I probably won't get to post this until I get to America because I don't think I'll have wifi again in Ethiopia (since I leave the day after tomorrow...what?!?) but I wanted to write it anyway :) Today may have been the best day of my trip. You would think maybe it would have been a bummer day, because perhaps I have a parasite. Ok, I don't really think I have a parasite...but I did google symptoms today, just in case. Something's clearly not right, due to the fact that my entire body just hurts and standing up makes me rather dizzy. But no worries, because with a lot of advil and awesome school kids, my day turned out pretty much fantastic. Here's why:
Tomorrow is our last day with the after school kids. We wanted to do something little for them, and since they all play soccer on Fridays we figured we should do it today. We bought lots of cookies and pop, and when the kids saw it this afternoon they were way excited. They came in and sat down the quiestest I've ever seen them...it was kind of amazing. We passed out the snacks and had a feast. We got to spend the afternoon just talking with them and hanging out. At the end, we got a lot of giant hugs and "thank yous", and it was a really good time.
If you recall, I wrote in one of my last posts that we had gotten a gift for our "brothers", Solomon and Solomon. We got them each a soccer ball and some candy after my Solomon told me how much he wanted a ball. Just in case, let me explain briefly about these boys. They are teenagers, and a while back were talking to us about siblings. We became "brother and sister" when my Solomon told me he was the only child and wished he had a sibling. He said, maybe jokingly, that I should be his sister. After that, we began talking with them a lot more. They were incredibly happy to see us every day, and always wanted to be by us. They even brought us "gifts", which may or may not have essentially been garbage they found on the side of the road (a broken watch, and plastic necklace...all kind of little things). Long story short, they are awesome, sweet, funny boys. So today, we planned on giving our bros the gift we got them along with a letter we wrote and had translated by Masresha. While we were having our little cookie party, neither of the Solomons showed up. We were a little bummed, but hoped we would see them tomorrow. Towards the end, my Solomon came and called me outside very excitedly. He said, "Today is...today is..." and then spent about five minutes trying to think of the English word. Turns out, it was his 14th birthday. He was so excited, and yet I doubt he got much or did anything special. After all, he basically lives on the street. Kendra and I asked where the other Solomon was, and told him that we had something for both of them at our house. He wasn't sure where he was, but promised they would both come tomorrow to say goodbye to us.
Well as it turns out, we were right outside our house when we saw both Solomons walking by tonight. They were both excited to see us again and we told them to wait here while we got them our gift. We gave them the letter first, and I can't even describe their faces. They were standing arm in arm, reading it together with the biggest smiles on their faces. They looked so genuinly happy. When we gave them the soccer balls, their smiles got even bigger. I got two huuuuuge hugs, and my Solomon told me that he loves me. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. First of all because such a little thing made them incredibly happy. Second of all, because I don't know how I am going to say goodbye to them tomorrow afternoon. I wish I could do more for them, and I wish we were guarenteed to be able to stay in contact. We told them in our letter that we would absolutely love to write back and forth to them from America, and we gave Masresha our address and money so that he can send any letters they write. But it's not even close to certain that these boys will be able to keep going to the after school program, and if they don't there's no way for them to keep in touch. They don't have an address, and they most definitely don't have email. I just hope so much that we can keep talking with them, even if it's only a tiny bit. Today was just the sweetest thing, and I wish so much that I could do something to make sure they are both always okay. I'm just going to miss them both so much.
I'm looking forward to getting back to America (especially as I lay here shivering and aching in bed...what is my problem?), but I'm not looking forward to all the goodbyes during the next two days. Today was a wonderful day, and it really has been a fantastic trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment