I’m going to write about this amazing little girl named Debi. Her full name is Debora (our version is Deborah, pronounced a bit differently), and her nicknames are Deborka and Debi. I like to call her Debi. She is SO. CUTE. And I’m pretty sure she’s the sweetest 5-year old I’ve ever met. She is so smiley, so loving, and kind-spirited. She has this wide smile with a big gap in the front where she lost her teeth, and little baby teeth poking out on each side. Cute! Debi is Ada's (the pastor’s wife) niece. She has a twin sister, and Debi is the younger of her two daughters.
In late-May, I had the AWESOME opportunity to go to the circus!! The CIRCUS!! I don’t know why I find this so crazy exciting, but I do! My host sisters had mentioned it a few weeks earlier that they could get discounted tickets, and that maybe we would go. MAYBE?! Let’s go!! What a great cultural experience…the circus! I’ve only been to a circus one other time in my life, and that was the Shrine Circus in 4th grade. I remember having a pretty great time there too, but most of what I remember is the glow stick necklaces whipping through my dark surroundings, and the Shrine Circus sippy souvenir cup I got (which I still have, by the way…that thing has an amazing lifespan). Anyways, I was quite excited for a foreign circus experience, but mostly just excited for the circus in general. Because who doesn’t love the circus?
I was even more excited when I found out that I was going with my sisters AND Debi and Sara! We get to go to the circus, and get to hang out with cute kids at the circus! I’d met Debi before, and knew who she was, but hadn’t really gotten a chance to hang out with her. She immediately yelled, “Ashley!” and grabbed for my hand, and started talking about her new jumper shirt that she was excited about wearing. Her and Sara both grabbed my hands, which made me feel pretty special! They both know Katka and Janka much better, and they can actually talk with them, so their excitement in seeing and hanging out with me felt pretty great. They wanted to sit by me on the bus and we spent the whole bus ride talking about which animal words they knew in English, and they knew quite a few. Horse was their favorite, and we spent a bit practicing how to say that, and I practiced in Slovak too; “kon.”
The circus was set up in a big open field, blocked off by red trucks that said, “Circus Aleš.” The circus was in an actual circus tent, a pretty decently sized red, white, and blue striped tent! We were standing in line for tickets, and I was bouncing around all wide-eyed, and I think my host sisters thought I was a bit crazy. I was more excited to see the circus than the 4 and 5 year old. Janka told me that last year’s circus had been in Hybe (I was a bit surprised, because Hybe is so small), and that they had taken Sara and Debi then too. Sara had started crying almost instantly because she was scared of the animals, BUT I’m happy to report that she didn’t cry this year! (Although, she looked close for about the first 20 minutes.) Anyways, I had a great time! Such fun, and innocent fun, and TONS of kids everywhere laughing and smiling. We even ran into Marek and Radko (Zuzka’s boys) with their grandpa, and they looked like they were having a lot of fun too.
I think I would’ve had a pretty good time anyway, but watching the circus with Debi on my lap made it that much better! I got to hear and see her reactions to everything, and so many times she turned around with wide eyes to ask me questions. Let me tell you, with the exception of Easter services, I have never wanted to understand or be able to speak decent Slovak more! (I think I’m doing well and improving all the time, but still have SO much to learn.) When I cute little kid at the circus asks you questions, all excited, it’s SO frustrating not to be able to tell her things. I did understand parts of what she said, and a few times I didn’t have to tap Janka on the shoulder (every other time I did, so Janka could answer Debi’s questions). A few times I just nodded along and said, “Yeah? Good!” because I didn’t have the heart to break up her excitement with “Sorry, I don’t understand those words in Slovak.”
Debi really liked the horses and the ponies. The first act was 4 ponies running in circles together, and two of the ponies had monkeys riding them on the back. So funny! We both laughed. They had a dog performance, and this cute gray poodle dog started walking around on his hind legs, and I squealed a bit! Haha! Debi even turned around to laugh at me a bit; she probably thought I was a little crazy. They had ponies, horses, dogs, lamas, camels, snakes, and rabbits. I figured that this circus would have mostly animal tricks and shows, since it was in a tent outside and in a rural area, but they surprisingly had a LOT of gymnasts and acrobat acts! I was impressed. They had gymnasts swinging on ropes, tangling themselves in sheets and hanging from the ceiling in many positions, a girl juggling things with her feet in crazy positions, and they even had a knife thrower! The knife thrower threw knives around his assistant’s body, against a board. I’d never seen this before. (It made me think of the classic “I Love Lucy” episode, where she’s in that position.) It was a bit unsettling though, actually, because the woman assistant at the board looked terrified! She didn’t look calm or collected, and wasn’t really composed, and just looked really nervous. Yikes! I was kind of glad when that part was finished, to be honest. Anyways, the entertainment was really amazing, and they had a lot of it! They had an acrobat team of three younger guys (I would guess mid 20’s), and they were fantastic! They made me nervous too, actually. (I’m thinking more about their safety, rather than how cool it is that the three of them are stacked and balanced on ladders. I think I’m getting old! Hehe.) They did a catapult event even, and they shot one of the guys (who was on STILTS!) into the air backwards, and he landed on a floor pad! Whoa. During intermission Debi and I danced a little bit in the bleachers while we were waiting for the second part, and she told me about how she hates cotton candy.
After the circus we went for ice cream, and then headed back home. Janka, Katka, and I stayed for dinner at the pastor’s house and ate langose with Debi and Sara. Almost all through dinner I made faces at Debi, and she made faces at me, and we tried to imitate each other’s faces, and make weird noises. It was great fun! (Once again, being able to do stupid things with my face pays off.) Our night at the circus is one of the funnest things I’ve done this year in Slovakia, hands down.
The next night, while I was at the parsonage for a Dorast youth group meeting, and the youth group was sitting outside in a big circle. We had finished the Bible study and were just talking, hanging out, and I noticed that Debi had come out of the house. Almost everyone was engrossed in conversation (in Slovak, so I really wasn’t too engrossed), and Debi was just standing on the side of the circle with a scared and intimidated look on her face. She didn’t know almost anyone there (she doesn’t live in or near Hybe), and there were so many people, and I think she felt overwhelmed. After a minute I caught her glance and motioned for her to come over by me, and her nervous look turned into a huge smile and she started to run over to me. It was so sweet, and I’ll never forget it.
A few days after the circus I learned that Debi is sick, and has a kidney disease, and that she has spent SO many days of her short life in the hospital. A friend told me about her, “She has been in the hospital so MUCH, but she never complains. She just hugs her teddy bear, suffers quietly and takes it like a trooper.” She will probably continue to have health problems throughout her whole life, maybe problems working, or having children, or who knows what else. This just breaks my heart, and I wish such a young, sweet kid didn’t have to suffer. Does God have a reason for this? I don’t know. But it’s situations like this that are so confusing, and make me wonder that exact question. My prayer request this time is that you prayer for Debi to be healthy, safe, and happy! She deserves it.
Pictures (from top to bottom): Debi (blonde hair) and Sara at the circus, the outside of the Circus Ales, the inside of the circus tent, my host sisters (Janka on the left, Katka on the right), Debi, and Sara, after the circus and ice cream.
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