I was reminded this week of something that happened while we were in French Language School in Quebec, Canada in 2009-2010 before heading to Africa. We had just arrived and were getting settled into our apartment for the school year when the power went out in our building. Since all of our candles and flashlights were still mostly packed, we turned on a small flashlight that Rodney had on his key ring and tried to locate a larger source of light, not knowing how long the power might be off. Just then, there was a knock at our door. We didn't know a soul in the apartment building so I didn't know who would be coming to our door. I opened the door and the woman from across the hall was standing there with a lit candle in her hand. She spoke only French and I spoke only English at that point, but through hand gestures I figured out that she had brought us this candle and wanted us to keep it until the power came back on. I think I managed a nod and a smile as she went back ...
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