As I said, we were pretty busy during the week, trying to get everything done in the limited amount of time we had in country, but fortunately we had the chance to hang out with some kids, and got to know Michael and some other people we met in Bor. We met one man in particular, Abraham, who was also a “Lost Boy” and had built a school an a village close by.
That was a great opportunity to talk to him about his design and learn some stuff about a project similar to what we were doing!
One of my favorite experiences was hanging out with the kids- we brought soccer balls and Frisbees to play with them on our time off. (They had clearly never played with a Frisbee before and it was interesting trying to teach them how to throw.) In my experience, yes, you were a celebrity because you were white (in fact they would frequently laugh and wave shouting “Kawaja! Kawaja!” which means “White People! White People!” as we’d pass by) but most every kid I met just wanted to shake my hand or be held. They were so excited just at the opportunity to play with you! It was honestly humbling to see their attitudes and this joy that seemed crazy given their circumstances. I am not a kid person but those kids were so sweet and adorable- that playing with them was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
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