lost in translation.

this is just a small sample of my favorites:

- a kid told me that there was no school today because "the mouses" were taking over the school. later that day this Dutch lady was talking about how tragic it was that all the schools in the valley were just down this week. i said, "right, because of the rats." didn't get much of a response from her. turns out it was actually because of "the maoists" reaking havoc. right, the schools were shut down because the ever-threatening-communist-mountain-rebels, not because the pocket-size-mean-furry varmints were infiltrating all the schools in the valley, right.

- same day a friend was telling me his life story. he was telling me how he grew up in a nomadic mountain tribe. he said his family followed the cows around and took care of them. "how do you call that?" he asked. i said, "hmm?" he said, "you know, like a shepherd to the cows." i said, "yeah, like a cow shepherd." he continued on with the story. a few minutes later it dawned on me. oh, right, a cowboy. we have a name for that, we call it a cowboy. i was born and raised 45 minutes from Dallas, Texas and i forgot the word "cowboy."

- i asked the little boy in my host family what he wanted for his birthday. i heard "paints." i was immediately affirming this idea. yes, art, of course, that is the perfect gift for a kid. he may have unrealized gifts and just so much that he wants to express. he said, "no, pants." the kid needs new pants. right, art is a luxury to the poor. it is foreign to kids in this neighborhood. we must clothe them before they can paint us a picture.

- in the hospital with my dear friend, Raju, i hear him say, "i need peace." i put my hand on his shoulder, affirming him, "ok, you need peace, like in your heart, you want peace on the inside?" he said, "no, i need piss, i need to piss."


yeah, life's not about being understood. it's about having people around, communicating, listening, often misunderstanding, but always loving.