Egg to the face

As I sit in my bottom bunk reflecting on the passed few days, I think about horses, balls, and microwaves. I have never had good luck with microwaves: I conduct sparks by putting metal in one, I gave myself 2nd degree burns on my hands Freshmen year, and set diapers on fire, at work. Well, this microwave is tricky, here in Haiti. The watts depend on the source of the electricity: city's electricity or the Wing's generator. We hardly ever have it in the morning to conserve as much energy as possible. This microwave situation doesn't start on Wednesday morning... it dates back to Sunday, October 23rd. We ate brunch which turned into luneer. We went to a nice restaurant after church. We were kindly seated and chatted with our friends: Stephan, KC, Jess, Kerin, and Geoffry. The topic of conversation usually is food, when  it comes to Ashleigh and I. So we were trading quick fix breakfast items. Ashleigh enlightened me on the art of a zip lock omelet and we talked about my breakfast of  choice, egg in a frame. I explained how to poach an egg in a microwave and KC chimed in saying that we have eggs back at home and we are welcome to eat them. I had something delicious to look forward to, besides the hamburger that I ordered. Well, after an hour and a half of waiting on our meal, we finally dug in because we had only communion bread for breakfast so we were on the famished side. Ashleigh ordered a fettuccine pasta with vodka sauce that was to die for. Everyone else ordered egg type entrees and a soup was served. I ordered a burger with fries. This burger was special though. It was the best hamburger I have ever had in Haiti, on October 23rd, 2011. It filled me up and satisfied my cravings for beef. A couple of days had passed and the thought of a poached egg lingered in my brain. I went downstairs on Wednesday to see to my delight, the power was on! I grabbed my materials, cracked the egg in a mug, placed a "Happy Birthday" plate over the mug so it wouldn't make a mess. I nuked it for 30 seconds, just like at home, took it out to see it was hardly different. I put it in for another minute or two and waited patiently. I heard the glorious beep and rushed to put the egg on my toast. Ashleigh was happily eating her PB and N toast, well as happy as one can be after missing the Alcindor special. I ripped apart the hard poached egg and to see it was still boiling around the yoke. I brought it close to show Ashleigh the neat scientific discovering. As we both we marveling over the boiling point of a yolk, it burst into shards. Ashleigh let out a screech and frisbeed her toast across the kitchen. I, for some reason, had little to no reaction and stood there, with the "Happy Birthday" plate still at chin level with egg particles decorating my face. I slowly placed the festive plate on the table and tried to collect myself as Ashleigh said, "I have heard of this happening before, but I have never experienced it." We started to clean up the egg pieces and found some that managed to make it into the fridge. That was the start of a great day. We went through the day asking kids about their emotions and then eating some lunch. After lunch, Ashleigh went to the hoop and shot around with some kids. I went up to ZINGO. ZINGO is a Haitian way of playing BINGO. But it involved a lot more yelling/screaming and grabbing/stealing yellow pieces of plastic to put it on your ZINGO card. Once I discovered my throat was sore from all of the screaming, I went to shoot some hoops with Pierre, Peterson, Ashleigh, David, and Tigga. We played two on two with a couple of extra permanent defense men. Monda, Titoto, and Jonas decided to get in on the action. The teams were set: Ashleigh, Katie and Titoto (Team America) vs. Jonas, David, and Monda (Team Haiti). We went to 30 and Ashleigh and I took those boys to school! We kicked butt and took names. Okay, we WON! It was a blast and we were sweating like hooligans after. After a little basketball, we served the kiddos and then got crazy insane with Shaun T! Today we had the privilege of going to horses with the some kids. It is such a neat experience watching these hyperactive kids calm down and really get into a trance while riding a horse. Most of them at least, Steve decided to gallop the horse around and took it out of the ring so his time was cut short. I really bonded with one horse, Rex. I have never felt comfortable around animals that could easily harm me or have taken a bite out of my Grandma Shirley's arm. That story always sticks in my mind when around horses. I was very surprised to feel so at ease walking Rex around the circle while he was so close to my tricep. Ashleigh's horse was not as mild tempered as Rex. Her horse kept pushing her around with his long neck. She, on the other hand, is very comfortable with horses and would push him right back, making me nervous. Even more nerve racking was Vivianne fell off her horse. But as the saying goes, if you fall off the horse, you have to get right back on it. She did just that, with a grin on her mug. I consumed our hoagie, jambone (ham), and butter sandwiches and went on our way back home in our chariot, the taptap. The taptap was having a rough day today and took many pit stops. One at the mechanic shop, a few going up the hill (unintentionally), and the last one to get gas. Mr taptap was thirsty. We are about to walk to the market to check on some souvenirs and then eat din din.

