I spent my morning and afternoon at the beach in Samfya. It was glorious. The sand willingly gave up its warmth to my thirsty skin that I had planted deep below the surface. The sun offered its light, and kissed my shoulders until they became a crimson pink. I sat in the sand that was littered with shells. A burial ground to hundreds of hidden fish dried by the sun’s incessant heat. Although, I didn’t realize I stood on sacred ground until it was too late, but more on that later.
As I sat with my sunglasses on and toes buried in the sand, the children flocked to me. First the boys, unabashed and smiling. Then the girls, a little timid, but with curious and determined eyes. I gave the girls permission to braid my hair. I watched their nimble fingers come to life and shared a sweet moment when I was asked to braid their’s as well.
We all sat in a circle and I poured sand and shells through their opened hands. I slowly repeated the names of objects in iciBemba. Each word was followed by laughs at my endless mispronunciation. “Majunga, wait no I mean machungu, or was it machungo?” After, we crowned one another with shells atop our heads. We were fellow rulers in our land of misspoken words and shared confusion.
After the failed language lesson, I watched one boy run with great resolve from the water. Immediately he plunged his wet face into the white sand and returned to us half warrior, half majungu, depending on your perspective.
show off that bikini body
First things first You got it going on
The smile on your face really gets me lost
The world ain’t prison girl be free
I’m just saying you should show off that bikini body
While we were sitting watching the waves, I was forced to wrestle with a few of my insecurities.The young girls slapped the soft and pliable flesh of my lower back and hips. For a split second, I was tempted to buy into the lie that shot across my mind. I wondered if those areas of my body could ever be considered beautiful. I had the urge to cover my skin and hide my fat in fear of offending others.
It was ridiculous, and yet it consumed me for a few seconds, maybe even moments. Then I let Dawin’s song Bikini Body, fill my mind as I reckoned with how I felt about my own shape and beauty. I took a deep breath and remembered “the world ain’t prison,” and I decided to be free. At least for that afternoon.
I smiled softly and patted the same spot on the girls, acknowledging a secret truth. One day, these small girls with their edges and straight lines, would transform into women. Women with bodies that share similar curves and soft lines like mine. Bodies that tell the story of a life well-lived by confident, capable and beautiful women. I let go. Instead of feeding into my feelings of inadequacy at modern beauty ideals, I continued to enjoy the warm sand on my skin. I relished in the company of the children and the whole glorious moment.
A Thunderstorm of fish
I wish I could say the day ended with just as much poetic justice. But reality was quite the contrary. The day ended in a rain storm of dead fish falling from the sky. Yes, once those angelic children discovered my extreme aversion to dead fish, they morphed into the enemy. I their prisoner of war. A few children began the attack by sneakily rubbing small fish on my feet. After that elicited pure terror, the attacks escalated. Each and every child found an unholy delight in launching the small fish up into the sky in the hopes of landing it anywhere on or near me.
One particularly innovative child managed to obtain a fish that seemed to have just crossed the line from life into death. Thankfully he took mercy on me by not launching it at me. Eventually, he settled for just holding it threateningly in the air all the while wearing a devious grin.
Finally, a teenager named Gift offered a peace flag. He gave me the gift of freedom as he commanded the armies to cease fire. Once the cease fire was in order, I took the opportunity to say goodbye to the children who were simultaneously my friends and enemies. I ran straight for the car and eventually a beer. After all that, I figured I deserved one, or maybe seven!
Based off original post found here.