Today was an adventurous day to say the least. I woke up early to find out that there was a virtual armada of people going out to the camp for the first of two days of celebrations for World Refugee Day. We took off early and made our way steadily to the camp. Once there, the English leaders and I decided to have a day of games - educational and physical. We had a blast with more than 80 students participating. We played Circle Tag, Red Rover, Limbo, and Buck Buck. There is no statute of limitations on mirth here in the camp - everyone joined in. I did manage to make it down to the main market and catch some of the UN presentations for the refugees before a big rain. When things calmed down, the English Club played Hangman, Connect the Dots, and Thumb Wrestling. A good time was had by all. We concluded the day with a wonderful Skype call to MVCC. I was so proud of both sides! Good people are good people, despite their circumstances. On the way back to Zongo, we had a few mishaps but overcame them. I got home shortly before I could break my fast and found out that Yaya had bought me a live chicken. The chicken is in the kitchen right now waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. In the meantime, I had a cold orange drink, cheese, rice, and spinach for dinner. I couldn't have planned a better day!
The beautiful little river that belies such a hazardous crossing. We did fine coming down, not so fine going back up!
We came through a small village where hundreds of students were toting bricks up the road.
Learning Limbo
Limbo Kings - How Low Can You Go?
Red Rover
Buck Buck was a literal smash!
Taking in a presentation
They were respectful and dignified, but had a lot to say
The camp commander (center) and some of his staff. He hosted me the other night when my ride was a few hours late. We drank fruit punch and bantered in Swahili. I will do a special "police English program" for them on Sundays
Michel, the assistant director here at UNHCR talking to the audience, doing a great job!
A good rainstorm came up during the presentation
A few smiles I am so tempted to hoard
As mentioned, coming back up was not as easy as going down. Our colleagues were pretty stuck!
Having had bad experiences with winches and tow lines in my youth, I opted to help a few folks up the hill with their bikes loaded down with charcoal. Good thing too - the first winch line snapped!
A few Muslim families who had visited the camp in hopes of being welcomed. To everyone's delight, they were, wholeheartedly
Moving Again!
Yaha (I need to enter him in the Dakar Rally) and Desiree, a new colleague I met this week
Speaking of Yaya, I am still pondering the fate of his Ramadan gift!
A big shout out to all the folks back home who came to the Skype call! Some new faces showed up, including my boss :), and the students and teachers here were over the moon. When you lose everything, it is pretty powerful stuff to learn that people halfway around the world care about you. Medicine for the soul. Thank you so much!
Looks like lots of fun! I was never good at limbo--always too tall for that game. Groovy hat, by the way!
ReplyDeleteManal K :)