I am, perhaps, the most linear man on the planet. I think in straight lines from point to point. I do have vision though, I can start at the end but it still comes back in a constant vector. I am beginning to shake off some of this Pythagorean proclivity as I interact more and more with the people here in their environment. I am learning to look past the perpendicular and parallel plots of my stunted vision and to see deeper into things, deeper into this culture, deeper into these people. Amazingly, my sight is improving rapidly. A simple example, to illustrate my limitation - As I traveled up and down the road between Zongo and Mole, I naively imagined that all the folks lived right up on the road. I had no appreciation for any sense of depth or third dimension. One afternoon, we stopped and I saw three children in front of a small, immaculately kept hut. I waved them over and they eventually drifted to the truck. I handed each a few pencils from the cab and they started to squeal. Before I knew it, there were a dozen more children bounding towards the truck, seemingly from nowhere. A minute later, there were twenty yelling children. We drove off slowly, and I thought I had learned a lesson, but it was the wrong one. Now, I am noticing houses behind houses, enclaves behind huts, and families and communities behind children.
I have also wondered about the people and their ties to each other and to the land. Some of my more precocious students want to learn English and want to come to America. But it is by no means the average desire or dream. They see movies, they see western products, and they know there are many more things outside their community. Never really having a home or community until I was in high school, this love of place was foreign to me. Nothing is linear here (initially causing some stress on my Teutonic tempo) and I couldn't understand the gestalt of things looking straight ahead. I am beginning to see the geometry around me in the trees, the landscape, the architecture, the games, the relationships, the cooking, and the hair weaving. My patience is expanding and my compassion is exploding.
I marvel at the refugees as they sort things out between themselves. We have had some timeline issues since I dropped out of the sky upon them with all sorts of energy and template busting ideas. They talk, listen, call each other out, and work it out. I think they understand the cycles underneath the process and they honor those intertwined networks above their own notions of fiefdoms, ego, and esteem. This is changing the way I approach them and the appeals I make to them. In exchange for my new found flexibility, I am being brought in ever further into the fold of this tapestry.
My vision is changing. I smile constantly and laugh throughout the day. The uninvited intrusions from back home are smothered quickly by the viscosity and rhythm of the symphony around me. I have never felt this sense of prolonged and integrated fulfillment and peace before.
For a more analytical sense of this non-linear world, check out this fascinating Ted Talk about African fractals:
Now, some scenes of the day
I have also wondered about the people and their ties to each other and to the land. Some of my more precocious students want to learn English and want to come to America. But it is by no means the average desire or dream. They see movies, they see western products, and they know there are many more things outside their community. Never really having a home or community until I was in high school, this love of place was foreign to me. Nothing is linear here (initially causing some stress on my Teutonic tempo) and I couldn't understand the gestalt of things looking straight ahead. I am beginning to see the geometry around me in the trees, the landscape, the architecture, the games, the relationships, the cooking, and the hair weaving. My patience is expanding and my compassion is exploding.
I marvel at the refugees as they sort things out between themselves. We have had some timeline issues since I dropped out of the sky upon them with all sorts of energy and template busting ideas. They talk, listen, call each other out, and work it out. I think they understand the cycles underneath the process and they honor those intertwined networks above their own notions of fiefdoms, ego, and esteem. This is changing the way I approach them and the appeals I make to them. In exchange for my new found flexibility, I am being brought in ever further into the fold of this tapestry.
My vision is changing. I smile constantly and laugh throughout the day. The uninvited intrusions from back home are smothered quickly by the viscosity and rhythm of the symphony around me. I have never felt this sense of prolonged and integrated fulfillment and peace before.
For a more analytical sense of this non-linear world, check out this fascinating Ted Talk about African fractals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n36qV4Lk94
Now, some scenes of the day
A week ago I would not have seen anything fifty feet off of the road. Including the small village visible now between these two houses
More girl power - an increasingly dominant theme
Today in English Club, we had more questions than I could have ever hoped for. As a matter of fact, they asked so many questions, I abandoned the activity I had planned and we chatted about all sorts of serendipitous things. I did notice that the women weren't talking as much of the men, and given that I knew their English was just as good , I changed tactics. We were talking about the concept of advice and I asked the mothers to stand up. I told them to imagine I was pregnant, rubbing my large belly (they laughed, politely trying to stop) and ask them to give me advice about my first pregnancy and raising my child. I allowed them to do it in French, then we all translated. Wow, I thought they would never stop! It was fascinating to hear them talk about prenatal care - correct health, diet, low stress, talking to the baby in their bellies, planning the birth and early years, and involving their families in the entire process. They spoke directly with confidence and the men listened! This is a great segue for the creation of their Girls' Empowerment Club that will begin next week with Juliette (far right) at the helm.
Young girls inspired by their strong mothers!
Vasily who is not pleased with my attention today
The part of the road I call "Lions and Tigers and Bears"
I am very fortunate to be here with these wonderful people in this beautiful place. They are taking more and more ownership of the programs we are building, and their concern and compassion for me is overwhelming. I wonder what would happen if people in other places would learn to get out of line and move around in circles a bit, smiling,laughing, and caring for each other?
I was going to suggest "global thinking/sense of being" but the concept of communal fractals explains things well.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not it _takes a village to raise a child, the village _does raise all its children, and connects with each other intimately in ripple effects.