Culture Shock and Floor Exercises

Every year Jubilee is given several rows of discounted tickets to go see a UGA gymnastics meet at their pretty-huge stadium in Athens and this year was no exception. This year any of the volunteers, novices, partners or folks from the Welcome Center (the refugee families) could come along to see Georgia compete against Florida – and what a crew we were! All in all it ended up being about 44 of us arriving in 2 15-passenger vans, 2 mini vans and a car or two. We poured out onto the sidewalk, grabbed the hands of the little ones closest to us and all herded ourselves into the stadium. Somehow we managed to assemble ourselves into 3 solid rows and the show began with fireworks, cheerleaders and lots of people wearing pink (to remember those who have had breast cancer).

It was amazing to observe all of this through the eyes of the refugees. The Muslim women arrived as they always do: wearing lovely head scarves, ankle length skirts, high-necked dresses and long sleeves. They must be used to how Americans sometimes dress or perhaps they were just incredibly polite as they watched the talented gymnasts on the big screens as they did cartwheels and jumps and rolls and swings wearing only their leotards. Some of them bought five-dollar bags of cotton candy. Others just watched with wide, wide eyes. Still others laughed as the younger kids in the group went back and forth to us adults as concerns and needs arose: “I need to go to the bathroom” or “I’m thirsty” or “I’m hungry” or “I want one of those pom-pom things. Can we go get one? Pleeeeeeeze? Just one little one?”

So we sat and watched and laughed and clapped together and all felt a little bit like couch potatoes watching these athletes at work. By the end of the event, almost all the kids had ventured downstairs for one of their very own pink pom-pom things and were waving them gleefully to whatever seemed exciting. Just about everyone looked a little shell-shocked and over-stimulated but pretty happy with the adventure, nonetheless. The kids talked about how they wanted to be gymnasts when they grew up, the parents were relieved to have everyone out and back in the vans safe and sound, and the rest of us were plumb tuckered out. And so we gathered everyone together and rolled out of the parking lot at the end of the afternoon in our caravan of vehicles to head back for home and a little supper. What an afternoon indeed!