TGIF

 A new volunteer arrived last night named Kerin, Erin with a K is how she introduced herself. Great girl from South Carolina and she is leaving the same day we are, which I couldn't tell you when that is if I tried. However, we made it through our first teaching week, barely. Thank God for dance party Fridays! We ate the Alcindor special breakfast. While making lunch we pestered him to help us write down all the Creole phrases he has taught us so far. Of course I misspelled all of them and used the French spelling, so Alcindor took it upon himself to write them in my little notebook. After our "lesson" we fed the sweet ones and moved them down to the porch for the weekly dance party. We danced our skin off and swung kids around! We played and laughed and chanted and mumbled. It definitely is one dance party for the record books, gives Wendy's '80's dance party a run for its money. After we busted more than just a move, we played some darts. My team: Ashleigh, Gary, myself, Frank Ely, and KC all won! We won a soda which was so refreshing and didn't taste fake. It used the real sugar! It was so tangy to my mouth that my taste buds had their own dance party. Alcindor to the rescue: dumplings in black bean juice (my favorite), spinach (Ashleigh's favorite), rice (Haiti's favorite), and fish sauce (Alcindor's favorite). We got so much that we had dinner for the night. Living here for just a week has really made me ration my food a lot more. I really appreciate every bit of whatever I am eating. Ashleigh and I are both guilty of being on hands and knees looking for the crumbs of a Snickers bar and of trail mix. Leave no morsel behind. We did our mass feeding and moved onto ball toss and chasing boys out of the "restricted area" (Zel's, the dog, designated pooping patio). We then got ready to do round two of Insanity, PURE CARDIO! Before getting too insane we dished up the dinners, we even got brave and tried it out. Tastes like sugar so we spooned ourselves up some La Boule and saved it for breakfast! Sugar for breakfast will be a nice change of pace. It was about that time for Shawn T to kick our butts into shape. Since we had a new participant, Erin with a K, we had to do our work-out in the living room area. Wasn't bad until we had to do the push-ups. We kinda just sprawled out on the tiles and let the cold, bug covered tile floor cool us off. Thanks for another get sweat bath Shawn T. A nice freezing shower was in our future and goosebumps to go with it. I shaved and I hope that will get rid of my stench but I won't get my hopes up. 

Josephine drumming away

Marhitza and me Mashing Potatos

2 days, 2 perspectives

Day 7 (Wednesday): 

Katie: Welp, today we had a hard time waking up since we both had bizarre dreams. Ashleigh's was frightening and had a talking head in her dream. She told Alcindor this and his response was, "I will pray for you." So sweet! We helped chop up some garlic. In creole, "collie lie" that is phonetically spelled. Lord knows I can't spell English correctly, Ashleigh has been my spell check throughout this trip! We then were surprised with Spaghetti! We were also surprised with fish bones in our spaghetti, my Dad would call the fish bones "roughage" and I call it extra work, to deboning my spaghetti. We did our morning routine of speed feeding. Ashleigh got a nice little surprise after the second bite. She got a spaghetti bath! She walked down the stairs, after finishing feeding of course, with a look of defeat. Too early in the day for this. We did some more praying. It is nice to start off the day with a little religion and  we then took to the porch barrack and did the usual: danced around like monkeys. I held John for most of the day, or should I say he held onto me. He left a little present for me on my shirt, some lip blood. Happens. Ashleigh guarded the large water barrels, which is where we get our bathing/toilet water. One of the boys took it upon himself to spit in them. This is not any only spit, this is regurgitated food that he throws up into in mouth and uses it as mouth wash. So, Ashleigh's defense in basketball was a useful skill today. This little boy didn't like not being able to hawk a loogie into the barrels so he starts to hit Ashleigh in the face and anywhere he could reach. This boy has long arms. Ashleigh got her fair share or bodily fluids by 11 am. We made it to lunch. Our lunch was cornmeal with a side of fish sauce. I opted out of the fish sauce so cornmeal it is. After our "filling" lunch, I fed Sam his lunch and looking into his eyes sweet puppy-dog eyes made we remember why I am here. He put a smile back on my face and make we ready for the rest of my day. I was not very energetic after not eating a lot that day so I tried to get some boys to do the parachute with me. If you are in my generation, you have to remember the parachute from elementary years. The one where everyone would grab a handle and lift it up and down and had to be careful with it not to break the handles. Oh, the good old days. Well, I had a ADHD kid and a child who goes through psychotic phases. Needless to say some handles were ripped within the first 3 seconds. We resorted to some "fotball" (soccer) with an empty water barrel. We heard the dinner bell and ran to feed the children their sugar, flour, water meal. This meal is known and served throughout Haiti. I tried it and it is pure sugar! So of course it takes good but don't do my body good. Ashleigh and I came up with an exercise regime. Well, kinda. Do something athletic after dinner everyday. So today we walked up the street and looked at artwork and found out the Baptist Mission opens on October 4th. This Baptist Mission was recommended to us for a get-away to just be able to hang out and maybe get a burger. My mouth is watering thinking about it. We made it back home and made some dinner. Spaghetti, American style! Ashleigh chopped up an orange pepper, artichoke bottoms, and cherry tomatoes. I took pictures and caught drool from my lips. We threw in some snap peas and waited. We cracked open our Haitian beer, Prestige, and drank. This beer tasted like a Budweiser but in Haiti! The best Bud I have ever consumed. We then ate to our heart's content and I licked my plate clean, literally. We then went upstairs and Ashleigh did her laundry while I fell asleep at 7 pm. She then proceeded to put the clothes out on the line and let the rain give them a second rinse.

