curiosity

this is Bebe. i don't know if i am spelling it right. it might need a thingy above the e's like they do in french but i don't know how to put one on. basically it sounds like baby but with a accent. i found it very interesting to know that many children are called bebe and when they get old enough they can choose their own name. i think they do this when ever they feel they are ready and want to change it. bebe is Milicina's grandson. this was a very exciting day as we were giving Millicina and Bebe some clothes, a warm blanket, a mat to sleep on, and some food. their is also a man in millicina's area who has been hired to build her a platform that is raised from the ground so their food can be better protected from the rats.

i am helping lynn and gorge show millicina and bebe what they will be taking home with them. i put bebe's new sweater on him and continued holding up some other clothes to see if i picked the right sizes. bebe is sort of confused with the whole thing and i'm not sure that he has had much interaction with a white person. i thoroughly enjoyed myself.

one thing i have noticed is that the Mozambique people don't show much emotion. it was hard to read millicina and to get a sense of her appreciation; however it was defiantly there. gorge informed us after that millicina was very happy and that she would probably go home and dip the corner of her new blanket in a class of water and drink it to show how grateful she was for this gift.

the other thing that amazes me is the amount that these people carry on their backs and heads. millicina raps up the clothes and blanket on her back like she would if carrying a baby. (i might add that the blanket in of it's self was not that light) then she carried the food on her head. bebe carried the mats on his head and they were off. if you read my blog before you might remember that this walk took gorge and i one hour to complete..... with nothing but the heat to slow us down. never mind having around 20 to 40 ponds on my head. i'm not kidding you! i put a bag half the size of millicina's on my head and it took all the strength in my neck and back to keep from tipping over. i couldn't even last five minutes and i was standing still! i marvel in wide-eyed-wonder at what these men and women do. survival has a way of pushing you to your limits.

i don't know that i will ever understand how glorious this walk was for a widow and her grandson.