My work with Themba is finished, at least for the time being...they seem very interested in having me back, which I would love. They now have a rough draft of a new play, and hopefully some new exercises and ideas...I certainly do.
We had a little party this afternoon to say goodbye to me and to their training manager, Thecla, who has to go back to her native Zimbabwe to start the work permit process all over again, her papers not having gone through...the situation there is very difficult, skyrocketing inflation and for many people, little hope for electoral change because, despite having two challengers, president Robert Mugabe will probably steal the elections in April.
At the party we did a closing exercise where Thecla and I sat in chairs, and each person at Themba came up to us one at a time and confidentially, in our ear, shared with us what they wanted to thank us for. It was a very moving way to end my time here...I received so many kind words about what people had learned, but also what people appreciated...one person said to me, "you know that in this country we have a legacy of apartheid, which was created and perpetuated by white people, but I want you to know that you are a white person who doesn't see us as black, you respect each and every one of us as people, you respect our beliefs and opinions without judging, and I thank you for that." I am definitely feeling a sense of sadness and loss--the opportunity I have had is so precious to me, and now I am no longer anchored to a community of people here...I have to hold what this trip has meant to me very close, so that I don't lose it when I return to the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment