The conversations after day one ranged far and wide with a group of students gathered in the living room late into the night. We had the shared experience of our visit to Katanga slums and the apparent fascination of the children there with our troupe of Mzungus traipsing through their neighborhood–upwards of 9,000 people in an area of about six city blocks, trenches flowing with shit and garbage. What is given and taken in this bizarre interaction between people so far removed from each other in background and possibilities? Can we even see through the other’s eyes or is it too far a stretch? Little ones reached for our hands and walked with us on our little tour, with a familiarity that felt sweet but unjustified. We wondered how sad it would be for them to release our hands at the end and let our worlds fly back to their own orbits. Of course that was our mistake. They had no illusion of us being more than a passing fancy.
Checking in on you. What i find expressed in these simple posts is a life changing couple of weeks. So glad it is you, because you will do much with the experience. Keep it com’in.