I stepped outside of our courtyard gate to set up my easel and begin painting. It took me a couple moments to work through the putrid stench of trash, but I was determined to paint outside of our four walls, instead of down the road at a local boutique. It didn’t take long for lots of familiar little brown eyes to be staring, and their bright little faces brought them the motivation that I lacked. Some teenage girls that live nearby kept coming and asking if I was okay in the sun, to which I jokingly replied that I wanted to be black like them. After only a few moments of sitting, a herd of cows decided that it was time to pass by.. And I must say, there is nothing quite as alarming as Misi Belibeli ba. You learn to love the little “Surprises” that Africa always has to give. While trying to keep my cool around the gigantic beasts, a young man came and sat down beside me. Alu is from Gambia, and surprisingly enough he spoke English. We carried on conversation for the entire time that I was painting, so it only seemed right that he receive the painting when I finished. The cool part about giving it to him was that because he spoke English, I got to explain that El Roi means The God who see’s me. I‘m so thankful for privileges that continue to arise. Why worry about tomorrow, when we can eat to our content on the promises today?
