December 21, 2008

I slept in today! With all of the roosters crowing at all hours of the night, church services until 11 pm, the restaurant/bar in Deschapelles blasting music, trucks honking like crazy as they pass the bridge, pigs grunting, cows mooing, dogs barking etc etc, I've not been sleeping well, waking several times in the night and getting up too early. Last night I slept like a log and didn't wake up until 7:15 am when the big "kamionn" came to drop rocks and sand off at the school construction site next door.

We had church this morning where we sang songs led by Cecile, then Luckner delivered a message about generosity and love being at the heart of Christmas. I had just had the almost identical discussion with Josiah and he was sure I had talked to Luckner and set the whole thing up. I told him that sometimes when there's a lesson to be learned, we get it from all sides.

We visited friends up in Deschapelles today. Our friend Rigaud and his wife welcomed us graciously, then offered us fresh coconut milk from coconuts that a little boy threw down from the SUPER TALL coconut tree in their yard. He shimmied up there in less than a minute!

There's a little boy at the top of this tree.

Rigaud cutting open coconuts for the milk.

The kids didn't love it but were very gracious and grateful.

All the kids tried climbing the tree after that. Ariane got the highest, no surprise there. Josiah barely made it off the ground! I guess basketball skills don't translate to tree climbing.

Go Jos go!

We stopped at the house of another friend who insisted on "diri, sos pwa avek fe" for us (rice, bean sauce, and a dish like spinach). It was delicious and much appreciated.

This evening, Mariah got her hair braided by Cecile and she looks lovely.

Grammy, Josiah, Ariane and I went up to the roof, lay down under the millions of stars and sang some Christmas carols. With my froggy voice I wasn't a very good singer that's for sure.

I decided to make a special dessert for my mom for Christmas and to try and put some meat on her bones. The recipe called for 3 eggs. The first one was rotten- yuck! The second one was ok, but far from fresh. The third, rotten. The fourth, rotten. In a dozen eggs, we found two that were not too bad and ten that were inedible! Eggs have been hard to come by for several months as the chickens here got some infectious disease that affected their ability to lay eggs. It seems the treatment and vaccination program is having an effect and they are starting to lay again, but there is still a scarcity.

These smelled so gross.

It's been a long day and I'm off to bed. Thanks for those who have left comments, it's so fun to hear from you.

I leave you with a photo of three beautiful little girls. The oldest one was pounding "pitimi" a grain that is eaten by those who can't afford rice. They were so sweet.

Liette

December 20, 2008

Today we took a tap-tap to Verrette to go to the market. It was so stuffy and crowded that you could barely breath. After that we went home and ate lunch. Then we took a motorcycle taxi to Deschapelles to go swiming. Grammy's friends came along as well. When we got home we went on a walk by the canal, with Alex of course. - Ariane

Mariah beside the pool

It was a really great day today - not too hot, but just right. I had a chance to catch up with more old friends, including a godson of Don's who I still stay in touch with and bring small gifts for. I had a chance to give skirts to all of the girls in the school Christmas concert - they were quite excited to try them on and find one they liked. We got Grammy out walking by the canal again today, but ended up going farther than we had hoped. As the sun began to set, the mosquitos and bugs came out in force - they were in our eyes, mouth and nose! We ran through the bug clouds all the way back to the mission.

The couple Ariane mentioned are an American doctor and his wife who were at the nearby hospital last year and are doing vacation relief this year. They saw Tifi when she was first abandoned at the school - she was like a bag of bones, completely unresponsive and unable to do anything. When they saw her today walking alone to them to give them a hug, they were astounded at how much progress she had made. She is just now beginning to say a few words, but she is craving attention and coming out of her shell. The woman called Karen "a miracle worker".

Liette

Cabano in his new clothes - notice the big smile!

Moise in his new clothes

Girls from the Christmas concert with their dresses

Kids from the school playing with

the new soccer ball

December 19, 2008

It's hot here inside tonight, but perfectly warm and beautiful outside. I had a chance to lie on the roof with my kids under a sky filled with stars. There were more stars than I ever get to see living in a big city. And the swooping bats just added to a beautiful end to the day.

