Thank you. Thank you for the countless laughs and thank for the hugs that were always a little too tight.
A few months ago I was in Cape Town, South Africa on a volunteer trip, I packed my bags (three) and headed off for an adventure of a lifetime; little did I know this adventure would alter my life completely. As soon as I arrived I felt at home; I knew this was the place God wanted me to be. I fell head over heels in love. But I hadn’t just fallen in love with the breathtaking mountains, the amazing beaches, or the bustling city life, I fell in love with the people. More specifically, the 20 or so kids in the surf program.
“Volunteering has changed my life”, a common cliché often heard from people volunteering in disadvantaged areas overseas. Although I agree with it, it’s a cliché for a reason. Spending 2 weeks in another country with disadvantaged kids does not immediately turn you into a good person. It does not immediately change you. The strive to become a better person is a constant and ever changing life goal. Volunteering doesn’t change you, the people do. The 8-15 year old little rascals changed me. They had such a huge impact on my life … and for that I want to say thank you. There are so many reasons to thank them, and most of them too difficult to explain but today I’ll try.
For one, the countless laughs. There was not a single day that a joke wasn’t cracked, dance moves weren’t busted, and I wasn’t laughing uncontrollably. These are some of the funniest kids I have ever met. They were always laughing, and those laughs were contagious. The kids I was working with in South Africa spoke English and Afrikaans. Often times when they were speaking to each other, they would speak Afrikaans leaving most of us volunteers out of the loop. But when they laughed, we knew exactly what to do… laugh right along with them. Sometimes we weren’t even sure what we were laughing at but that never mattered. There is no language barrier for laughter especially when it was as contagious as theirs. “I have always felt that laughter in the face of reality is probably the finest sound there is and will last until the day when the game is called on account of darkness. In this world, a good time to laugh is any time you can.” — Linda Ellerbee. Lets face it, life’s tough. We are all going through something, whether big or small, laughter can always help us overcome it. For that 10 seconds we’re laughing, we can forget about any of the problems we may be facing. And for the kids in this program, their problems were often unimaginable. Living in one of the toughest and most dangerous townships and going to one of the most underfunded schools in the city of Cape Town, their problems aren’t new toys or not enough Instagram followers, they are often much more serious. So a couple laughs a day are always helpful. No matter what, they always found a way to laugh, whether it was with you or at you. And when they laughed, I laughed. They were the kind of laughs that made your belly ache and your face hurt. The kind of laughs that made all your small problems seemingly disappear. A few weeks into the trip, I realized something really important: that I laughed a LOT more. I was laughing at everything and I mean everything. On my 7th week there, a series of unfortunate events and extreme clumsiness led to a seriously broken wrist. I had shattered my radius. After two hospital visits and a lot of deliberation I came up with a consensus that I would get surgery when I returned back home. During my first ER trip, when the initial pain and adrenaline had subsided, I saw an inch of the bone completely removed and almost piercing through the skin. When I saw this, I just laughed. I literally laughed out loud, my friends thought there was something wrong with me. I mean, I was slightly upset that I could no longer surf, the ocean was off limits for me, and most of my plans for the last week had been ruined by a large immobilizing cast put on my left arm but c’mon, who breaks their arm tripping off a step while in South Africa? With all the laughter that had come within the first 7 weeks, I learned how to take life not so seriously. This could have put a serious damper on the last days of my trip, but I didn’t let it. I just laughed it all off, and that was something I owed all to the kids.
The hugs. Every day the kids walked into the surf room and gave hugs to all the volunteers when they arrived and when they left for the day. Every day for 2 months I received over 30 hugs (A DAY!). These hugs were something special. It kind of felt like the sun was wrapped around me. They were the kind of hugs your mom gives you when you’ve been away for a while, the kinds of hugs that were always a little too tight and a little too long. There’s no better feeling than seeing a kid sprint off the bus right towards you because they wanted to hug you first. The closer I got to the kids, the more frequent the hugs became. It felt like I was receiving hundreds of hugs a day. Never in my entire life had I received this much affection from so many people. Receiving affection and returning it right back can be one of the most beautiful things in this life. Before this trip, showing affection had always been a struggle for me. I had always felt extremely uncomfortable with human touch. Other than my family, I didn’t give hugs to many people. With the help of the kids I quickly got over that. My favorite hugs were the unexpected ones. When they cracked a joke that was slightly offensive, they squeezed a little tighter to make up for it. When one of the shyer, more hesitant kids hugged so hard he tackled you to the sand. But my favorite were the hugs mid program, in the middle of the ocean with no rhyme or reason. Towards the end of my time there, the hugs were more frequent and more meaningful. One of the most incredible but devastating moments for me was the day before I left. Me and my friend Abby were riding around Muzienberg on our penny boards, with our squad; five of the surf kids we had grew extremely close to. After riding around through the streets with them for a bit, Jessie and his little brother Ethan strolled over to me and gave me the warmest hugs while whispering “we’re really going to miss you”. As you could have guessed the tears started to flow and I became overly emotional. It was one of sweetest and most genuine moments in my life but it had also broken my heart. It had finally hit me that I was going to leave these kids who had felt like the little brothers I never had. I quickly realized all at once that I would no longer be a constant support system for them. In this moment, I knew it would not be long before I returned. On my last day there, I had hugged them as often as I could. Now I was the one squeezing them too tight for too long. I did not want to let go. The girl (me) who once had no idea how to show affection was now expressing her love for these kids the only way she knew how: hugs. So, hug the ones you love a little bit tighter today and be thankful for that opportunity because not all of us get that chance.
A tight squeeze and laughter are two things that can change a life and I’m so thankful that they changed mine.