(the following chat log is based on how accurately I can remember what we spoke of)
(spoken primarily in Chinese)
Me: Sorry, could I bother you for a few moments?
(she replied assuming that I wanted to use the computer lab, but I told her that was not the case and the chat continued from there)
Me: Actually, I was given an assignment by my teacher to interview some maintenance crew members, it will only take about 5 minutes of your time.
Her: Sure, actually a boy and girl approached me a few days ago with the same intention (in this case, this has no relation to me)
Me: May I know how long you have been working for?
Her: 6 months
Me: May I know how did you get to know this job?
Her: Through an introduction from a friend.
Me: What makes you happy doing this job?
Her: I actually just treat it as a normal job.
Me: What makes you unhappy about this job?
Her: (at this point in time I forgot what was her initial comments but she said:) .... its nice to have tea with friends (other cleaners) though.
At this point in time, it became a rather free for all conversation, where we got to interact with each other, and both parties were talking (it takes 2 hands to clap)
I noticed that she was having trouble speaking throughout our conversation because of her throat, so I mentioned that to her and suggested this:
Me: Actually, I heard from a senior that if you drink lime juice the night before and go to sleep, your throat will feel better the next morning .
Her: I see, but I have gastric/stomach problems, and its (her throat's condition is) probably due to the hot weather.
Me: How about honey then?
Her: Yeah, honey is (another choice), but we (elderly) don't really like sweet stuff.
On and off she also spoke to me about her job scope, and how students could help make her job easier.
Eg: clean up their paper cuttings, how she cleans the air conditioners in the computer lab, and how hard it was to clean curry stains on wooden benches.
She also asked a bit about my family background (me being an only child), and how her grandchild/nephew just graduated as well.
On the whole it was a really enriching experience because I got out of my comfort zone as someone with extremely low self confidence.
Moreover, I would just like to say that (in my opinion) we Singaporeans really take them for granted, and we should try to make their jobs slightly easier (something as simple as not littering would be good enough)
I made sure to let her know that I appreciated their efforts around three times during our conversation though, and I ended off the conversation by thanking her for her time again.
UnknownHikikomori.
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