Today it was time for a little adventure.
After almost two full days in the Catholic mission, I was afraid the troops were getting restless, so I packed us up and we forayed out into the wild world to find the ice cream shop! Aissa put on her best dress, at which point everyone exclaimed “Oh, she’s a girl!?”. With her shaved head and lack of earrings, the clothes make all the difference. When I asked Jean if he wanted to go “out” he looked up with excitement “Out?” he asked, and promptly changed into his good clothes as well.
We then set off, weaving between scores of parked cars, dodging traffic as I breathed prayers for God’s protection. We had to cross four busy streets, but the traffic seemed to open up for us, and Aissa allowed me to hold her hand. I ushered them into the air-conditioned, sleek black and silver interior of the ice cream parlor and we marched up to the counter.
So many choices! For someone who had never even tasted ice cream, deciding between tiramisu or pistachio was a little tough. We went with an old standby, chocolate and sat down to enjoy. The staff was aware that it was the first time for Jean and Aissa to taste ice cream, so they gave us a discount.
The flat screen TV on the wall was playing Charlie Chaplain. Apparently Aissa is a huge fan, she was so enthralled with his antics that she forgot to eat her ice cream! Charlie beat out ice cream, imagine that… Jean and I both laughed at her open-mouthed stare as she sat, enraptured by the show. We hit a little rough spot when the princess was asked to share her water, but after polishing off our scoops, we cleaned up to return to the mission.
The traffic on the way back was thicker, and it was quite difficult to cross the street. I made it with Aissa in tow, but Jean had to wait on the other side for an opportunity. Aissa then became antsy and pulled away from my hand, leaning toward the traffic. I grabbed her dress and held on, she squirmed and whined, but she had met her match with me. After all, God didn’t save her life to let her get hit by a car!
Jean finally made his way over and she allowed me to pick her up. I carried her bulk and Jean carried her shoes, my camera and water bottle and we arrived safely at our destination.
That’s enough adventure for one day, I’m ready for a nap.
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