Ashleigh: So I’m gonna start with yesterday because I didn't get around to journaling. Yesterday was quite a day! Starting from the beginning, I went to feed Teddy breakfast. On the second bite he coughed his fish juice spaghetti all over my white, clean shirt! Off to a great start! After breakfast I had to go change my shirt. We then went to morning class with our 4 children. This was day 3 of being with the same 4 somewhat Autistic children. By this point, Katie and I are out of ideas and are having troubles keeping them entertained for 3.5 hours each day. None of them are very responsive to anything and the two that do respond, do not follow through with what they are supposed to do. This makes for a very long 3.5 hours. In the process of gathering these children for “class”, John drooled all over my arm. If there is one body fluid I cannot handle, its saliva. Just makes me squirm…and gag. As I tried to ignore the spit sliding down my arm, John and I made it to the classroom. I should mention that our classroom is just a tarp covered patio that we have to barricade off with patio furniture so our children do not escape. We gathered all of the children; Nelio, who is the best escape artist of all, Kelly, who will hold food in his mouth for hours while swallowing and regurgitating it, John, who loves to be held and will squeeze you so tight with his legs around your waist, and Junior, who would just lay in his bed all day if allowed but also likes to be cuddled. Nelio seemed to be in a happy mood, which was good….less escaping. We pulled out the Legos for them to play with along with some bubbles, a battery powered keyboard, balls and other little things to try to keep them entertained. Nelio loves to collect 3 or 4 Legos in his hands and spit into them. He will transfer the spit from one Lego to the other. He also likes to touch other people a lot, so you guessed it, I got more spit on me. Lovely. Kelly started off in a good mood and I sat down next to him with the piano as it played little “demo songs” for us. This seemed to keep him happy for a while as he was slurping around his leftover breakfast. At one point, he got so excited that he accidentally slurped some of the saliva/ food mixture out on his leg and I happened to witness it. Not the best thing to witness. As that incident was still fresh in my mind, and fresh in Kelly’s lap, Nelio came running over to me super excited about something. He got right up in my face bending over, and guess what…drool slipped right out of his beaming mouth and onto my leg. I tried my best to pretend that the warm liquid sliming down my thigh was something other that saliva, but I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. I could feel the gag reflex coming on quickly. After about 3 almost vomits, I decided to remove myself from the situation to take a breather. Good idea…nothing a little wet wipe action can’t fix. When I returned from my quick fix bath, Kelly’s mood quickly turned sour because we would not let him spit his regurgitated breakfast into the collected water buckets. He got so mad at me for not letting him spit that he started slapping me in the face. Again, more spit on me. Joy. I thought I had fixed this problem. After about an hour of playing defense on Kelly, it was time for lunch. I was hardly hungry…my appetite had been washed away with the saliva on my wet wipes. I ate anyways and we had a change of starch for the meal. Corn meal, hold the fish sauce. Katie and I have decided that one serving of fish sauce per day is quite sufficient. So since we had it with our spaghetti for breakfast, we settled for just corn meal for lunch. It was ok…think buttery, garlicky grits. Not too bad, not too great either, but passable for a meal. Besides, we didn’t need much of a lunch since we were planning on making ourselves spaghetti for dinner! Save room! After lunch we started up a game of futbol (soccer) with some of the boys. We had a really great time and it was spit free! Hooray! Then it was time for dinner for the kids. It was the usual flour, sugar, water mixture that is served every night. Our earlier conclusions about this meal were wrong. The reason that they eat this every night for dinner is because they love it! And not just the kids at Wings of Hope….Haitians throughout the country enjoy this for meals on a regular basis. It’s a staple! It’s called la bouille (spelling questionable- pronounced boo- yay). After we fed the children, Katie and I decided to take a walk to the Baptist Mission to see when they open back up. The Baptist Mission is a place where we have heard that we can get some good, Americanized food and just relax. As we thought, it doesn’t open up until the 4^th of October. We’ll have to wait just a little longer to get that hamburger! On our trek back home, we passed an old man who was eating dinner. He said to us, in English, “I am eating something very good”. I asked, “Oh yeah? What is it?” I can’t remember exactly what he said but he described la bouille that we see every night. I commented, “oh la bouille! Yes I know it! Enjoy”. He also mentioned something about cow skin… don’t know if he had cow skin in it or if he just got his words mixed or what, but I’d rather not have anything to do with cow skin on/ in my food so I just said “OK! Enjoy your dinner” and we walked away giggling to each other, confused. When we got home it was time to make our special meal for the week, spaghetti! I could not wait! We sliced up the vegetables that we got to add to our dish: peppers, tomatoes, artichokes, and snap peas. We boiled the noodles, cooked the veggies, and added sauce (Prego =D). Put it all together and you get the best meal all week! Sorry Alcindor, nothing beats something familiar in an unfamiliar world. We also had a much needed beer with dinner! Prestige is what it’s called. Tasted kinda like Bud, but oh so good on the lips! Such a great way to top off the evening. After dinner we cleaned up after ourselves and headed to the room. Time for laundry. Two buckets of water and an hour later I realized just how filthy I am! If you are a clean freak, do not ever do your laundry by hand! I’m not a clean freak and I was thoroughly grossed out by the amount of dirt that came off of my clothes. By the way, the electricity went out while I was doing laundry so I had to finish up with a head lamp, compliments of Katie Alice McKeeman! Thanks! By this time I was tired so I decided to hit the hay! Needless to say, I crashed.

