I met up with the dental team at Batu Ampar and we were then directed to a bus that was our transport to the school where we were to work. A massive tent was set up at the front of the school where a huge number of people were waiting to be treated. It seemed like such a daunting task just seeing the number of people there when we first arrived! Dr Ong had kindly gone a day earlier to set everything up for us so all the desks and lamps and bins were all in place when we arrived. I changed into scrubs and prepared for the day ahead. Once work began, it was a non-stop process. We would treat a patient and when the work was completed, the next patient would be standing right next to us. We did however managed to have some much needed breaks and the volunteers brought round ample bread and drinks. Our lunch and dinners were vegetarian and I was very impressed with the tastiness of the food we had.

As I do not know how to speak Indonesian Malay, but only know a few essential terms like 'jabut gigi' and 'sakit', it was quite interesting in the beginning that I was still able to somehow communicate using hand actions. The patients and I always had a big laugh and they were very understanding that I couldn't speak their language. Then at a later stage, a Malaysian volunteer came to help me. It was much easier then to communicate with the patients and I managed to pick up more Malay terms! All the volunteers were very enthusiastic and very friendly. It was such a pleasure to have them around helping.

Many of our patients were very appreciative of the work we were doing and thanked us profusely after treatment. One even bought us coconuts as a token of appreciation. How wonderful is that! Rewards just do not get any better in our line of work.

There was a Tzu Chi 'Cheer Care Team' as well. They went around with their cute little cheers and it's so funny that I've heard it so much over the weekend that it's still stuck in my head! Since then, I've been even telling my friends how the cheers go! Along the same lines, Dr Chee Chen Xin deserves special mention for coming up with a new cheer as well as body actions to go along with it!

"Tzu Chi Ooh, Tzu Chi La,
Tzu Chi, Tzu Chi Ooh Lala,
Tzu Chi Ooh, Tzu Chi Yeah,
Tzu Chi, Tzu Chi Ooh Yeah~"

It was hilarious and we all had a big laugh when we had to perform it on stage on the second night of the trip. Tzu Chi is big on the 'sou yu' (sign language), and our dental team had to learn a song and perform it that night as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip even though it was mightily exhausting. At the end of our day's work, we would all be stinky and sticky but we all still had smiles on our faces and there was heaps of laughter to be had. We had an awesome group of people on this mission trip that made it heaps of fun! Everyone was very helpful and friendly and we all got along like peas in a pod.

All in all, this was one massive operation and it was all very well organized and things went pretty smoothly. I look forward to the next Dental Mission trip!