Perspective

In order to view the world as it truly is, it takes a lot of work. It isn't easy and it doesn't come naturally. In America it's very easy to get caught up in the day to day life and lose that sense of perspective. I work very hard to keep my feet in Africa, so that I don't lose that sense of myself and my place in the world. I think most Americans don't understand how big the world really is, and how insignificant their complaints really are. I don't remember a single day that I didn't hear someone complain about not having money and being poor. And yet they are constantly buying things. They are always wearing decent clothes. They never miss a meal. They have jobs. They have beds to sleep in. How can they call themselves poor? I work very hard to keep myself from falling into this way of thinking, and to keep that sense of perspective.

I just finished watching a documentary called God Grew Tired Of Us. This movie follows the lives of a few young men from Sudan. At an early age, they were either separated from their families or they saw their families killed due to the civil war/genocide in Sudan. Tens of thousands of young men from all over Southern Sudan walked for more than a thousand miles and settled at a refugee camp in Kenya, where they spent the next 10 years of their lives. After this 10 year period, a small number of these young men were given an opportunity to move to America where they were given government assistance for 3 months until they were able to find jobs.

Watching the boys make the journey to America and adjust to this new life was amazing. Their innocence was beautiful. It also had me laughing harder than I had laughed in a while. It started on the plane ride when they were served their meals. They opened up the small package of butter and ate it plain, right from the package, and then you saw their reactions. They thought it was gross. One boy said he didn't know if it was meat or cheese. Then, after getting off the plane, they were in the airport and had to go up an escalator. One by one, they each tripped as they stepped on. The whole line of them. It was incredible.

Once they arrived in their apartments, a man was showing them around and teaching them the basics. They all gathered around a lamp, watching in awe as it turned on and off when they press the switch. And then they tried to understand the concept of a refrigerator. After that they were introduced to potato chips. They couldn't understand that they were potatoes but that they were already cooked and ready to eat. The guide, also originally from Africa, explained to them that when they have trash, it doesn't get thrown out the window. Instead it goes in a trash can. The lid opens, you put your trash in, then the lid closes again. And when it's full, you take it out. So you can imagine their reaction to a toilet... When they went into the bedrooms, they saw that there were four beds, for four men. They thought this must be a mistake. Normally several people share a single bed. They were brought to the grocery store to learn how to shop and what to buy. They saw cucumbers and asked if it was food. They saw donuts with sprinkles and asked if the sprinkles were beans.

The movie jumped to one week later, once they boys were able to get settled. They proudly showed the cameraman how to turn on the lights and what types of things go in the refrigerator. One even showed how he made his breakfast. He poured cornflakes into a large plastic pitcher. He then took the butt end of a hammer and smashed the cereal into smaller flakes, then added milk. This mixture was then warmed on the stove to make into a porridge.

Now fast forward to Christmas. Try explaining the concept of Santa Claus. They asked countless people to explain to them what Santa Claus has to do with the birth of Jesus. But nobody could answer. They didn't understand why people were preparing for the holiday with decorations, instead of preparing themselves spiritually like they do in their homeland.

They also had a few run-ins with the law. When they travelled in large groups to go to the shop, the police would be called, thinking the boys were going to try to rob them. But for them, this was normal. It was comfortable to be together all the time, especially in a strange place. They also didn't understand why you can't go to the house of someone you don't know, and why that person would then call the police. Their overall feeling towards the people here was that Americans are unfriendly. So once they were settled, they did what they could with what they had. They worked three jobs each, and sent all the money they made back home to their families and to the other boys who remained at the refugee camp.

It was beautiful to watch these people come to our country and see everything as it truly is. They saw our country in a way that we'll never be able to see it, because we're so deep in the trenches. When I go to Africa, I get a little glimpse of this. I get pulled out of the trenches for a moment, and it allows me to question everything I've ever known before Africa became a part of my life. And every time I return to America again, the trenches try to pull me back like quick sand. But I keep on fighting, with all my strength.