Mopping & Memories

I just finished mopping the floors, something I don't do nearly as often as I probably should by the way!  It's funny how I always dread doing it, but as soon as I get started and crank up some South African jazz music, I go into a zone and I ALWAYS think of the same thing, a memory that never leaves me whenever I'm mopping...  I think back to a friend of mine from Zimbabwe, who I met in South Africa, Charity.  She is my age and we went to Bible School together for 2 years and were roommates for one of those years.  Charity changed my life in many ways....  Through her I began to understand the culture and the mindsets of the people there.  She taught me so much just by being herself and I never realized just how much she did this until just now, as I'm writing this!

The memory I always recall when I'm mopping happened at the very beginning of Bible School.  We all had duties, or chores, and mine at that time was to mop the floors.  One day as I set out to do my duty, Charity followed me and sat by and watched me as I began to mop.  She had a huge smile on her face as she sat down to watch me and I could tell she was quite amused by me.  I asked her what was so funny and she told me that she had never in her life seen a white person - let alone an American - mop floors before and that this ought to be good!  I was stunned by her statement - how could she never have seen a white person mop floors before???  I quickly told her that the majority of Americans mop their own floors, which likewise stunned her.  Major culture difference!

Anyways, as Charity watched me work and we talked together, she couldn't help herself but to show me how to do a better, more efficient job!  Ha!  She explained to me that the only way to get the floor well cleaned was to get on my hands and knees.  Ummmm, no thanks was my first thought!  But she was right, of course, a mop just doesn't always cut it.  Thanks Charity for giving this lazy American some good advice!  That day we peeked into each others lives a little further than before.  For her, I believe a stereo-type of Americans was being broken.  For me, a deeper understanding of her and where she was coming from was taking shape.  Africa.... I have so many wonderful memories of you.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of you!