No cake, no party, no problem

Well, another birthday has come and passed (though I suppose considering I was born in Texas, it will officially continue for another 7 hours).  As I sat reflecting upon my life after a very refreshing bucket bath, I was surprised at my emotions.  Despite for the first time in my life spending my birthday in a foreign country, away from all friends and family, I felt neither homesickness nor sadness at my separation from loved ones.  This was not because of a lack of feeling for those back home, but simply because I had a great day that left me filled with a different type of satisfaction not usually experienced back in the States.

I awoke early in my house in the township to have cereal, take a bucket bath, and iron my clothes for the day.  I then stepped out into the street where, inevitably, all eyes fell upon my white skin.  Yet on the walk to school, one man stopped me to thank me for choosing to live in and spend time in this black community.  The appreciation in his face seemed quite sincere.  Then, at school, during morning assembly, my principal introduced me to the students and mentioned that it was also my birthday.  The learners duly sung me Happy Birthday with the beautiful lilt of their African accents. 

Before attending an economics class, the teacher came up to me to tell me that he had actually studied business and accounting at university but had accepted the teaching responsibility because someone needed to do it.  As a result, many times he said he was uncomfortable with some of the economics material, and was so glad that they had finally sent him someone with an economics background that could help him adequately explain the information to the students.  During the class periods, we did just that, with him presenting the lesson and occasionally deferring to me to help clarify certain terms, concepts, and questions.

School was followed by soccer practice, where it seems I have now become an assistant coach to the boys’ primary school team, which I am stoked about.  Helping run the training was a man I would come to find out had played for Orlando Pirates, one of the biggest professional soccer clubs in South Africa.  James, is from my town, and now at the end of his career, has returned to give back to the community he grew up in.  In addition to running drills, he sat the young boys down and spoke to them about hard work and the type of responsibility it takes to be not just a professional soccer player, but a successful person in general.  This is a man the world needs more of.  If anyone can make a difference here in these boys lives, it will be him.  I just hope that I can be part of that contribution.  To top off this incredibly positive experience, James told me he could tell that I myself had played at a high level because of my obvious knowledge and skill of the game demonstrated during the drills and examples I set up for the players.

So amidst the myriad problems of South Africa, today, on my birthday, I experienced some very bright beacons of hope that I think will keep me going for some time.  There was no cake, no party, and no streamers, but as I sit here contemplating the day behind me and the hopefully many days ahead, I have to say that this has been one of the most satisfying birthdays I can remember.