 

Horses and Strings

Thursday was a great day! Katie, Kerin, and I woke up eager to go to horses with the kids! After a bowl of rice soup for breakfast, we all crammed into the tap tap to head to town. And when I say crammed, I mean crammed. We piled 11 kids, Katie, myself, Kerin, Jacob, Pastor Alfredo, the driver, 3 strollers and 2 walkers into the pickup truck. Dieufort had to sit on the floor on the strollers and Katie sat up front with Lazar next to her and Josephine on her lap. Down the hill we went and I got to sit on the end for the first time, one hard turn away from from flying out the back. I held on successfully for the whole hour into town! Tough work though! Once we arrived at the horse corrall, we all jumped out and took a look around. I was very surprised at how nice the place was! There was a place for competition, a warm up area, which is where the kids would ride, many stabels for the horses, and a cafe. We got all of the kids out of the truck and started to sattle up the horses. When I say "we", I mean the workers with the assistance of some of the kids who were able to help out. We mainly watched. Once all of the horses were sattled up, it was time for fun! Vivianne was the first to mount her horse. Up she went, got strapped in and headed to roam the arena! One, by one, the kids got on their horses. I was chosen to lead Jozye's horse around the rink. Paco, the man in charge, handed me the lead rope and gestured to me to walk around leading Jozye on his high horse, literally. We walked around for a little, lapping Katie, Kerin, and Lazar a couple of times. They had the slow horse! When the first group of kids were coming to an end, Paco gathered them all up and did some exercises with the kids on the horses. He streched them out, made them lift weights, then helped some of them walk back to their awaiting strollers. Paco was very patient and kind and took individual time with each of the children. Very admirable. After the first group of kids, the second group took the reins. These kids were the ones that could ride on their own with little or no assistance. Steve was riding his horse around shouting, in his gleeful voice, "Eskize! Eskize! I'm on a horse". Of course in Kreyol, but I'm still a little shaky on that. Pierre rode his horse like a pro. He had perfect posture and control over his horse. I was very impressed with all of the children and their abilities on the horses. Paco mentioned that on the horse, everyone is the same, that handicaps dissapear. Everyone is equally capable on a horse. His words were true. After each kid had their turn riding, it was time for lunch.  Jacob made sandwiches for everyone! They were great even though they contained mystery meat! When lunch was finished, we all smashed back into the tap tap to head home. I was on the end again, but I was a seasoned pro by this point, so I had no worries. Plus, riding on the end has the great benefit of air movement! Bye bye sweat, hello wind blown hair! People pay good money for that look! When we got home, lunch was just being served. We helped feed then went on to afternoon activities as usual. Around 5 we headed up to the market for some more souvenir shopping. I picked up a couple things for some of my favorite people, including some wooden wine glasses for myself and Brian! We also got some feshly fried pates from the market! A pate is fried dough stuffed with hard boiled egg, cabbage, hot dog, and cheese spread. So delicious and filling! The pates the side of a calzone only cost 25 gourde, which is about 60 cents! Cheap, easy, and satisfying dinner! On the way home, we stopped to get some fresh bread from the local bakery. It was still hot! We enjoyed some bread on the way home as an appetizer to our pates. Delicious meal to top off the day! Friday was another great day! We had our usual Friday dance party and dart game. The team Katie and I were on came in second this week. We were still rewarded with some Jolly Ranchers and Smarties! When afternoon activities finished, we headed to find KC to make a plan for the night. We had been talking all week about going to a concert in town. The band is called Strings and it is a Carribean style jazz band. Needless to say, we were all very excited to go! We made plans for a driver to pick us up at 7:30. This allowed us enough time to do an Insanity work out, shower, get pretty (for the first time in a month), and grab a bite to eat before we headed down the mountain. When we reached the destination, La Reserve, we made our way in, and after a little confusion, finally found the table that KC had reserved for us. Looking around at all of the people there, you could definately tell that this was an event for the upper class of Haiti. Everyone was dressed to impress sporting dresses, high heels, button up shirts, and slacks. We sat down and ordered a round of drinks, 2 Rhum Punch for Kerin and I, 1 Prestige for Geoffrey, 1 glass of red wine for KC, and 2 Something Whiskey for Katie and Stephen. Yes, Something Whiskey was the name of the chosen whiskey. When the music finally started, the place lit up! People were cheering, clapping, and dancing! Such great music that made you happy on the inside and out! At about 11:30, our driver called to let us know that he was there. Seeing as how we still had about a 45 minute trek up the mountain, we decided to leave before the band was finished, which was fine because we were all pretty tired anyway. We headed up the hill and what should have taken 45 minutes, took about 20. Its amazing what lack of traffic and a strong desire to not be out in the dark can do! We headed down the hill and were greeted by some police officers who offered to give us a ride! We gladly took them up on the offer since is was dark, slippery, and muddy. We all jumped into the back of their pick up and headed down the hill. When we got to Wings, we all headed straight for bed! We slept in this morning until about 8am which was wonderful! Today has been pretty lazy. Katie and I ventured to the market for some souvenirs, an avocado, and more pates for Stephen, Geoffrey, and Renee. We were pretty pleased with ourselves that we were able to negotiate prices and sucessfully make it home with everything we sent out for! We might be getting the hang of it! We are about to head out on an adventure towards Fort Jacque with Kerin and the boys. I don't know how far we will get, the skies look a little gloomy. I'm sure it will be fun! Hope all is well with everyone! Katie and I love you all and miss you!
P.S. Happy Birthday Alcindor!