Hide that Bum Bum!

Day 8 (Thursday): 

Katie: Ashleigh woke up this morning saying, "Alcindor must have prayed for me." She had normal dreams! Sure enough he did. So far this day was looking up compared to yesterday, no talking head dreams and the breakfast had not fish bones in sight. So far so good. We also were greeted by a hyper boy named Steve, he was dressed to impress because he was going horseback riding today, so he had on tight sand colored riding pants and riding leather shoes to match! Yup, today was going to be better. We fed the children boneless breakfast and went to pray. Ashleigh is the best closing prayer because she did it again. Since so many kids were going off to ride horses, which they do every Thursday, we weren't quite sure what we were suppose to do so we hunted around for someone to explain out project for the day. We find out, get our group and "play." John thought it was funny to throw a tennis ball directly at the dog Zel, which Zel didn't mind because that meant she got to play. One little boy, Kelly, was playing Hide-and-Seek in the parachute but it turned out to be just hind under there and not want to be seeked. Ashleigh and I were guarding the benches when we realized that our little Kelly was having a grand mal seizure. Thank goodness he was leaning on the dog's house already so we were able to gently lay him down on his side. We felt prepared this time and Ashleigh scratched his back. After that wake up call, Ashleigh became the chosen one and she got to get some loving from John. Her regular cuddler, Junior, wouldn't have it so he climbed up on "Big Mama" (Ashleigh's new nickname). That was short-lived when John pushed Junior away. Around this time I was coaxing a boy to stop peeing off the balcony and asking him to put "himself away." A teacher saw this and yelled the boy's name and chuckled and shook his head. Ashleigh and I deserved a much needed break and I got our lunches. This lunch is in the top running for the best lunch to date, in Haiti. Rice and beans and, hold onto your hats, cooked spinach and carrots! We lapped it up. We looked at each other and went to get seconds, since the kid's lunches were dished up. We got seconds and enough for dinner. We served up the kids their delicious lunches and started some afternoon activities. I went to the porch to see to my delight Ashleigh in a Conga line with a couple of kids! I joined right in. That happened for about 4 and a half minutes then we did some thumb wrestling and I danced with Raoul. Choupy (pronounced like Shoopy), a teacher, called us in, out of the rain, and we played darts, exactly the same Velcro darts that I used at MacKenzie Place! (It is international) We did a couple of rounds of that, and I then went upstairs and played with David, Fritz, and Lazar. I taught them head and shoulders knees and toes! It was really a great time to have a small group like that and just be able to have fun singing in the rain a classic. Ashleigh and I made our way to our room and finished our delicious dinner, that was just as good cold. We now sit here listening to the rain torment Porky, and Sax by the Fire. Perfect.

