Day 649: Children

Last night, on a wonderfully near-empty plane from South America, I slept well. The only hiccup was when I had some kind of deeply emotional dream in which I was reuniting with some of the Kenyan kids. I woke up, my face wet with tears. If this all sounds a bit over the top, suffice it to say I haven't been sleeping much.

Today, I'm in the beautiful Chicago airport, waiting to go to Amsterdam to then go to Nairobi. Most recently, I just got up from sleeping on the floor of the airport to wander around and get food. The floor had become too cold, and I was desperate for a burrito.

I chose my seat at the food court based on where the cutest children were, and I believe I lucked out. Sitting next to some adorable English-speaking children (many American children speak English, it turns out), I asked if they were twins.

The boy (6) answered for his sister (4): "No. She's a girl and I'm a boy!"

Indeed.

Now we've proceeded onto an ever better conversation, in which the boy keeps asking, again and again, if we are in Chicago.

"Are we in Chicago?" ("We are," the father explains. "This is where Mr. Nick lives. You remember Mr. Nick?" The boy looks blankly, apparently without memory of Mr. Nick.)

"Are there schools in Chicago?" the boy asks. ("Yes, there are schools everywhere," the father answers.)

"Do we have to go to school here?" the boy asks. ("No, we're on vacation," says said father.)

Indeed.

2 comments:

Shifting Sands said...

Well, I envy you for being able to travel so much, me don't have time now and as for the boy, he reminds of just how my boy talks who is 5...

Macie said...

It is as if Chicago is a foreign country!

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