Front of the truck heading to horses

Paco with Lazar

Eskize! Eskize! I'm on a horse!

Making pates

Eating pates

All dolled up for a night on the town!

Me with Rhum Punch

Katie with Something Whiskey

Ride home in the Police truck

24 and Counting

Let's take it back a few days to Sunday. We woke up and headed to church like usual. We had a wonderful service and then headed to the market for some groceries. Then it was back up the hill to Wings. We arrived home and I had decided that I would open my Birthday part of the care package that night since my actual birthday was going to be a busy day. I was anticipating the night all week! After feeding the children dinner, I walked into the house and found KC and Katie in the kitchen baking something. After further investigation, I realized they were making a cake. "What are you making a cake for?" I asked. Katie just smirked with a guilty look on her face and KC responded sarcastically, "I don't know. Who could we possibly be making a cake for?" I had ruined their surprise, but it was still a surprise! They were making a cake to celebrate my birthday that night! So sweet of them! We were also planning on having a pizza party since Jess was coming up to Wings for the night. Jess is a friend of KC and Renee who works for USAID. She was staying the night so she could go with us to Jacmel in the morning. So not only did I get cake, but pizza too! Best birthday surprises! After we all ate our fair share of pizza, provided by Renee, it was on to cake decorating. Katie took the lead and made it a double layer marble cake with chocolate frosting in the middle and vanilla on top! They let me do the honors of dousing the cake with sprinkles, and I did! Then Renee made a smiley face out of the 12 candles they had and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me! The boys (Geoffrey and Stephen) did some great harmonizing! Now time to dig in! It was delicious! Thanks KC and Katie! After cake, we headed upstairs to open presents! I started with a card that Katie made me. It contained a Broncos painted ornament that she had made last week! It is awesome! The card was handmade and hand signed by all of the kids at Wings! It was so precious and still brings tears of joy to my eyes! I love it! Kerin gave me a razor. You might think that is a strange gift, but I forgot my razor at home and have been complaining about it since day one, so it was very thoughtful and witty of her to chose that gift for me! Not to mention very practical and much appreciated! Next it was on to the package from home! My mom did an excellent job wrapping the package with super sticky duct tape and I was so anxious trying to get the package open! After about 15 minutes, ok maybe 2, I opened the package to find it stuffed with all kinds of things! I got some hair bands from Budro and G-Unit (my dog and rabbit), a picture in a frame from my favorite sister along with a "sister" necklace, Heaven candies, a ring, and money from Mom and Dad, dolla bills from Chris, Shauna, and Travis, and even more money from Grandma and Grandpa! Renee then took some of the wrapping paper from my presents and disappeared into her room for a moment, only to return with one, final gift for me. It was a jar of my new found love, Nutella! So delicious! Thank you all so much for making my birthday so special from near and far away! It was a great night of celebration! After presents, it was time for bed since we had to be up at 4 am the next day to head to Jacmel. Well, 4 am came way to early, but nonetheless, we all dragged our butts out of bed and headed down to move everything into the truck. We were heading to Jacmel to pass out new school supplies to the children at Trinity House! After we loaded all the bins into the truck, we made our way to our van. On the way out, the luggage van got stuck in the ditch. About an hour later, the men decided to listen to the advice of the women, and they finally unstuck the truck. Typical males. So at about 5:45, we were on the road to Jacmel. Down the mountain we went. We headed through town, along the shoreline, up the mountain side, down the mountain side, back to ocean views, and into the city of Jacmel where we found Trinity House. The trek took about 3 hours once we were moving, but the views were amazing! I could not believe how beautiful the sights were! Think Colorado mountains mixed with tropical forest and add splashes of turquoise blue ocean. So amazing! When we finally arrived in Jacmel, it was time to unload the luggage truck and