Ashleigh: I awoke this morning determined to have a great day, even if mass amounts of saliva were involved! I guess the aftermath of yesterday hit because I was just drained today with minimal energy. Oh well, days like that happen, but the show must go on! So I put on my game face and headed down for breakfast. It was great today! Rice soup minus the usual fish sauce! Thanks Alcindor! After breakfast it was time for class. A lot of the children went horseback riding today. It is a Thursday ritual. However, none of our children went, so we had the same routine as the previous 3 days. Round up the children, barricade them off, and start the entertaining, or should I say attempt at entertaining. The kids were in a good mood today, all of them. We started out with a parachute thing that everyone held on to and lifted and fell, and lifted and fell, but that lasted for about two minutes. Kelly decided that it made a better hiding place than activity, so he took it upon himself to stand under it and walk around dragging it with him wherever he went. He then decided to prop himself on Zel’s dog house and just hang out. In case you didn’t pick up on it, Zel is the Wings dog. After a couple of minutes, Katie noticed the parachute costume shaking. Oh no, Kelly was having a seizure. We uncovered him and laid him to the ground like Renee taught us and like we witnessed the other day with Peterson. After about 30 seconds, he stopped. Thank goodness. He laid there for just a minute then sat up and started giggling. Thought something was funny I guess. I was just relieved that he was ok. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to someone seizing in front of me. He then got sleepy and started leaning over to the side so Katie and I propped him up in a chair so he could take a little rest. He sat there for the rest of the morning. On the bright side, we didn’t have to keep him from spitting in the collected water! Poor Kelly… I think I would rather play defense on him than see him in the state he was in today. The rest of the morning went rather smoothly. John decided that he should perch up in my arms for about an hour, so I just let him. After all, I like getting some loves too! Lunch came early and Katie and I were both happy about that. Our stomachs were growling since 10am. We ate lunch then tried to start some afternoon sports again, but we got rained out, or in, whichever way you look at it. Choupy (pronounced shoe-pee) called us in for a game of darts! All of the kids that were able played and the top scorers were awarded a can of milk! Milk? Yes milk, and they were very appreciative of and excited for their reward. I think I need to reconsider the things that make me happy. Milk, for example, I take for granted. Not anymore. Milk is now valued, because it is a value. Thanks kids for helping me realize. Dinner went off as usual and Katie and I had leftover lunch for dinner. It was great today, by the way! It even had veggies in it! Thanks Alcindor! We are tying up the night and trying to get warm and dry. It has been raining all day. I don’t think my laundry will ever be dry! We were supposed to get a new roommate today, but as of 7pm, she has not arrived. Possible rain delay. Hopefully she’s ok. Anyways, I guess that’s it! Ta ta for now!

Insanity in Haiti

 I had the best morning alarm today! A couple of my friends from MacKenzie Place sang the memory care anthem, Crazy Girl! But, what made it even better was the guest back-up singer, Porky! It was so sweet and made me miss my family at MacKenzie Place. Ashleigh and I mosied to the food and we were delighted to see our man Alsindoor was back! He went to a cousin's wedding, a valid excuse (I guess). We took our rice and ran. We sat down in the dim kitchen light and started chowing down. I got a few fish bones stuck in my teeth but other than that it was delightful. However, Ashleigh did have to say, "I wish I had a doughnut." Great Ash, thanks make me drool and dream of dancing, homemade doughnuts freshly pulled out of the deep fryer and the glaze glistening in the kitchen light with Kayla, the baker, stuffing two in my hands. Oh the good ol' days of eating sweets for breakfast! We fed the kids and went to prayer and Ashleigh did a stand up job at being put on the spot to do the closing prayer. Bravo! We took our little ones to the activity and blocked off any exits possible. We tried to be entertaining and thought we were doing a good job seeing that our Houdini was sitting in his chair the whole time. We gave eachother a pat on our backs until we noticed someone had tied his shirt to the chair so he couldn't run away. Too bad for the self gratifying job of entertaining him. Being attached to a chair didn't stop his mobility, though. He still scooted around and played ball with Ashleigh. I had a stage 5 clinger on my hands. This little boy didn't let go of me for 3 hours. We did stair exercises, visited a piglet (Porky's daughter), and did a little jogging. He was latched on like a leech. I took it as a compliment. I was his safe haven. I wasn't complaining, but my back is complaining now. I need a personal masseuse! We finally untied Houdini and sure enough he escaped and so did another. Ashleigh chased them down while sarcastically saying, "Thanks for the assistance." and I responded with, "I'm sorry, I have someone attached to me right now." I was a rough end to a morning session. We cleaned up and headed to lunch. I mustered up the courage and asked Alsindoor to give us just one scoop of rice and one scoop of bean juice. He asked if I wanted a dumpling and I didn't quite understand what he was offering me through his thick accent, so he showed me a thick, long thing lingering in black bean juice. I then understood it was a dumpling and appreciated the offer saying, "That is a long dumpling," and Alsindoor said, "I know where your mind goes," in a joking manner. I enjoy how we are able to kid even with language barriers and the barriers might make everything even funnier. It rained a lot this afternoon so we played ball toss, something I am way too familiar from working at Mac Place. We fed the evening meal and decided that we need to get our fat butts up and move. So thank God I brought Insanity, the workout videos. We moved some bunk-beds over and popped in our personal trainer, Shaun T. Ashleigh prepared herself with some workout paraphernalia and I work-out Haiti style, wick-away Capris and sandels. We worked out all 43 minutes of the video and after we looked like we were playing in the Haitian rain. We stank up the room more than ever now. So I hopped in the shower. Hopping in the shower consists of pour water into the camp shower and squatting to receive any pressure. I did that and had my clothes ready to be cleaned too, when all of a sudden a clash happened. I live up to my nickname, calatimy Katie, even when I am in Haiti. I broke the camp shower. Thanks to me, we pour buckets of water on our heads to get clean. I "showered" and washed clothes! I got into a fight with the clothes hanger as I was trying to dry my clothes. I came out victorious and hung everything to be have a 2nd rinse., it rained tonight too. I got to get a time FaceTime with the wonderful boyfriend and the splendid Dad. Our internet connection is not top of the line in this 3rd world country, so it went in and out, but we will try and try again. 