We had a visit to the hospital today where we greeted old friends and passed on hellos from Canada. The kids and I had a nice refreshing dip in the pool before we took motorcycle-taxis back to the orphanage. Mariah and Ariane jumped on one, myself and Tevan on another and Josiah on the third.

This afternoon, Mariah helped cook food for the workers at the school, while Ariane and I sent ut more school photos of children to their sponsors.

We had the fun of riding in the back of the truck to go and fill up two big barrels of diesel to run the generator. We REALLY should not complain about the cost of gas compared to the cost here. The total bill for the two barrels - $3428.00 Haitian!

Another trip along the canal this afternoon and this time we were able to bring Pal, the german shepherd, and Karen. Pal had the kids in stitches running like crazy and jumping in the canal. He was like a puppy again. I was very happy to have dragged my mom away from the never-ending work for a short walk in nature.

Until tomorrow!

Marthe scraping the goat's head in preparation to make the Haitian energy drink "Red Goat"

December 18, 2008 Photos

Mariah with Tifi

Sabine in a new dress

Josie squealing for joy with her new dress

Sweet Mirlande with her new dress

December 18, 2008

December 18, 2008

Today was another busy day around here.

The men are working hard on the school construction and Mariah went and helped for a few hours too. At lunch break, she ran across and picked up the metal plates and spoons for them to eat the food prepared for the workers by Jacob, one of the grade 8 boys from the school. They told her to take breaks from time to time so she does not get "bouke" - too tired out.

Josiah and Mariah took another run to the bank in St. Marc today to pick up donated funds to pay the December salaries. Yesterday we went too but the money hadn't arrived in the Haitian account. Karen tried calling a dozen times today but couldn't get through to check if the funds had arrived so we were happy the money was there. They travelled in a borrowed vehicle because the truck is not working, but salaries need to be paid! They raced through the dangerous area called "bandits alley" and made it home without incident. Mariah and Josiah were impressed by the BIG bag of money Grammy had. The teller had given her a ton of small bills so she looked pretty rich with that big old bag.

I took the young kids out for another walk along the canal. They came first thing this morning asking if we could go "flane" again, which means go and have fun. They thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful green scenery and the chance to throw rocks in the canal, a huge fascination for the three six year old boys and for Alex.

Today, Martha spent several hours preparing goats head and hooves. You can see her scraping the hairs off the goat's head in the photo. The Wilsons were all thoroughly freaked out by the sight of the head and hooves in the pan, but Martha insists that if she boils it down and puts it in our food, we'll all be stronger and healthier and won't even know what we are eating. I sure hope she doesn't do it! Apparently Marthe makes a Haitian energy drink for my mom which includes goat's head broth and blended vegetables, including banane, militon and roots. Mom says it even tastes good and keeps her super high energy. Maybe we should try mass-marketing it!

We had the chance to get some clothes organized for the girls from the orphanage to come and try on. They were all very pleased with what they received, but none more than little Josie who jumped with joy at the sight of her new dress. The boys will come up and try on clothes and shoes tomorrow.

Time to go and sleep. A demain!

December 17, 2008

Today I had two interesting cultural experiences

I was present during the handing out of report cards at the Ecole Mixte Emmanuel (HATS school). The students, parents and teachers all gathered in the large classroom at the school. In front of everyone, the teachers called out the students' names one by one, from lowest to highest grades, told their results and made comments about their performance. There were comments like, "Well done." "Keep it up". So far so good. But there were also comments like "This student does not want to work at ALL!" "The parents need to help their child more with their homework". "This child is not living up to her potential." I was cringing inside while listening to it, but here, it's completely normal and no one even blinked an eye. The top 2 students in each grade received a small gift, from our cache of gifts that we brought from Canada.

This afternoon, I accompanied mom and one of the security guards on a run into St. Marc to visit the bank and get funds to pay the staff. We had to stop in Borel at a "fundraising blockade" put up by the Borel soccer team. They stop all passing vehicles and "ask" them for funds for their trip to Port-au-Prince to play a game tomorrow. We didn't have any money because we were on our way to the bank so were allowed through by promising to "donate" on our way back through. I told Mariah this might be an effective fundraising tool for her soccer team!