Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Haiti Journal

Day 1
Today we got up at 2 in the morning. Crazy right? We needed to be at the airport by 4 a.m and believe it or not we were right on time! We flew into New Jersey first, and from New Jersey to Port-a-prince Haiti. The airport here is CRAZY. At first it was ok, but then when we walked out the doors, men with red shirts on were everywhere asking if they could help us with money. But we saw a sign that said “Hope House” and we knew that was our ride. We piled our 12 huge suitcases into the back of the truck, and then piled into the truck. 4 people in the back, 3 in the front. The orphanage is only 5 miles away, but it took us about 25 min to get there. The roads are bad, and so are the drivers. About 20 mins into the ride, I saw a man carrying caskets. Little ones. For babies. I found out later, hat this was a full time job. Making caskets. Not for adults, but for babies. When we got to the orphanage, the first thing I saw was Kimmi. I ran up to her, picked her up and hugged her. I lost it then lol. Caleb, 3 years old, Perreline, 3, and Sophoni, 5, were at the school Christmas party. Niaka was there as well as the 3little babies. Naika at first was VEEERRRY shy. I realized that she is probably shy because so many teams come and go, s well as people and she probably tries not to get attached to others. At 5, Sophoni, Perreline and Caleb came home. I was so excited. We played for the rest of the day, but it gets dark very early here, so we went to bed at about 7. I had to stay up and feed Kim at 8. This is probably one of the best days of my life. Period.

Day 2
I was woke up by the sound of babies crying, kids laughing, toys hitting the ground, and my mom talking to Kim…. at 7 a.m. I stayed in bed till 10 though because the kid’s aren’t allowed outside until 10:15. The number one thing I like about Haiti is the fact the not one cares. I didn’t do my hair!:) The people are also very nice here to, and very respectful. It was easy to tell that after living in America. Lol For lunch I had a bowl of rice. After that we made things out of clay. Naika and Sophoni made some pretty cool stuff. Caleb and Perreline on the other hand mix all the colors together, threw it on the ground and then held it up to my face, with a big smile, and said (in correal) “Look Maria! Isn’t it great?!” Kim just sat on my moms lap and watched. She hasn’t opened up yet. Just very observant and very quite. After clay we had dinner. Can you guess what it was?! Rice.
We all played together then. It felt so good to just relax and play and be a kid. Kimmi had started walking about a week ago, but she was being lazy and wouldn’t walk by her self. It funny because if you let go of her hands she just sits back down.
I have already started speaking correal pretty well for only 2 days of learning. But when you’re around 7 little kids, 5 nannies, and 3 workers, who only speak correal, you catch on REEEAALL fast.
Tonight was movie night, and we surprised the kids with the donated projector and DVD player. I don’t know what entertained them more, the movie, or making shadow puppets in front of the projector screen. We watched Wall-e. Niaka loved it. The other kids lost interest within 10 min. They were running around crazy singing “Jingle Bells”
I got my 3 min shower after that and then went to out tiny bedroom which has 2 bunk-beds and a shelf and a crib. We have about a 3x10 ft. walking space. For four people. But even though we have a small room, can only use about 8 sheets of toilet paper a day, and cant shower for more than 3 min, I love it here. Here is home to me because my sisters and brothers are here. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really moves one to understanding that you don’t need a lot to be happy. I love it here so much, and I don’t want to leave.

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