organize the items to pass out to the 160 children. We had new backpacks, water bottles, notebooks, folders, rulers, pens, pencils, art supplies, hygiene packets, candy, and new shoes! KC fitted each of the children with a uniform shirt and then passed them to Renee to take their pictures. Renee then handed off the children to us after she successfully got each of them to "suri", which means "smile" and we took them all around the room. They were very careful about selecting the items that were just right and when they were finished, they headed to get pants or skirts to match their uniforms. About 3 hours later, we had gone through all the children and Milche, the director of the house, had lunch waiting for us! We snapped a few pictures of the ocean from the roof and then headed down to our feast! We were greeted with COLD sodas and juice and had a spread of rice and beans with a wonderful beef sauce. We ate until our little hearts were content. Then it was time for the trek back home. It was just as beautiful and breathtaking as the way there! When we reached town, Renee took us by a Catholic Church that crumbled in the earthquake. We stopped to take a look and were swarmed by people begging us for money. Jess and Renee both warned us to be very careful and to watch our bags and DO NOT give any of them money. We obeyed, took some pictures, and headed back to the van. A man was asking us for money through the window and saying "Please help me, just a little" and when we refused and started to pull away, he got so angry that he punched the back of then van! We all jumped and were frightened by his behaviour, but now all understood why were weren't allowed to give anyone any money. I could see how a situation like that could turn sour very quickly. Once we were safely on the road again, Jess decided to inform us that about 30% of the prisoners who broke out during the earthquake live right around that area we were just in! Yikes! I'm glad I didn't know that before hand or I might have stayed put in the van! Luckily we all made it out safe and with all of our belongings. We then headed back up the hill to Wings, or so I thought. We made a turn and I thought to myself that we might be going the wrong way. Little did I know, we were going the exact right way. Renee had planned a surprise stop at the Epi D'or for an ice cream party for my birthday! The party continues! We all carefully selected our drinks and our favorite type of Blue Bunny Ice Cream and sat down to enjoy! I chose Strawberry Cheesecake! It was probably the best ice cream ever! Thanks Renee! We then took Jess home and headed back up the mountain for Wings. By this time, it was dark and everything looked so different! This was our first time out after dark! It was really neat to see Haiti after sunset! Once we got home, we had some dinner and a Prestige to top off the night. Gary decided to serenade us with birthday songs during dinner! Great music! After dinner, we headed to bed, exhausted from the long day and all of the traveling. I had such a great birthday! Thanks to everyone who helped make it so special! Today was another typical day at Wings. We woke, ate breakfast, fed the kinds and headed to class. While we were eating lunch, Renee announced that pictures were up from yesterday so I fired up the computer to check them out! They are amazing! Check out St. Joseph Family, Haiti on Facebook to see them all! While I was looking at the pictures, I was messaged by my brother. I decided to try to video chat with him over Facebook. I "called" him and sure enough, his face popped up on my screen! Yay! "Hi, Brother" Shoot he can't hear me, and I can't hear him. Bummer, but at least I got to see him, Shauna, my favorite nephew, and their collection of animals! It was so much fun! We then headed out for afternoon activities. We started a game of futbol with a giant tennis ball that was soon popped by the barbed wire. Since we no longer had a futbol/ over sized tennis ball, we resorted to American football, the one Nerf ball that we have that is barbed wire proof and Zel proof. After afternoon activities, we fed the children and headed in for a little Insanity work out. A little sweat and about 40 minutes later, it was time for dinner. KC offered us some of her rotisserie chicken before we left for Jacmel, so we took full advantage and had it with some green beans and dinner rolls! "Dinner of champions", Stephen called it! And I agree! It was fabulous! Such a great way to end the day!
P.S. Alcindor's cat had kittens!