It was bound to happen- I got sick. Nothing too severe- what I would call “functionally ill” if I was at home. The runny nose, cough, headache- the kind of cold where you take some Tylenol and Sudafed and feel OK until it wears off. However, getting sick did not surprise me. Remember, we are approaching winter down here. June 20, which is the longest day of sunlight in the northern hemisphere, is the shortest day of sunlight here. Around that time, we also hit a spurt of cooler weather. It’s normally in the low 70’s at during the day and the low 60’s at night. We hit a spurt where the weather has been in the low 60’s during the day and high 40’s at night. If you think about the housing conditions of the families who live here, I am sure that means that they huddled together for warmth at night. So, no surprise, many kids showed up at school with coughs, runny noses, etc.

In addition, one thing that is very different here is that you are allowed to hug kids. I like that. In my opinion, I think we have swayed way too far away from this in America. Our fear of inappropriate touching keeps us from allowing any form of appropriate human touch- hugs, pats on the back, even the European kiss on the check- which connects us to one another.

I remember one of the first days here. There was a girl, about 3 years old, laying on the ground during recess throwing a temper tantrum. Sarah, the volunteer from Australia (where they must have the same values about touch as we do), looked at me and said, “ I don’t know what to do. Can I touch her?” At home, I would never touch an unknown three year old at school- I would seek out her teacher and determine what the “rules” are for that child. Here, it’s the complete opposite as the society here is very much about embracing and hugging and the value of human touch. Knowing that, I was bound to get sick. Remember, many of these families do not have running water so taking a shower is very rare. Our school does not have water in the bathrooms (which are pit toilets) so no one washes their hands after using the bathroom or before eating. Germs are very prevalent. I was aware of this, but I made a conscious decision that any illness I might catch from these kids will be minor. I have the immune system of a veteran teacher and sharing the human touch with these people means more than my risk of getting sick.

If you remember Miguel- my favorite students not in my class- I have learned his story. If you read my previous blog, you will know that Miguel has a cognitive disability. Miguel was abandoned at 5 years old at the local cemetery. It is not my place to judge why his mom chose to do that. Remember, this is a culture where the dad may desert the family if there is a child with a disability, and the mom is forced to stay home all day with the child unable to work. I don’t know why his mom thought this best, but I find some compassion in her choice since she chose the cemetery. Somehow, it feels like she wanted him to have a beautiful place to spend eternity (since things like adoption and foster care do not happen here.). But, Miguel was not going to die… there are lots of rumors about how he survived his childhood- it seems like the local mothers shared food with him and helped him out. And, this savvy- now young man- has learned that we serve free breakfast and lunch to the kids at the school. The cemetery, where he still lives, is about a 15 walk to the school but somehow he found us and every day he takes this trek to come get food (and now his math sheet!). I don’t think that Miguel has showered in the past 20 years. He has horrible body odor, but every day Miguel wants to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I thought that was likely to get me sick, but I did it anyway. Miguel is a human being who has defied all the odds, but he has lived since he was 5 years old without love. So, if I end up with a head cold so that, at least for a few weeks, this young man can feel loved and cared for- I know I made the right decision!