This
life is strange. Abnormal. Crazy. As Kelsey texted me, “We are living in a
crazy reality that sometimes doesn’t even feel like a real reality.” But
sometimes I realize that having all these abnormalities at a constant rate
creates a normal part of my day.
Today, heading out for a
walk, I popped one of my prized grape flavored Jolly Ranchers into my mouth. As
I left my house I was beckoned into a coffee ceremony in the compound’s
courtyard. Although I wanted to preserve the sugary goodness in my mouth, I
also didn’t want to offend. So I sat for a cup of coffee. My first “flavored”
coffee drink. Then as I got up to leave I was offered popcorn--an act of hospitality
I couldn’t neglect. I paused at the compound’s gate, realizing that unexpected,
abnormal events are what make life life.
Last week, while en route to the post office, I bent
down to talk to some kids clustered around a mud puddle. I asked what one was
holding. His answer was to hand me a rather large tadpole. The two kids next to
him each put small skinny fish in my open palm. After a little bit of flopping
I realized why they were at a mud puddle. In broken Tigrigna, I convinced them
to dig in the mud to make the puddle a little deeper for the animals. After a
little bit, I got up and continued on my way--extra thankful that I carry
hand-sanitizer.
Parents thought it was
strange that I was playing in the mud with children. The children laughed at my
Tigrigna. I have no idea where the water or animals came from to start with. Parts
of that encounter were crazy for each of us. It was an abnormal walk to the
post office, but that’s life sometimes. Abnormalities break into the routines
of our lives.
The Thursday before Good
Friday all the students just walked out of the gates of the school after 3rd
period. I was flabbergasted; I had still 5th and 6th
period classes. However, none of the teachers were fazed. Instead many of them
were leaving too or just watching the students leave. Then, Monday after
Easter, 2 students came to school though the gates remained lock. On Tuesday I
had 45 of my 210 students show up. Wednesday was a half-day and Thursday let
out after 4thperiod. When I asked why there were no students I was
told that it was because of the holiday. When I asked why we were not doing the
full day (I have 6th on Wednesday too), I was told, “it’s just the
way it is.”
In
the States you go to school and take the just the holiday off. When you are
told to be at school most go. Here that wasn’t the case. Everyone recognizes
that students may live very far away and need time to travel, and the holiday
is never really just one day. This may seem slightly crazy to me, who cares
about trying to get students back learning as much as possible, but it is
completely normal in this culture. I was laughed at for questioning this. It’s
abnormal to me, but by the next holiday it’s going to be familiar enough that I
can plan around it, like a normal day off.
In the States, it may be
abnormal to walk 30 minutes to work, buy your eggs daily at a different place
than you buy your bread, filter your water, sleep under a mosquito net, avoid
camels, put on sunscreen in November to February, and listen to mosques blare. Here,
it is so normal I don’t even think about it. Life is realizing that changes
come in the abnormalities eventually a new normal.
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