Quotes of kindness:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Plato

I never fully understood the significance of that quote until now.

More:
"I'll be very sad when you leave."
"You only have one week left? I'll have to watch you very well."
"I'll cry every day when you are gone. I'll think, 'Oh, I'm going to Emily's house to learn,' but you won't be there."
"You're my best friend. Do you want to know why? It's because you like learning. Every day, you're teaching me."
"You're beautiful no matter what hairstyle you have."
"Don't you know you're the volunteer of the year? It's because you teach us."
"That's why I like you. You always have time for us."

Some people are unfortunately fortunate. They never need to worry about money for high school or getting a pair of shoes or going to bed without eating. Some people believe that happiness can only come by social climbing, having the latest phone, or maybe the coolest clothes.

Well, the kids at the center are happier people than I've ever met in my life, and I think they all look great in the maybe 3 T-shirts they own.

The fact that I got to come here at all makes me an extremely lucky person - I have my parents to thank for that. But what probably makes me even more lucky was meeting the people in Eguafo. I'll never meet a more motivated person than the head of Sankofa, or someone with a more genuine smile than E2, or a cuter kid than little R.

Nobody will ever be as unintentionally delightful as A, and nobody will be so naturally entertaining as F is.

I'll never meet a more brilliant student than S, and I'll never have a better friend than E1. I wouldn't call this a village full of have-nots, because I found more here in 2 months than I have ever found in America. I'll be returning back to quiet, but maybe not to peace.

As I am sitting here in the Cape Coast Hospital with 3 children and 2 volunteers I realized that I'll be in Switzerland in almost a week. Like, no big deal, I'm going to Europe.

Most of these people have never even been out of their region, let alone the continent. I'm planning on changing that fact, so I have a lot of work to do when I get home. I have tons of ideas, and I'm going to start working on them ASAP.

You might ask me some questions.
If you ask if I've read The Cat in the Hat to a grown woman, I would say, "That's not all I can do!"
If you ask if I've ever taken a shower in the pouring rain? "Naturally!"
Have I ever almost been killed by a coconut? "You betcha!"
Have I ever hunted for and eaten African bush/suitcase snail? "Yum!"

So if you want to know if my experience in Africa has been a life-changing one, the answer is a resounding "Yes!"

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily