Some Amazing New Friends, New Food, and a Party

6-11-09

Today we went to the Village with the goal of building them a couple benches and desks to be used in their school. When we got there, the kids were so excited, the teachers decided to cancel school for the rest of the day! Some people worked, while others played with the kids. And though we ended up only making 1 bench, 1 desk, and 1 teacher’s desk, I think we can all agree that our time was well spent.

A couple of us tried to get the kids to play duck, duck, goose – which was hilarious in and of itself. Most of them didn’t know English, so the language barrier was hard to get over. Eventually, we settled on a game of “red light, green light.” In the end, since I was the one giving the “go’s” and “stop’s”, I was completely tackled to the ground by all the kids. It was insane! And they completely loved all the attention they got.

One of the most interesting things that happened that day came through a little boy that lived in the village. He wanted to see what all the commotion was about and so he was hanging out close by. Another one of the interns noticed him and went to go pick him up. Well, as soon as she touched him, he screamed and ran to our driver crying! So then I went over to see what was wrong, and as soon as I got close to him, he screamed again and buried his face in the driver’s legs! It turns out, from our best guess, that this kid had never seen white people before. He was so intensely afraid of us! For the rest of the day, anytime he saw one of us, he would scream and then run to the nearest African for support, whether or not he knew them.

I feel like, as funny as that is, it is such a foreign concept to me. I can’t imagine the fear he must have had in seeing us for the first time. It makes me sit back and realize how different our world views truly are.

When we got home, it was time to prep for the night’s festivities. We invited the CLAPAI kids, their matrons, and staff over, as well as a bunch of other people we knew in the area for dinner. Dinner consisted of Suya (thin pieces of grilled meat on a stick), irish potatoes, and puff puffs (think doughnut holes but without the sugar or sweetness; so, fried dough). It was all delicious and very new.

We also brought in a group of dancers who performed some tribal and local dances. People could join in as well. So no worries, once again, I have pictures and video of not only the group, but me looking ridiculous and uncoordinated as well. It was an absolute blast!