February 22 (Day 5)

I was able to get three solid hours of sleep last night. I awoke at 5:20 am. It was actually quiet in the streets ( FYI... roosters crow day and night in Haiti). At 5:45 am, the hustle and bustle began. I decided to go for a run. I was told by our house manager that it would be safe to do so. One thing I really miss is listening to music while running. I went for it. At 6:00 am,  I unhitched the gate, cranked up my music and was on my way. 

As I made my way through the streets,  listening to Pink, the Haitians looked at me like I had three heads. I don't thinking jogging is their thing. At first, I wanted to turn around because of fear. I remembered again the quote Connor shared on our first day.  I willed the fear to creep right back out. I was also reassured of my safety when I heard replies to my "Bonjours" and saw universal smiles.

 The roads are very confusing, so I stopped a few times to take pictures of landmarks. I ran past kids on their way to school. I continue to be impressed by the fact that, even though their homes consist of dirt floors, flaking concrete blocks and their water source is limited, the kids leave for school with colorful ribbons in their hair, clean uniforms, and proud smiles on their faces. 

Kids wore uniforms to school.  Different colors represented different schools.

I kept my run short because I was afraid of getting lost. It's rough when you don't know the language and can't ask for directions too easily. As I mentioned before, Haitian Creole mimics a bit of the French language. I know a few French phrases, but not many. My close friends would know, "Is it okay to park here?" is one of my favorites. Traveling to France a few  years back, I was even able to pick up the accent and inflections. Isn't that right, Cube?😜

I made it back to the guest house just in time for pancakes. They were an interesting texture. I covered mine in peanut butter. The day was just beginning. 

The work load was sporadic today because we had to wait for the concrete columns to set. Aside from odd jobs, I didn't have as much to do. I didn't mind.  I'm finding I don't recover from manual labor as fast as I used to. And that block lifting that I said wasn't a problem yesterday? I lied. Today, one of the Haitian children told me, "You walk bad?"   I was able to play in the streets with other members of our team, Esther and Nathalie. Again, kids crowded the street ready to play any game we came up with. I never guessed the Hokie Pokey and Limbo would be such a hit. 

Enlarge photo...see baby?

Before dinner, a few of us went down to the park to play soccer and fly a kite that Gavin brought. He let me try to fly it. I almost took out a cow. No joke. And, I'm pretty sure that would've been frowned upon here. I gave him back the handles and went to play soccer. The oldest Haitian boy directing everything told me I was on his team. He could tell by my face that I was trying to figure out who else was on my team. He yelled out ( in Creole) to the rest of the kids an order. They all promptly removed their shirts but he quickly pointed at mine, smiled and said, " No, no, no". Phew.

We played a bit then made our way back. Along the road, men were playing games on turned over paint buckets. I saw dominoes. One man in the game had part of a cinder block around his neck? I saw a lively card game where each player sat with a pile of stones at their fingertips.  Creative play. So many people in the streets dancing and talking. Hmmmm... no iPads or TV's.

Eating sugar cane

He was so proud of his model home

Dominoes were popular 

We entered our gate and quickly showered for dinner. It's amazing how fast you can get ready when you don't have hot showers, make up, hair dryers, etc.

Rice and beans, beet salad, and chicken legs were on tonight's menu. After dinner, we walked to the corner for ice cream.  They had 6 flavors, all very colorful.  Ironically, they all tasted the same.  We ate, talked, and went to bed early tonight. I think the group is tired.

As I finish my thoughts and try to get tonight's writing down, the largest cockroach I've ever seen landed smack dab on the middle of my forehead. I kinda screamed and woke my roomie, Deb. She saw the critter scurry under my bed. I quickly put down her mosquito net, wrapped myself  up in mine (earlier today, an oversized cricket  was in my towel as I tried to wrap my hair to dry). When I saw the mosquito nets, I thought, "How cool... I'll sleep like a princess." Tonight I was reminded that I never was fond of the phrase, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"