By Robert Leipertz

When Mr.Alter said we were going to a soccer game, the last thing I was expecting was dancing in the first half and to be at the top of the stands playing drums in the second. I was expecting it to be like sporting events that I have been to in the past – you’re your own bubble in the stands and you just talk to those you go with.  Here, it was totally the opposite.  It was impossible not to be part of the community at the game.  The first thing I noticed when stepping out of the van was the loud, intense atmosphere. We walked out of the vans and were immediately greeted  by the directer of the team’s social media.  After saying hi, we walked into the stadium. As soon as we walk up the steps there are people synchronized dancing.  The floor of the stadium was shaking to the rhythm.  This was something that really stood out to me, not because some people were dancing, but because when we were all dancing. If one of us couldn’t get the dance right, there would be someone there to support and show how to do it and be there until you could do it correctly.  

You could truly tell that people were there to support not only the team itself but each other.  This sight was something that really stood out to me.  But it also reminded me of big ideas we’ve been talking about and observing this entire trip.

Here, responsibility is given to people of all ages.  Even little kids are willing to help.  It isn’t only 18 year olds – it’s genuinely like 6 year olds who made sure everyone is OK.  When we were doing a walking tour of the village, we went from the school to the mosque.  It felt like everyone we passed was trying to help.  Everyone in the group had at least one kid holding their hand.  The kids were trying to make sure people felt comfortable and knew how to make it to the mosque.  They wanted us to feel like we had someone there for us.

Normally back home, the adults or older kids are the ones who work to make the younger kids feel more comfortable.  Little kids aren’t given the responsibility.  I think here the people want to give the kids the opportunity to help others and to learn the social lessons.  They want it to be about teaching how to be part of a community and to learn how to have your own role.  It made me feel like I was part of the community.  Walking with the kids, I felt like I had been there for my whole life.  I didn’t know the names of the kids who were showing me around, but I felt part of their group.  This opened my eyes more, allowing me to really see where they’re from.  Not just the place, but the culture and the context.  It really is a different life than us – not because they have less stuff, but because they live in a totally different way.

I hope after seeing these things on this trip this will inspire me more to bring the people around me into my own group and into my own spaces in different situations.  I got to see things because of the community and the kindness here that I would have never seen otherwise.  In the end people need to support each other in a community to have a healthy and strong community. And we should all be paying attention to if we are bringing each other up and helping each other reach their goals.  

The culture opened my eyes.  Now it is up to me to try to keep my eyes open, to keep what I have learned from the people here in mind.