Meet Bobby

Meet Bobby....

Bobby is the six year old son of my landlord and landlady.  My site mate and I live in the same compound and when she first moved in (I moved in months later) Bobby was actually a bit afraid of her.  He was about five at the time and probably had never seen a white person before.

But about a year later (now with me having lived in the compound for about six months), he has completely changed!  He is very comfortable with both of us.  He knows our names.  When we say hello to him and ask him how he is doing, he has no problems responding.  In fact, he will come over and sit with us when we are doing something.  If I leave my door open, Bobby will even come over and hang out with me.  He will ask to take pictures on my camera and sometimes will have me play some of my music or a movie for him.  Sometimes he will pick things up and ask me what they are in English and/or Amharic.

This can be great for me because it gives me the chance to practice my Amharic and even learn some new words from him.  I learn a lot from this kid (even if I don't realize I am learning something from him) and I honestly think he helps me grow as a person and improve things like my patience and flexibility.  

As a side note:  I think that my landlord and landlady might like me even more because I hang out with Bobby.

A little bit more about Bobby:

He is a very energetic kid who is curious about everything.  Despite living in Oromia (regional language Oromifa), he is speaks Amharic.  I am not sure if he is learning any Oromifa or not.  As I mentioned above, he is six years old.  He is attending one of the primary schools in town (I am guessing this is his first or second year of school based on his age).  He has two older brothers and an older sister, all of whom attend school in Addis Ababa.  Based off of this, I am guessing Bobby's parents will also be sending him to school in Addis Ababa as soon as he is old enough to go.  I honestly hope that this will happen after I am done with my service because it is really nice to have a kid running around the compound.  

I am really jealous of all those volunteers that have a ton of kids on their compounds to play with and those who have people on their compound who are in secondary school and/or are around their age and are able to become friends with them.  But hey, it is still fun to have Bobby living on the compound.  It can be so fun running around and kicking the soccer ball around with him.  

It is amazing how much you can learn about the kids in Ethiopia (I am sure other volunteers, even those serving in other countries could agree in regards to the kids in their countries).  You can learn so much about what their lives are like at home, school, etc.  I learn something every day.  Some kids can stress me out so much and others can help me to de-stress with their energy and curiosity.

I am grateful to have Bobby living on my compound because, despite how frustrated I can get with him always picking things up in my room and asking about them, he is ultimately a great kid who has taught me so much.

A couple more pictures of bobby: