I took a stroll with my new buddy, Carolina from the AIM Passport program to a new (to me) coffee place down the street, Wawee Coffee. We strolled there thinking it was going to be a short coffee break in a nice air conditioned building with some girl talk. Little did we know that it was going to be a magical adventure filled with conversation and rare interruptions ending with the sound and feel of the soothing cool rain.
We ordered a Wawee Iced Coffee which tasted like liquid gold. It was cool to the mouth and smooth to the taste buds. We sat and began to converse and enjoy each other's company when a little old frail Thai lady walked into the shop and stared at us in the eyes. She began to say something in Thai and then intended to hand us a bag of what seemed like sticky rice and curry, amongst other things. We did not receive it because I was really not quite sure what she was saying. Carolina and I, looked at each other and became a bit concerned about this lady. She seemed lost and confused, but since neither one of us speak Thai, we asked the group of teens sitting across from us if they understood what she had said. They didn't understand either. When we tried to tell her that we did not speak Thai, she walked over to another table that happened to have another couple of girls from the Passport program. She spoke something to them and stared at them intently. We did not know what she needed but at this point felt like something had to be done.
I agreed with Carolina that I would go ask the ladies at the counter if they could come translate for us as they knew English and they spoke Thai. That is when I was informed that this sweet confused lady had Alzheimers.
My heart instantly broke…
When I was younger, as part of my CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) program I had worked with stage 2 and 3 Alzheimer's patients and my art therapy internship in college was with a program called Memories in the Making working with all stages of Alzheimer's. I felt such compassion and worry and helplessness towards this sweet lady.
I wanted to help her so bad, but I knew that I would not be able to fully assist. There were so many barriers in this scenario; the language, the disease, the familiarity with the neighborhood and most important customs here. I wanted to touch her and reassure her that it would all be ok, but I could not touch her and I could not speak to her. I felt such impotence.
Lucky for her, the girl that translated for us signaled a young guy behind the counter and asked him to escort her and ask around the neighborhood to help her get home. I was so relieved and glad that in this culture, they revere their elders and treat them with respect. My heart was relieved to see him treat her like a lady and try to help her be safe.
Carolina and I were so relieved to know she had received help, that it allowed for us to continue with our exciting girl chat. We got so consumed with conversation that we lost track of time. What we thought would only take 10 minutes turned into a few hours.
Then she asked me the magical question… "Do you want to go to a giant book store?"
UM… I am a huge book nerd so the answer was a resounding "YES!"
We perused around the shop and after about 5 minutes we made it to the English section (about 5 shelves worth) and we sat and quietly picked a book to read. I took advantage of this and purchased a book about my next country… Cambodia.
By this time, we realized it would probably be a good idea to get back to Zion, and as we made our grand exit… There was the rain.
The restorative cooling ever so calming rain. The promise that God would show up like the rain resounded in our hearts and we began to claim it over this land.
What an adventure!! What a magical interruption to what seemed an ordinary day.
