Yesterday was about the kids. Sunday is ‘downtime’ so we roamed Mamre getting a better sight of the town. Many children here are used to volunteers and have grown in their confidence, sometimes acting slightly audacious. But as you may have noticed, I have a weakness for kids! One of the guys with us is fond of both children and animals – so a name was coined for him: “Kyle is like Dr. Doolittle crossed with the Pied Piper.”

Wherever we went there were a pack of children following, starting with just one or two and peaking at ten. A few of them have picked up routines, Michael Jackson’s dance moves are massively popular as children attempt to moonwalk across the tiles or jump on their toes. One of the boys humorously mocked an older woman by pulling his pants up to his chest and sticking his bum out, motioning with flaunting gestures. Another did the ‘gangsta’ walk, pulling his pants down slightly and sticking his hand out it front. It was sad to see them going to the next level by mocking cripples and disabled people, and I wondered if we did the same when we were younger. There are a few twins in town, so someone expressed another quote-worthy line: “Does anyone think the twins round here look like the twins off the Sims?”

Ironically, what the others loved at first turned into a chore by the end of the day, as they found it difficult to get rid of the kids. Guess you can’t really win. As I wrote in my journal, there’s something about the presence of children that lightens everything and brings a smile to your face.

The librarian gave us a tour of a side of Mamre we were yet to see. The others commented it was ‘more like what they’d expected’ as it was more run down with a larger proportion of tin-roofed houses. The area certainly provided much more powerful imagery than where we’re actually staying, and highlighted a question about the effectiveness of how we’ve been placed. I’ve been consistently surprised at how little the others were prepared for what we’d be experiencing, the fact that we have hot water, constant electricity and access to pretty much everything we’re used to has been a shock for some of them (do note that I’m the only one with internet access, using my phone as a modem).

Okay, so just to prove that I’m not bias – I’ll put a quote to highlight my own stupidity. Last night, when looking at the beautiful sky: “Can we not see the north star because we’re in the Southern Hemisphere? No, it’s because we’re south of the equator.” (Exclamation marks here!)