There really is no place I’d rather start this year in. My heart is so happy to be here. Yes, conditions are tough and precarious, but people here are really warm, welcoming, and thankful with what we do.
It’s been a week since I got here, and I’ve loved every second of it. I was exactly where I was supposed to be to receive the new year: sitting on a bench, making a new friend, guarding the gate of my so-far favorite section in camp, where the single girls are at. At 11pm my Somali friends came out to sing and dance to celebrate this new year. It was a beautiful scene. I was caught in between their excitement and the complaints of those who don’t celebrate new year’s that were trying to sleep. There were fireworks too.
It was shocking to know that some of the girls were shaken by that sound since it reminded them so much of the explosions they had escaped from. Most of my friends come from Afghanistan, and it has been really sweet to get to know their culture, language, and their stories. They are good Farsi teachers and some happen to love sports and outdoors as much as I do! Language hasn’t been the hardest part about being here, on the contrary, it’s the perfect excuse to make new friends.
So what is it that I do?
If you read the last post, you know that I had no idea what my job in camp was going to be. Now I understand why I hadn’t been told a straight answer. There are so many things to do in camp! In this week, I have cleaned and re-arranged rooms, I have taken shelters down, helped people move in and out, answered questions (which is hard when you have so many yourself and don’t know how it all works yet), solved problems, done censuses (censi?), guarded doors, gotten to know my friends, and learned some Farsi while I’m at it.
Working in housing is tiring but rewarding. It is always very gratifying to see their happy faces when you give them good news, show them the new place where they will live, or hand them a new blanket. It’s tough to give the bad news, but in most cases they learn to accept them and move on.
Volunteers have to wear bright orange vests in camp, and that makes it easy for everyone to identify us. A lot of them might not speak English, but they all surely know the words “hello” and “my friend.” Everywhere we go, people shout “Hello, my friend!” and we answer back. Hearing that always puts a smile on my face, and since it happens so often, I smile a lot! This is why I refer to people in camp as my friends.
There are many children too. They make my days! Whenever they see us volunteers, they run toward us and hug us, of course saying “Hello, my friend!” These people are precious, and even though they’re still going through hard times, I’m glad they’ve been able to overcome, and made it all the way here. Now we can love and serve them, and I just love to be a part of it.
You can read my last post by clicking here!
