I asked a former teammate, and current co-worker to give me a funny memory he had with me. Pretty quickly, his mind went to Malawi when we lived in the bush. It was probably one of my favorite months in Africa. We didn’t have running water, or electricity, but we sure did have entertainment. The food was plentiful, the community was welcoming, and translators really only knew what we were saying some of the time.
I spent most of my mornings on the front porch for quiet time. Three kids would always find their way to me, greeting me for the day. They were our neighbors; Oliver, Austin and Cheetah Britches. Yes, of course Cheetah Britches has a name but he always wore Cheetah pants so that was his nick name.
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From top to bottom: Austin, Oliver, Cheetah Britches
One morning I was saying good morning to Oliver, trying to get her to give me a high five or a hug, or something. She immediately ran away from me. My response was something that had never came out of my mouth before, “Wooowwwww, Miss Saaaasssss.” Side note: These kids don’t know English, in fact I’m pretty sure the last time they had a recorded English speaking person in their village was in 2011. I didn’t think much of it and thought she would just keep moving like she had done before. Instead, she turned around and said it right back to me. “Wooowwwww, Miss Saaaasssss.” I was shocked, surprised, delighted, and impressed that she said it so perfectly to the way I said it. That phrase became part of the rest of my race. I said it to the kids the rest of the month, and teammates the rest of the race.
Isn’t it funny how quickly we can pick up things? How quickly kids pick up sayings they don’t even understand? As I’m reflecting on this story I am wondering, how many things do I do that I don’t even know about? If I had a child follow me around for a day, what would they be able to tell me about myself after 24 hours that I never noticed before? If a child in Africa, who speaks Chichewa can teach me something about my actions, what more could a child teach me who knows the language I speak? I think we could learn a lot from kids if we give them the opportunity to tell us the truth with out punishing them. Maybe we could sit them down and ask hard questions about ourselves.
I think I need to flag this blog, come back and read it once I have kids. They’re honest, I’m sure we’ve all experienced a brutally honest child. Can you imagine what we might learn if we actually asked them to share with us what they’ve observed in our actions or words? Who knows, it could be good for us.
And I’ll leave you with one last picture of a cute, slightly muddy, African child: Austin.
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