I have not written in a while because I've been on a wonderful vacation with my parents around Southern Africa. So this is a post I've been meaning to do for a while, my favorite moments from the past year, some of the reasons why I have fallen in love with my village and its people.
One of the orphans that lives alone with her 2 younger brothers and very small sister, once came up to my house with some peaches from her fruit tree to give me, very happy to share with me one of the very few things she has.
An especially quiet, lovely afternoon washing clothes in the river with my neighbor women as my dog splashes around in the water.
One night when I was woken up to low, beautiful male singing from a late night ceremony.
When I ran out of propane my good friend and neighbor carried a full tank of propane(about 25 pounds) on her head back to my house.
One afternoon my host sister spent an hour telling me about HIV/AIDS and what I should personally do to stay safe.
My host mom had a party with all of the neighbor women, who all danced with babies strapped to their backs, and my host mom danced with my dog.
When I once told a woman that I liked her shirt and she started to take it off to give it to me.
When I walk home and tell the person I'm walking with that I am tired, they immediately stop walking, point to the grass beside the road and say "then rest."
A baby without pants peed on the floor in the middle of a meeting (you often bring babies to meetings here), the meeting continued without a pause, at the end the mother scooped up the baby and wiped off the floor on her way out.
Being greeted and asked how I am by everyone I pass whenever I leave my house (why ever did this stress me out when I first got here??)
But the best part of the past year is knowing the people of my village love me. And what can I give back to them that is better than that?
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