The Story You didn't Hear
The Story You Didn’t Hear “Mama Thandi, I have to go to my meeting. We will have to talk about this later.” Voices were raised and I felt my anxiety rise as I spoke. “How dare you ask me where I was? I found someone to cover my class.” Mama Thandi, one of the Mamas at the South African AIDS orphanage where I was volunteering, asked in her normal, loud manner. ‘Mama’ is used for an older woman as a term of respect. The children called me Mama Deet. “Well, that person didn’t show up, so I had to teach your class. It’s not a big deal, but in the future if you’re not going to be here, I just need to know.” I responded, trying to bring the conversation to a close. Mama Thandi was a large woman, both in physical size and in personality. I had worked with her for seven months, and for most of that time I had felt intimidated and uncomfortable around her. Wanting to move away from her, I walked to the small staff room to print some papers for my meeting. She followed me,