Happy To Wait

Among The Privileged


I was looking for my pen when I was at the embassy clubhouse, Villa Washington, until it fell from between the sofa cushions when I leaned forward to reach for a book on the table. After an hour of searching, all I had to do was lean slowly forward. There it was at my feet. Voila le stylo!

I had some difficulty passing through security today at Villa Washington, and I thought of Pema Chödrön’s words when I was frustrated because my embassy badge didn’t do the magic trick I had come to expect. Nobody- and I mean nobody- was there. The courtyard, exercise room, kitchen, and television room were all dead silent while the two security guards suspiciously eyed me and my two plastic sacks of dirty laundry wondering if I was capable of masterminding evil deeds of sabotage and destruction.

“I am exhausted after lugging my laundry and backpack up this hill in the rain. Why won’t they let me into the clubhouse?” were two questions screaming madly inside my head.

Instead of openly expressing my frustration at this curious but unyielding greeting, I opened my umbrella and stepped away from the situation, breathing deeply with my back to the guards. In my retreat of self-awareness, I acknowledged that I am accustomed to a life of privilege. To be denied access to a facility that I was certain I was entitled to enjoy caused emotions to bubble to the surface. When I recalled the long line of Congolese students, each one waiting patiently to individually pass through the guard house and relinquish his or her personal possessions in order to attend English club, I checked my thoughts and told the guard I understood the policies he must follow.

I was happy to wait.

End Note: Once inside, I re-hydrated myself from the embassy-approved filtered water source in the clubhouse kitchen. I must have used the bathroom 5 to 8 times in one afternoon. And, I filled up my three one-liter plastic water bottles for liquid refreshment while in my room. If you haven’t guessed, the tap water in Brazza is not potable.