I know some of you might be tired of my ‘I couldn’t love my job more’ posts, but I’ll keep sharing some of that stuff, since I think maybe it’s not that bad to share the things you’re grateful for.
Today we performed in two schools in Nairobi, one of which was the poorest of the schools we visited during the four months.
After over four months of performing several times a day we, sort of, know what to expect. It became almost a routine and it has its pros and cons. I thought we saw it all. I knew Kenya would be different than USA, but experiencing this left me left me speechless and deeply moved.
When I saw the children’s faces, I was so excited to perform there. I knew it would be quite an experience for both, our group and the audience.
The performance itself lasted for about an hour and wasn’t that different from the ones we did so far (except that the kids kept clapping for 48 min after Andrew said he was from Nigeria).
But the ‘after performance’ lasted for another hour and a half, and was spectacular
The kids kept greeting me, asking questions, teaching me how to dance (we all know how that went), touching my hair, I taught them Croatian songs, they taught me songs in Swahili… One of the questions they asked was:
-Can I hug you?
I didn’t consider that a proper question, so without even answering, I gave away and received at least 60 hugs (at least, and this time, I’m not exaggerating).
Another question was:
-How do you say ‘you are beautiful’ in Croatian?
And all of a sudden, I have in front of me I- don’t- know- how- many kids pointing at me, saying: “Lijepa si”. I can’t help but laugh and think- where the heck do they get their ideas from?
A while before we had to leave, one of the girls asked:
-Will you come back?
-Well, SOUL is coming again next year!
She didn’t look that happy- but it will be different people?
-Yes…
-I don’t like that.
-To be honest, me neither…
Lots and lots of hugs.
And then… I started hearing of many Kenyan schools that are alike, or even a lot poorer. I guess you can call me ignorant, but I didn’t know the reason why all the girls had short hair in the school.
-It’s expensive to have long hair.
Of course they were fascinated by my hair.
It’s heartbreaking. Heartbreaking and unfair and makes me really wonder why such thing as government even exists (not only here), and how is it possible that children’s needs don’t come in the first place.
Absolutely heartbreaking. And yet… in the poorest school we performed… I found, probably, the most joy, curiosity, selflessness, warmth, love, happiness and the will to share all that with 5 complete strangers from around the world. I was flying with joy after spending those few hours with them.
I don’t know. In a way, it makes it even more unfair.
But, for me, it only emphasizes the richness of what I’ve experienced- in the poorest school so far.
So, sorry for maybe ‘sharing too much’, but… after gaining this much, I don’t think I can keep it to myself.
P. S. it works for the kilos as well. If somebody wants, I’m willing to share all the weight I gained in the last four months. As a matter of fact, you can have all the kilos I gained in the last 7 years.
Uhh. Thanks for reading.
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