silence

It is quieter now.
Or perhaps I have settled a little.
The same work feels more joyful and the connections more concrete.
Still straddling the line between observing and engaging- learning more and more every day.
I have been thinking a lot about silence.
What does it mean to be silent? To be silenced?
How is silence an integral and essential part of having a voice?

There was an earthquake last night. Nothing big, just a little trembling of the earth. Everyone was outside drumming and dancing and as the ground began to shake the singing turned into yells, and then, silence. For one moment, even the crickets were silent. And then laughter. The croak of a frog. The hum of the generator. Business as usual.

Today is Saturday, a day of rest for this Jewish girl.
I have offered to cook dinner for the nuns (mostly because I am sick of potatoes and goat every night) so I am headed to the market.

Love.