Googic walk about

William was at the end of his South Sudan stay and had masses of loose ends to tie up and many people to say farewell to.  We walked a loop of the village with him.  Of course, William knows everyone and they all know him.  Like so many of the Lost Boys who have been settled in the Western world, William bears the weight of knowing that many look to him for inspiration, connections, financial help and advocacy.  Any visitor from the outside feels a bit of this and we certainly sympathize deeply with what must be a paralyzing difficulty of choosing how to use limited resources to help whom in what way.  William always offered others time to be heard and frequently the pleasure of one of their complex greetings with smiles and laughter.  The greeting reminded me of one of those handshakes that Felix occasionally tries to teach me.  Right hands shake, right hands pat the other's left shoulder, right hands shake, right hands pat the other's left shoulder...done together with repeated inquiries of 'How are you?' and replies of 'Fine! Fine!'  It seemed that the repetitions increased the more joyous the reunion.

In one spot the young mother was grinding her grain with the long pestle and the mortar which stands higher than the knee.  It is a whole body movement with graceful rhythm and considerable strength and flexibility. William and I asked to try.  The pestle is surprisingly heavy and aiming it correctly, or more properly, positioning oneself properly to wield it, was really difficult.  I was reminded of how one can pitch a baseball using only the arm, but good pitching has to be done with the whole body.  My attempts were so pathetic that those watching fell about with laughter.  It apparently made good copy as the next day meeting others for the first time they burst into laughter and mimicked my feeble efforts afresh.