First day of school

Waking up in the morning, dragging your feet to the bathroom, and having ammonia be the first scent that tickles your nose, is not getting easier. "If it's yellow, let it mellow" is the saying around these parts on the Earth. Happily, Ashleigh and I bought air freshener yesterday. Sadly, it has no effect on the odor that we produce. We proceeded to breakfast to enjoy a meal provided by "Stop Hunger Now." Not exactly rice, but the same consistency, texture, and under the food group of starch. I did find little bits of carrots and some celery. We finished up and went on to the the task of feeding the kids. I fed Kelly, which I was pleased with his method of eating. He ate like a McKeeman, done with his meal in less than 2 minutes. I also fed Lazar. I am getting mighty good at meal time service. After breakfast, we had a little worship and then it was on to the activities. Ashleigh and I had the kids who like to wonder (4 boys), so our task was to keep them entertained, engaged, and work up an appetite for lunch, no problem. We barracked the exits with chairs, pulled out all the toys and arts possible, and we were set (or so we thought). Ashleigh and I pulled out every trick in the book: Play-Do, balls, skip-it, Legos, and gluing pom-poms to Crosses. We tried it all! They stared at us like the idiots we are! I resorted to making a face made out of Play-Do. Ashleigh started to teach herself how to juggle. While we tried to entertain, the boys only had food on their minds, one ate some pom-poms and another other helped himself to Play-do. After our failed attempts to engage in a group fashion, we took the approach of one-on-ones. They took to that better. All these children wanted was a little TLC. They get plenty here at Wings, don't get me wrong, but new people means new hugs, new holds, and back scratches.  Who doesn't like a good back scratch. So we squeezed like we never squeezed before, until lunch. We ate good old rice and beans and fish nibblets. Physical Education time: Basketball. We played basketball with our friends. Peterson, a boy who wears a hockey helmet, fannie pack, and backpack... always, is the most joyful kid I know. He cheered, "GOAL!!!" every time someone made it or looked like they made it, the hockey helmet has a mask on it too so it is hard to see. It was so encouraging. Just as much fun as we were having, things changed swiftly to frightening. Peter wears that helmet because he has grand mal seizures. Bless his heart, he fell like a ton of bricks. We rushed over to him and thankfully plenty of workers were with us and knew exactly what to do, which is turn them onto their side with their arm under their head supporting it. If you haven't ever seen this happen it is like someone gets stiff as a board and falls over flat, and shakes uncontrollably. He came out of it quickly and no harm done. He just wanted to nap, and I would too. After that sobering experience, Ash and I went to the room and sat in silence, while eating Cheez-its. Still a little shook-up, we walked downstairs for dinner time to be greeted by Peter's big smile and even bigger hug! It was reassuring, refreshing, and gave us relief. We served dinner and it was a rematch between Teddy and Lazar... Lazar pulled ahead at the end and came out with a big win. Better luck next time, Teddy. It was time to socialize and bringing some smiles. Ashleigh got a boy to laugh so hard it brought a tear to his right eye! We tossed dolls around until we thought we should settle down for bedtime. That brings us here... about 18 or 19 dum dums in, Ashleigh had one. A shout out to Doris for providing the dum dums and mints. That was a good dinner. I am now going to attempt to shower again because I can officially smell myself, and Porky says "Goodnight."

Everybody needs a little lovin' sometimes

GOAL!

Dinner

Happy Sabbath

I am writing to you after taking my nightly wet wipe bath (aka the shower for champions). I woke up this beautiful morning with a smile on my face, not because I knew it was about time for breakfast, but because we got to go to Petionville to go to church. Ashleigh and I weren't sure about the breakfast situation so we stuffed a couple of bricks, I mean Powerbars, into my backpack, not a good idea, and went outside to wait for the Taptap . Close your eyes for me here, imagine a regular truck, put a Unicover on it and lift the cover about 3 feet high, now cut off the back for an easy getaway. Safety first here folks, we had an armrest at the end f the truck to prevent tumbling out. Mom, you would have had a hard attack! We went down this steep road and bounced around bumping into one another and sliding into laps. It was like a roller coaster ride! I love roller coasters, the crazier the better! This ride had Elitches beat! It was exhilarating and nerve racking all in one lifted unicover! So I figured out the honking. It is like riding a bike, how you ring your bell when you are passing on the left. Same thing but a little louder and other vehicles are driving towards you too really quick. We made it to Saint Joseph's Home for Boys, which is under the same sponsorship, Hearts for Haiti, as my orphanage, Wings of Hope. Saint Joseph's that was destroyed by the earthquake. They have a guest house that 8 boys are living there right now. This place was colorful and bright. I felt like a harp should play as you enter this house! Just peaceful and happy. We walked around and Renee showed us the construction of the new building that the boys are going to live in, 7 stories high! We were told that the construction design that they are doing is top of the line and hasn't been done in Haiti, so it sounds like this building isn't going anywhere. Michael, the founder of the home greeted us with the offer of tea, but the bell beat him to it and it was time for Church. We then proceeded to a secret garden area where there were vines and lush, green trees and plants were growing. So delightful. We sat down and Michael handed us a book saying, "You can follow along and understand what stories we are reading." So it started with a bang of the bongo and lots of clapping. ( my hands are sore tonight) There was Creole and more Creole. We opened the book, trying to find where we were. Couldn't find it so we then stood up again and clapped and banged more. Then sat down and tried to find our spot, still couldn't find it, but we stood up again and banged and then clapped this time. We sat and I understood that they did a type of confessing their sins, "Pardon, Monsieur Jesus, Pardon..." We then sang and clapped. After all the clapping and singing, everyone opened their book and Renee then cued us that it was time. Of course we were on the wrong page so we had to be helped again. After that embarrassing fiasco, we went downstairs and looked around at the home. We spoke with some boys and guards. All very sweet and all want to learn English better. Funny because they speak better than I do. I want them to teach me Creole and English. We went to the grocery store called Giant and it is true to its name. We exchanged money and walked though the aisles. The grocery shoppers are a lot like the drivers. They maneuver through anything and expect you to watch out for them. It was like Disney World! We purchased much needed vegetables and small pizzas, these pizzas were glorified Totinos pizzas except half the size and triple the price. We have a plan of action... we will make one big dinner one night a week to spoil ourselves. However our stomachs were growling in hungry because we were stupid enough to skip breakfast, the most important meal of the day, and just eat a piece of cardboard, a Powerbar. After our excursion in Giant, we hopped back on the Taptap and started flying! People in the states think they are good drivers with their suited up 4 wheel drive SUVs that are lifted and have extra suspension, super shocks. Well, the Taptap drivers here drive about 12 people seated in a lifted Unicover, in a 1995, rusted Toyota with bald tires, going through potholes the size of small elephants and straight up loose gravel roads. As we were holding onto our seats, we learned that the entire Church service was improvised weekly by the boys. Ashleigh and I had no idea, it went so smoothly. We got home safely and with tensed muscles. Ashleigh and I headed straight into the kitchen like dogs. We were taught how to start the oven, which I will always let Ashleigh do that since fire and gas switches are involved. We cooked our Mini Totinos , in 12 minutes and 16 seconds flat. We sat down and tried to let them cool off but we both realized we were drooling like hounds. We noticed one another and burst out into laughter, then bit in! Not bad, not bad at all. The bottom was crispy and cardboard-like but the seasonings, cheese, and so-called diced pepperoni were tasty. After our meal, we sat down and discussed what we would be doing for the next 3 months. This week we are going to literally play with 5 kids in the morning, feed the kids in the afternoon, start a physical game in the afternoon, feed the kids dinner, and them relax and socialize. Kind of sounds familiar, except with a different generation. Good thing I have practice playing games. Once a little more knowledgeable and confident in our purpose here, we sat on the balcony and ate left over rice and beans which Mono saved! What a doll! Feeling content, we went downstairs and rode bikes and danced with the kids. What a glorious way to end a spectacular day.

This is made out of a tire

Pizza Pizza!

Bitter-sweet

Today was a bitter-sweet day. We woke up and had a smaller portion for breakfast of the same thing we had yesterday… rice. It was good and filling. After we ate we hung out with some of the kids until their food was cool enough to eat. Then it was time to feed the children breakfast, which went smoothly. After breakfast was served, Katie and I were asked to help out with the laundry. Hard work! We set up 2 large containers, one for washing, the other for rinsing. I was given the washing container and my partner, Pierre, was rinsing. Pierre is one of the children with Down’s Syndrome. The process of washing is quite simple. Put the clothes in, scrub them, wring them out, and pass them to the rinsing container. Pierre then does the same and puts them in a bucket to be taken to hang dry. Katie had the same process on her side, but she was doing blankets… much heavier and more difficult than the clothes I was given. This process went on for about an hour, which seemed like 5! After we finished the laundry, we went and hung out with some of the children. We started a game of catch with a group of them. Peterson was the initiator and others soon joined. Throughout the game about 10 kids joined in for a throw or two. Some of them played with us the whole time, others just threw the ball once or twice. This game was fun and very entertaining! After ball, Katie and I were pretty tired so we decided to take a quick nap before lunch. We went to the room to lay down and the next thing we knew, we awoke to the bell ringing for lunch. We had missed our opportunity to get food. The teachers and adults eat before the children to allow time to let the food cool for the children. When the bell rings, it means that the food is cool enough for the children. So, waking to the sound of the bell meant that we had missed lunch. Sad, especially since we had a smaller breakfast then usual. Either way, the feeding needed to be done. We each grabbed a plate and went to feed the children. I was given a plate for Sam, but when I found him, he was already being fed so I was given the opportunity to feed Hope. I had not had much experience with her so it was good for me to feed her today. After lunch, I went to return the dishes to be washed and I came upon David, a boy that has no movement in his legs but gets around by pulling himself with his left arm. He is typically fairly mobile and can get wherever he needs to be, but not this time. I don’t know of he had fallen or just got tired, but all I saw was a boy laying on the ground in tears. He gestured to me to help him and it crumbled my heart. Of course I would help him. I picked him up and took him to his bed. He was still crying from I don’t know what…maybe pain, maybe fear. Either way I did not want to leave his side. I laid him down and untangled his mangled legs. This seemed to relieve some pain and he began to calm down. He pointed toward a blanket for me to cover him. I pulled the blanket up around him and then he reached for my hand and pulled me down on the bed with him. I laid next to him until he was calm and almost asleep. Poor baby was scared and tired. I was happy to bring him some comfort but so upset that this is his reality. Tears came to my eyes as I laid with him and I wished I could do more to help him and make his life just a little easier. But in that moment, he was content, so I guess I had helped him. After David was calm, Katie and I decided that we should probably go eat lunch since were even more hungry than before, so we returned to our room to snack on some of the things we have… snack mix, power bars and candy. Hardly lunch, but better than the alternative. After lunch, Katie read me two stories that they have here at Wings. One was Soni’s Mended Wings and the other was Shine. Both of the stories were about children living at Wings. Katie’s stories made me tired so I took another nap. I woke just in time to help serve dinner. Katie and I had a race to see who could feed the fastest. Luckily we were given two kids next to each other; Katie had Lazar and I had Teddy. I figured I would have victory since Teddy is one of the best eaters there, but Lazar put up a great fight! In the end, Teddy and I won by one bite! Yeah Teddy! Maybe next time Lazar. We’ll have to practice. After dinner is usually pretty calm. The children are allowed free time until its time for bed, so Katie and I came up and had more power bars and snack mix! We typically opt not to eat dinner because it never looks too appealing. Today it just looked like flour and water mixed with some grease. Not sure if that’s what it was, but I wasn’t willing to try. Katie and I think that the reason for such bland dinner might be so that the children aren’t up all night with stomach aches. We don’t know for sure, but that seems like a logical conclusion. So snack mix and power bars it was. We finished eating and decided to sit on the porch for a little. We met Pastor Alfredo who asked us if we had “accepted Jesus”. We both responded yes, even though I have mixed opinions on religion. Either way, I have accepted a higher power so I didn’t think it would make much of a difference. We chatted with Alfredo for a while until Mano came with his computer and turned on some music. Katie and I sat there listening to the music, not saying much at all, until it was far past dark. Don’t be deceived though, dark happens at about 6:15 here in Haiti. It was a very peaceful and claming end to a hard day. We are now back in the room for the night and have given ourselves thorough wet wipe baths! Taking a shower every day is too wasteful and too difficult. Hopefully tomorrow will be more sweet than bitter. Love to all! 

