"The warm heart of Africa". That's what all the guide books call Malawi, except the Lonely Planet which calls it "Africa for beginners". I'm not entirely sure what either of those characterizations mean in everyday terms... Malawi is beautiful, both the land and the few people I met. There is poverty everywhere and as always the juxtaposition of beauty and poverty intrigues me.
The first day I arrived I was exhausted and feeling overwhelmed. I decided to go for a walk to the nearby village. It was a lovely walk, down a dusty dirt road with small households visible off in the trees. I could hear women chatting away in Chichewla (sadly not Swahili!) as I walked along in the afternoon sun.
Not long after I started walking I noticed some kids off in the fields playing soccer. They spotted me quickly and started running toward me - not an uncommon experience over the last few months, but oddly enough, this time they actually ran right past me. I watched with interest as they all started to lay down across the tire treads in the dirt road about 10 meters ahead of me. Side by side, at least 15 kids lay across the track and assumed a position with the fingers interlaced between their head and their legs crossed at the ankles. This "sleeping" position was only spoiled by the fact that in their excitement they were all stifling giggles and squirming with the effort to keep still. With some trepidation I began to walk past this litany of sleepers and after passing about the sixth child, one of them gave a sound and all of a sudden... they were all yelling and shaking their limbs about as if having some kind of fit. This was absolutely the last thing I expected them to do! I couldn't help it, I just started to laugh. The kids all jumped up and began congratulating each other on a joke well played. I kept laughing and eventually was able to shake all their hands. I told them it was a great trick, although I don't think they understood a word of what I said. The excitement quickly died off and the children all ran back to their abandoned soccer game.
Not one of them asked me for anything. It was truly one of the most rewarding experiences I have had so far. I will never forget their excitement.
1 comment:
Kelsey, I got a good laugh reading about this little "trick" by the kids. It seems the joy of prankster-hood lives well in kids no matter where you travel. Good for you to flesh it out. I bet those kids will talk of you and remember that experience with you forever.
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