In the afternoon, we gathered our nerves and walked to the closest village. When we finally approached the main street, all eyes were on us. I mean ALL eyes. The entire town was just staring, it was the strangest feeling...like you're having that nightmare where you're naked on stage. We slowly continued down the street...not really trying to make eye contact, and softly saying "salama" (hello) to kids we passed. I wanted to crawl in a hole and just hide. Wearing my skin like it was a billboard for shame and apology, I glanced up quickly and saw some kids at the end of the street playing basketball. I suggested we sit on a nearby bench, wanting desperately to disappear and somehow blend in for a second.
Suddenly, two little giggling kids sat at the other end of the bench and stared. We smiled and said "salama," they laughed some more and replied. They got braver and braver, and soon the little girl came over to touch my blonde hair. I looked into her smiling eyes and felt my defensive barrier start to crumble. I could feel the town watching us, but I didn't dare look over. I just kept my gaze on these laughing little kids because they were making us laugh too. I love that laughter is the same all over the world.
Just then, a skinny older boy plopped right down in between Elena and I, putting his arms around us, clearly here on a dare. What a brave little kid. He looked over at the basketball court...all his friends were holding their breath...
A beat.
And then... Elena and I laugh. Suddenly, the tension and the barriers and the guilt and the fear completely just
explode into nothing, and all kids
everywhere swarm us!! They are petting our heads and we're giving them high fives, blowing kisses and one little boy is even trying to speak to me in English!! They want their pictures taken, they are posing, laughing. They want to see the pictures. They think this is just
hilarious!! More posing, more showing, more laughter. We do this for maybe 30 minutes...just playing and laughing and talking together. All the adults nearby have huge grins on their faces.
When it was time to leave, we blew kisses and waved goodbye. The kids seemed just to just glow from happiness. We returned down the main street with our heads held high...with a new sense of respect and confidence, and just...love. This time, there wasn't any whispering or staring, but smiles and "salama!"
This one moment changed
everything for me. I no longer felt pity for these people, or the heaviness of guilt for where I came from. I felt a unity between all of us, a beautiful ray of hope for the world. It gives me chills to remember it even now.
On the drive back to Morondava, I did a lot of thinking. I realized that I went into this with an attitude of "you're poor and I feel sorry for you," and ended up with "you simply live differently, and with a lot less than I do." Madagascar
isn't sad, or scary. What's sad to me is hearing kids in our modern world with their T.V.s, video games, books, toys, iphones, and ipads complaining all the time of how bored they are...while kids in Madagascar are having the time of their lives with rocks tied to plastic bags, mango pits, and old tires. What's scary to me are the steroids in our food and how differences in politics and religion give some people the self-imposed permission to become violent or to just give up on the world. The people I met in Madagascar might not have as much as we do, but I would venture to say that they are a extensively happier than a lot of us. They eat better, they play better, they know each other more. They don't care about politics (our guide said that in these villages, no one votes, knows, nor cares about the political crap going on in the capital. There are no newspapers or televisions, so the only way they hear about anything is from tourists or the drivers.) They just live their lives...completely in the moment.
I'm not saying that we need to feel ashamed for what we have, or that we all need to close our facebook accounts and live on farms. It's much easier to live with less when you are in a society that lives with less. We live a different kind of life, and that's okay too. I guess the message I'd like to pass on is that we have nothing to worry about. All those things we stress over and fear and think might be the end of the world...there's always more. There's always hope. I've seen it. Right now the world is changing. We have so much uncertainty and fear and I just want you to know that happiness and love can be found
anywhere there is life. Even where you least expect it. If you don't believe me, I challenge you to travel around a little bit. Just promise me one thing. Learn from my mistakes...when you go, go with an open heart and a desire to find things to love. Fear always gets us nowhere.
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| "Baobab Amoureux" Baobabs in Love <3 |
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