the people who have less could taught us a lot more about life..?? Isn't it amazing, though they're not meant to understand, but never forget what they were taught~ ? Their senses and figures may not be made perfect.. But their souls are so pure.. And that's why they deserve the word "special""

This post is my response to my dear friend Intan who tagged me to participate in "1 bulan 1 adab" campaign.. I don't have great stories but I think this is an experience worth to share (^^)v