Somali Momma

As part of the preparation for HNGR, all of the interns sign up to tutor refugee families through World Relief. All year, my sweet friend Lauren and I have gone over twice a week to the apartment of a Somalian family in our neighborhood to practice English. And by practice English, I really mean spend an hour chasing around and tickling three adorable and VERY energetic little kids (Lauren always gets more actual tutoring done than me...).

HNGR tells us that this experience is what will help us the most for being immersed in another culture. I thought that what they meant was that spending all that time in the home of someone from another culture would be good preparation for being in our host culture, and that's definitely been true. But I think even more getting to know the family and what they've gone through adjusting to an entirely different world has made me realize just how difficult that is. One of my biggest hopes for my time in Bolivia is that the times when I feel lonely, frustrated, misunderstood, and totally out of my element, will really give me a new understanding of how it is for the thousands of people who come to America every year and try to start a new life. Unlike me, they're not living in a new culture for a study abroad or a cool adventure.

Our friends lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for twelve years before they came here. One of the moms (the family consists of two brothers and their wives) birthed three children there, two of whom are still alive. She's two years older than me. Lauren once asked Madina, the other mom (she's 20, like us), what her hopes for the future were. She answered immediately, "To go back to Somalia". They're here seeking a safe place to raise their children, learning the language, working hard, in a culture totally foreign to them (not to mention climate!). And judging from their children (between the two families, there's a 6 year old, 4 year old, almost-3 year old, 10 month old, and newborn), who are some of the most joyful, engaging kids I've ever met, they're doing an incredible job.

Wow, this was supposed to be a funny post! Anyway, today Madina, Lauren and I went to the park with the four oldest kids. We had a blast- I love whenever we do something with them outside of tutoring, because I feel like we get to connect in a different way (for example, today Madina and I talked about boys. It's somewhat concerning to them that I, unlike Lauren and our friend Lucy who's come a few times, am not dating. "Why you no have boyfriend?? Everyone else have boyfriend! You need to get married, have babies!!" Mm, well...)

OK, so we're at the park and I'm pushing Aisha (10 months) on the swing. A couple next to us smiles and tells me she's beautiful, asks how old she is, etc. I smile and chat and agree and coo at their baby, etc, and then the mom asks, "So, she's adopted?". Uh... "No, she's my friend's...", I point to Madina. Ohhh, OK.

Later I whisper, "Madina, they thought she was my baby!" She starts laughing. "But she so black! You white!"

She always carries her wrapped in a sling on her back, and I asked if I could do it on the way home. She shook her head at me, but tied her up on my back. It was way more comfortable than carrying her, my arms were totally free. I loved walking around the park with her but it was kind of disconcerting not being able to see her... I kept trying to make sure she wasn't falling out, and Madina was all, "No, she asleep!". It's true. I pushed the rest of the kids on the swing and talked on my cell phone and she was totally conked out against my spine. Also all the other parents at the park gave us kind of funny looks but smiled. I loved it.

When we got back we thought Arbay, her sister-in-law, would think it was funny to see me dressed like a "Somali momma" so I ran upstairs to show her. I walked in and she and the grandmother both cracked up. "Do we look cool? Do I look like a Somalian mom?", I asked. Arbay shook her head... "Yeah, like a Somalian mom. Very cool!"