Day 8- Sippo Island- wrestling match

The boat trip to the island today was serene. This village sustains itself through fishing and the visitors that come. What I find fascinating is that they still value education and have school for their children. There is no electricity and they make do with what they have. They have taught their children not to beg but to earn their money. Tonight we go to a wrestling match but for now, we are finally enjoying some down time by the pool! There are no words for what we experienced at the wrestling match. It it so far from American wrestling and the "show" we put on. These men were wrestling for 2 bags of rice for their families. The video and pictures that are forthcoming will tell a better story. Each man prayed before wrestling and wrote their prayer in the sand. They drew a 5 pointed star and at each star they pinched the dirt and each point represented a verse of the Koran. The expression of our faith is so different between the religions. In Christianity, we are always reminded to pray and show our faith and be in constant prayer. In Islam, it is so very visible. They show their faith in all that they do. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to have been immersed in such a rich culture. For some reason it doesn't feel foreign to me. I quickly have become very comfortable with my surroundings. The only thing that I haven't gotten use to are the enormouse bugs (pictures to follow)!