Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Sopa!!! Marianna here. . .hi mom. . .writing on the thirteenth day of the trip, our twelfth day in Africa. It’s hard to believe that in exactly one week we’ll be boarding a plane to fly halfway across the world back to America. The days in Oloika have definitely begun to blend together, passing quickly from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner, and finally to check-in in what seems like only an hour or so. This, however, does not mean that these particular days are not as significant as our first few here, since some of the most important work is about to be completed. After this lunch break, we’re going to be putting the first boards up for the roof of the dining hall. The visible progress is becoming more and more apparent, as bricks pile up to make walls and piles of rubble are diminished to make strong beams of concrete (the making of which, by the way, is an extremely wet, sloppy, and fun-filled process) along the sides and columns of Oloika School’s future cafeteria.
Sitting under the starry sky after check-in, playing games like Mafia, Egyptian Ratscrew, and Bananagrams, sometimes it just hits us that we are sitting in the savannah in Africa. There could be lions lying in wait outside our compound, and giraffes lumbering slowly in the plains surrounding us. Sometimes it’s all so real that it’s fake. I half-expect to see an ambience-speaker next to my tent, playing cricket sounds, goat bleats, and wind murmurs. Something about the land is so familiar and yet wholly different, with mountains stretching up from prairies covered in shrubs and tall, spindly Acacia trees. The sky seems flat and stretches on forever. I don’t know what it is about Africa that is so exciting and exotic. The mere mention of the continent in the states brings about images of jungles and grasslands, lions and zebras, warriors, dancing, and drums. A “Lion King-esque” sunrise (which, not surprisingly, is extremely accurate) picking out the profile of the mighty elephants and wildebeest herds. I don’t know what it is about Africa, but we are all brothers and sisters here under the African sun. It is our homeland after all.

xoxo
Marianna
P.S. Tell Jimmy and Gabby I might see a cousin of theirs in a few days, except that he might be considerably bigger and have a mane. . .and really big teeth.
P.P.S. I have also been constructing my argument for bringing Nosim the Goat home. She can eat all the diet Pepsi and Coke cans we leave for recycling. It’s all organic and all natural. No? Just in Egremont then? No?
P.P.S.S. I apologize to all the other parents out there reading these slightly unnecessary and long P.S.’s.

There are only five days left for us here in Oloika, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that I don’t look forward to leaving. Though the schedule here has been pretty set in stone, every day yields new unique and exciting adventures for us all. My favorite moment every day is, though it sounds vain, is when I hear kids from the school calling out my name. When I hear my own name, I feel as though I have made an impact not just with the work on the dining all, but also with the personal relationships I have been forming. Every day is a new friendship made, and an old one enhanced. The energy from everyone around us in the village, school, and in our own camp has really inspired me, especially considering the challenges that face them every day. It puts things into perspective in a very deep and personal way for me. I hope that when I come back to the U.S.A. I will carry with me not just my piles of dirty laundry (sorry Mummy), but also some of the Oloika energy and happiness.

Ben.

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