I came to my exam this morning and asked my classmate who was in a daze, "Are you going through all your notes in your head?" He said no..."I was thinking about my family. My mom is sick. She had an operation, but it was a disaster. I'm worried."
*You never know what someone is dealing with at any given moment.
He is from Ethiopia. That's where his mom is. His dad died suddenly a few years ago, shattering his world. He and his wife have tried to get his mom to Canada, but the government keeps refusing her entry. She's old. She has no marketable skills. They don't have a lot of money. And she's from Africa. You couldn't find a worse candidate....statistically speaking.
He was saying that the problem is "there are no doctors. There is no health care. There is no medicine, there are no facilities...there's nothing to be done. In my country, when someone gets sick, mostly they die. It's not like that in Canada."
She's so far away; I think he's very worried that she'll die before he can go see her.
He's had such a rough time over the 2 years of this program, and he's such a nice person. Never complains...
I sent him an email today... I felt kind of uncertain sending it. I didn't know how the tone would come off. I just wanted to give him an "email hug"...just let him know he's in my thoughts. I almost deleted the email, and then I remembered something I'd read once:
*Never be afraid to show someone you care.
I'm glad I sent the email. He emailed back. He sounded very greatful. He's such a good person... I want to say, poor him, and how sad for his family. But the truth is, he's luckier than most in his country...and all the neighbouring countries.
I used to think about these things more. I'm not very happy with my self-absorption lately.