The never ending pile of wash

Dinner...

Day deux

Well, today started off swell. Woke up and brushed my pearly whites. We went down to breakfast at 7. We could not find bowls to use so we brought our plates and thought we will figure it out if we have cereal and it will probably be eggs, something hardy. We were right, starchy that expands in our stomachs and makes you bloated and full... white rice and black beans. Ashleigh made a point that it was our first time eating rice and beans for breakfast. I also fell bad for Ashleigh, she has to hang around me, the gas ball! Black beans makes me a little toxic. We finished our tummy expanding meal and went to get really ready for the day. We discussed it and we were going to talk to Alsindoor (the cook) and ask for smaller portions. It has to happen or I am going to look pregnant and have a green gas bubble following me! My stomach as grown in size from all the starch and fiber. We then ventured into the kids' rooms and helped feed them. Lazar was my victim. Poor guy, he was wearing a lot of the rice and beans. Lasar just laughed at me and smiled during the entertainment. After I wiped the meal off of everywhere, we wheeled the kids onto the porch area. There are 31 kids here and I would say about 15 or so are in wheelchairs. Let me paint you a picture, this house is two stories and they put plywood over the steps, there is also a 180 degree turn that you have to make when on the steps. So, I opted not to attempt to wheel anyone down the ramp of death. Might I add, it gets slippery when wet. I instead lifted wheelchairs up some stairs. Less nerve racking, plus I got an arm and back workout. We made it to the porch and some workers pulled out the bongos. I thought to myself this is looking more like my kinda party. They started to pound away on the drums and we danced and spun each other and rolled around in the puddles on the dance floor. This is my favorite time, watching kids have no hesitation and know that no one is judging. I let go and danced my heart out. Ashleigh and I broke sweats! We spun and learned a new dance move that I am excited to break out. Once done getting down, we brought everyone back to the rightful rooms and we went upstairs to read about each child. We read their stories, backgrounds, and difficulties. It is all written in a positive light and they have all increased their quality of life by being here. I got sleepy so I took a nap and woke up for lunch, of course. I don't like skipping meals. We went to our main man, Alsindoor. He wasn't ready so we sat and talked with him and Nadia. Nadia made fun of Alsindoor by calling him the "man Chief." I love their sense of humor here! So pure and silly. We didn't get a chance to ask for smaller portions and now that we befriended Alsindoor, he really hooked a couple of sisters up with even more rice! So, we got our plates full of delicious rice and wait wait, bean Broth! We got a couple of pieces of mystery fish again. We ate it up and felt just as stuffed. We helped feed some kids and I was privileged enough to get Lazar again. At least this time he actually got some food in his mouth! I was taking notes from the Caregivers on technique and style. The new challenge was giving him some fruit juice. Dang it, right when I finally got a hand on the food situation, they challenge me again. We will have to work on pouring fruit juice. Lasar, again, thought I was pretty funny and laughed with me and clapped and gave me a couple of pounds and high fives! Great sport. Ashleigh and I hung up our spoons and went on our own excursion out of the barbed wired doors. We went up the street and down the streets. I heard "deux blanches" (two whites) couple of times, but we got a lot of "salutes" and "Hellos." I feel kinda famous, except for the lack of autographs, we were stared at the entire time, but everyone who was staring said hello and had smiles. So friendly in this part of the world, I'll tell you what. Well almost, We walked by a couple of 10 year old boys and one yelled, "I love you, baby." and in the same breath, "F you B." Now I really know how famous people really feel, minus the autographs. We got back to the compound and hung out with the kids and I brushed up on my Creole and sign language. Both very useful here. We called it a day but realized we haven't even attempted the shower situation yet. We analyzed our task and poured water into the camp shower bag. The water we shower with is the same we flush toilets with. Keep your mouth shut while showering. Once it was full I was lucky enough to go first and I got in there. I appreciate powerful shower heads more than ever! I had to get in the squat position, because the shower nozzle is hanging down to my stomach, and let the water trickle onto my head. Felt refreshing having chilly water run down my body. Ashleigh's turn, I heard and small, "OH... it is cold." We accomplished our showers for the week. I am now getting ready for bed and I just finished brushing my teeth while being serenaded by Porky (I named the neighbor's pig). Good night and sleep well, Porky gets rowdy at night. Nocturnal pig I guess.

Our pink castle!

Note the horned cow