In the company of wolves

Little Cheeks, Little Teeth - everything around me is... Little!

They were exhausting, but they transformed the atmosphere in the hotel so significantly that if they were staying on this project with us in Wako-Kungo instead of in Luanda I think things could have been very different.



They stayed for two nights – it felt like at least a week! The Luanda manager’s five daughters, including two sets of twins (!!) – Shy, Ronnie, Gal, Yuval and Aviv – and his friend’s two daughters – Amit and Ori – came to visit Wako-Kungo for the weekend.





They wreaked havoc, swung from door-handles, picked up the cat, broke things, carried the cat, put down the cat, ate all my sweets, picked up the cat again – drove us to drink on both nights – but left the hotel a warmer, softer, calmer place to be.





With a community of families, instead of a community of bloated egos, this could have been a very different experience: effects which would have transformed not just our living environment, but the project as a whole.

I can remember when Yosi’s 10-year-old son Nevo stayed for part of the summer in 2004. He cracked the house apart, injected energy, made everything feel different. A world cannot be whole until it is filled with people of all ages: everyone is necessary – no-one is more important than anyone else – though all these over-stuffed, inflated egos – all inhabiting the same place in time – will tell you otherwise – they’ll lecture, boast and rant at you about their uniquely indispensable position in the world.



Having said that, 7 girls all between the ages of 2 and 10, in one intensive go was knackering! Eran, me, Liad and Noa survived the only respectable way: by drinking ourselves into a stupor both nights! They were fun to have around, but I was rapidly transforming into Miss Hannigan by the end of the weekend…



angola
africa
driven to drink
miss hannigan
annie
little girls
Turbo Tagger