Last week was my first time ever going to Apex Harmony Lodge (our partner) due to the recently relaxed covid measures. This meant that it was the first time we were able to engage in face-to-face conversations and interactions out of the entire academic year. Upon arriving at the lodge, we were split apart into groups of 3-4 students and then branched off to meet residents at different points of the location. I was allocated a spot at a table with a few Uncles such as Uncle George. I already had some prior experience conversing with the residents from all the google meet calls we’ve carried out over the year, however I was aware than in-person interactions would require more attention and bodily cues/signals. It was also important to remain patient for the entire 45 minutes as residents with dementia often repeat themselves unintentionally. For example, when talking with Uncle George we cycled through a story about his upbringing end education in Malacca/Singapore approximately 50 times. Although I tried to invite different topics of discussion he seemed to prefer talking about this frequently. It was certainly a bit sad seeing such residents forget what they had said only shortly before, however I recognised that my role was to make them feel as though they had someone to talk to – someone who was listening. For this reason, I made an effort to appear very interested in his stories and questions. After the session was complete, our whole group reflected on the experience. Even though it was certainly saddening for many of us, we agreed that it was a worthwhile activity for the residents’ wellbeing and even for our own deepened understanding about dementia. Hence, we will likely pay Apex Harmony Lodge a few more visits before the end of the year.