i had brought 10 hoola hoops with me to the music festival so that while we were waiting for the performances to begin. i could get my daily hoop hour in, and also allow the kids and adults in the village a chance to try and hoop, since there were so many people there. to my dismay, no one even tried, all being shy and embarrassed, and prefering just to watch me, eventually one woman arrived with a group of children that would be performing yoga asanas on stage, and she happily tried hooping. we exchanged emails, and she gave me her brochure. the following day i had a chance to look at it, and it turns out that she started a foster home 4 years ago in a small balinese village and cares for 15 children and teaches them yoga so that in spite of their lack of outward resources (family, home, money) they will have a strong "center" within them from the yoga, from which to meet the world as they grow up. it was also apparent in their beautiful and impressive performance that they are very special children.
i got in touch with her and the next day was already on my way to her village an hour away, with a ride she arranged for me with someone from my village. i laughed as he stopped and picked me up in his car on the corner, because he is one of the badminton players i watch every week and admire since his main talent is laughter! there is so much laughter whenever he plays, you can't help but enjoy. we arrived at a simple building that resembled a childrens' house on an israeli kibbutz. the man got out of the car and immediately picked up one of the tiniest kids at the home, a 4 year old, and began throwing him up in the air a few times to the joy of the child. after about 10 minutes he had already left, to my surprise. apparently he makes a point of stopping by to say hello to the little ones especially; two male twins that arrived 2 years ago looking like skeletons with bloated stomachs and no eyeballs, and bodies as limp as a leaf. over the two years of eating and drinking and receiving love, they are beginning to grow healthy and the love of a tall happy man that throws you in the air once a week must certainly add to that!
i had brought my 9 hoola hoops with me so that we could hoop together. i wasn't quite sure how i would ride back on a motorbike with all of them, but decided not to think about that now. just bring them and later when the time comes to leave i will figure it out. the kids immediately took the hoops and were all busy hooping within minutes. i think because of their yoga experience they had a natural ability to hoop.
during the 6 hours i spent with them, 4 were spent hooping...they just couldn't stop. they loved it. and i loved watching them so enthusiastic and so creative. one of the little twins, the weaker of the two, went from one hooper to another as he held a hoop in his hand and tried to knock their hoop so it would fall on the ground. i was so impressed by his determination to drag the hoop from child to child and be part of it all, even if it was a "negative" gesture in my opinion. but to my surprise the response he received from each child was one of laughter and playfulness! of course they preferred to hoop, especially when they were doing a competition, but as he hit their hoop with his, they joked with him, and smiled and laughed. and he did too.
the twins were the youngest, at 4 years old, looking and acting more like 2 year olds, and their older brother who was 7 and a pro at hooping and had also cleverly built a kite for himself within minutes from some sticks and plastic bag and string that was lying on the ground. it was interesting to note that the only teasing that went on, with crying, was between the older brother and his twin younger ones...just typical family sibling pecking order stuff...the oldest were some girls that were now 17 and had moved there 4 years ago. these are children that have parents, but either they are in jail, or too poor to buy food or dress them, or are negligent. one small 3 year old girl occupied herself the entire day, never interacting with anyone. never speaking. her parents had left her and a younger brother alone in the forest everyday and gone off to work...so she gotten used to being alone and independent.
midday a small old man and woman walked up the path and entered the courtyard. it was the twins' grandfather and step grandmother. they didn't speak, just smiled. he walked barefoot with a wooden stick in his huge ape-like hands, had a smile on his brown weathered face the entire time, his wife carried on her head a big bamboo basket filled with bananas, taro roots and some kind of green fruit. these were the fruits of their land up in the mountain forest some 2 hours away by foot. they would come visit once or twice a year and bring some food. a small portion of raw rice was given to them in return. as they sat on the ground the grandfather tried to kiss his grandson, who was laying on the floor drawing, on the ear several times. it looked just like the way monkeys play together, just kind of crawling over each other and giggling and pushing and then trying again. no words were spoken. the teeth and lips of the old man were burgundy color from the plant that he chews in order to brush his teeth with. after about 30 minutes they left and began their 2 hour walk back up the mountain to the forest where they live.
meanwhile, i drew a mandala birthday card for mahesh who was 13 yesterday, taught them the hebrew song "how good it is to sit together friends" ("heany mah tov ooo mah naiyim"), an english lesson about color using their clothing and what color they would like to paint the walls of their bedroom if they had one, a qigong lesson, the song Kumbuya, and a load of hooping moves.
