A Notable Absence

I miss the singing. Of the orphanage girls, that is.

If I had to characterize my eight weeks at the orphanage, I would use the phrase "song-filled". The girls sang as they worked. The girls sang as they walked to class. The girls sang at the daily praise and worship service. The girls sang all the time.

Sometimes they sang popular songs, especially the doo wop standards that Sarah and Betsy had taught them, but most of the time they sang worship songs. Although they sang some of these songs in English, most of the songs they sang were sung in Kiswahili. Often one girl would start a song only to be joined by her sisters singing harmonies.

It is different in Newmarket. I don't hear anyone singing as I go down the hall of my apartment. I don't witness people singing in harmonies as I stand in the line at the bank. All that I hear is the sound of people chattering on cell phones while soulless music blares from shopping mall sound systems.