i was wiped out! the kids were fantastic. i just haven't been around people intensively for years, and i saw that i don't have the energy for it. they loved doing everything i had to offer and participated joyfully and successfully. it was so touching to see how thoughtful and helpful they were towards each other. how everything was done without complaining, and done together. how independent they were. one 14 year old was suddenly climbing up the side of the tree trunk to cut down on of the huge jackfruits that was ripe. they took turns riding the little ones on bicycles that only had one good tire, the back one being torn to pieces. it didn't matter to anyone. with 8 hoops and 15 kids, there was never a word of arguing or crying that someone didn't get a hoop...the ice cream man came and went, without them buying anything, since they don't have pocket money for it. food was eaten freely whenever they felt like it, which was nice to see and realize what a luxury that was; fruits, milk, hot cooked tasty meals,
after lunch some of them were sitting around, singing songs together. didi, the founder and housemother, suggested we go for a walk in the area. the 4 older boys led the way, while the older girls put the twins that are too weak to take a walk, on a motorbike with them so they could be part of the outing. i am not sure what happened but in the end it was just me and the 4 boys aged 9-13. they were so sweet. during the english lesson they spoke excellent english, but as we walked along we did not speak verbally...but communicated with eyes, sign language, and smiles. the terraced rice fields and large surrounding mountains and blue sky were a national geographic cover photo. i felt like i had to keep pinching myself that i am really in a place like this, alive, and with these children, today.
we walked along a pock holed narrow road among the bright green fields with corn and hot pepper plants making natural borders to the fields. little shacks with tin roofs amongst the ripe rice stalks and a farmer here and there, made everything look idyllic. luckily it was afternoon and the heat of the day was ending and the farmers could work again, after their siesta in the fields. whoever passed me on a motorbike seemed to have an even bigger smile and sparkling eyes than i am used to in my village. i wondered if it is because they work the land, or because they never see foreigners, or if farmers are just an even more smiling sector of bali. even though everyone seemed very poor, and the small houses really were made from palm leaves because that is all they have, there was rich beauty in the surroundings. the fields and trees and crops looked healthy and were well cared for and there was a sparkle in the air.
after passing some temples, and mooing cows, carpenters, barber, and small shops and with narrow canals of running water, we reached a small bridge. beneath was a rocky stream. i charaded "jumping into the water" and the youngest shook his head in agreement and pointed to a narrow dirt path. he and i went that way, while the other 3 decided to have some fun with us and take a sidetrack. we arrived at a small dam like stone structure with water cascading down it and a small pool of water that we could jump into. the water was cold, we were hot, and the boys had undressed and jumped in within seconds. i hesitated...maybe i will be cold? maybe i will slip? so i just took off my sarong and sat with my feet in the water and watched them. it was such a pleasure; young happy, strong, adventurous independent children! i was the only adult, with no authority or even language skills, and they were taking full responsibility for our hike. typical boys; jumping from rocks, doing somersaults in the water, dunking each other, trying to initiate the youngest one to not be afraid and dare to swim,..there was such a healthy alive spirit to them. children that see their mother or father once a year, that live without any male figure, and that sing and hug each other as they walk along the path, as i watched them laughing and enjoying themselves so much i asked myself where my joyful child is? will i regret having just sat here instead of cooling off with a dunk in the cold stream too? yes. so i jumped in and it was lovely.
i personally enjoy a waterfall, and i thought i would try and sink down to my neck underneath a cluster of rocks that were in the middle of the stone wall, and had a little crevice where water was rushing down. as i began to, i saw that all 4 boys were looking at me with bulging eyes and started to make polite gestures that i not do it. the youngest of them pantomimed horns and claws and a scary face! i realized that they were telling me that this is a no-no and that it is where the demon lives...i immediately felt spooky and quickly tried to get out of there as fast as i could. again they pantomimed demon, and decided it was time to get dressed and get out of there. when i stood opposite it from where they were sitting, i could make out a black face with big white eyeballs inside the crevice...the boogey man! i knew him from my childhood!
as we walked back in our wet clothes, we enjoyed the warm breeze and late afternoon sun. the villagers were passing us on motorbikes with towels on their shoulders, as they headed to the stream for their daily bath at the end of the day. we stopped by some small bushes that had pearl like fruits on it and they busily picked them and filled their pockets and explained to me that they will make necklaces from them. once we returned from their sunday outing, they were all back hooping again. didi suggested i stay a few days, teach them english, whatever. i knew that it was too much for me. i had fallen in love with the children, with their strong independent loving spirits, but i needed the sea, and lots of alone time and tall trees, and not rice fields.as i watched them with the hoops, so happy and creative, i realized that they deserve to have them. i had made a side trip in the village to see if they had material i could make hoops for them, but they do not have any. so, after sitting there watching them hooping with such spirit, i decided to leave them my hoops to practice with and i will come again in a few weeks to teach them some more.
we sang 'happy birthday" to mahesh, and i said farewell to each of them. augustus, the 7 year old brother of the twins, was the first to say goodbye to me, he is as big as a 4 year old, but so handsome and centered in his body. he put out his hand to shake hands with me, and as i did, he lowered his forehead to touch my hand with his, in respect. he was like a prince. the son of a thief that has run away to java and a mother that left them when they were babies. another girl had tears in her eyes and asked if i was leaving. the others smiled and warmly shook my hand. didi loaded me down with a gift of fruits and vegetables. the oldest girl drove me back through the steep winding village roads to my village. we passed another village where villagers were walking back uphill, wet from their daily bath in the stream a few kilometers away. there is peace and beauty here in spite of the hard lifestyle. the people seem content and in harmony with their surroundings. and these lovely children showed me how strong the spirit inside them is.
No comments:
Post a Comment