Friday: September 3

Slept like a baby...except I was cold again. Cold in Haiti? Madness!

Today we had a "party" for Junior in the PT tent. Betsy took him off for a little while to preoccupy him while we all pitched in to blow up balloons (that read "Now Leasing," "Approved," and "Happy Anniversery") and hang a giant paper chain. When he came back, everyone sang "Happy Birthday." Junior gave a short thank you speech and Betsy followed up with how much everyone appreciates his work.

I won arm wrestling contests with David and Malachie...right arm that is. When my left arm was put to the test, it hit the table relatively quickly. Malachie was hilarious! He is Mr. Karate. I now have about 20 pictures of him in various karate poses...and pictures of the inside of his mouth, his feet, his eyes (that's what happens when the camera is taken out of my hands.) With the near constant use by the kids, the "Battery exhausted" message came up about half way through the day, and the camera had to be retired to the ever-useful fannypack. (I've been saying for years that they have never gone out of style...and function!)

You know that hand clappy game? I don't know what you would call it. Well, I played that for about half an hour with the cutest little girls. We were sitting and clapping on the hard, rocky PT tent floor and this little girl, with her white sailor's dress, gets up all of a sudden, takes of her little Crocs and sits back down on them. I didn't really understand the game. All of a sudden, we would have to stop clapping and she would put her little finger up to her lips. Then I would put my hands together and she would slap them hard and repeatedly. I thought maybe I was supposed to be quiet during the finger period, but even when I was I got hit. I'm still confused.

I feel bad because I always end up with a group of kids around me, goofing off, and creating an annoyance in the tent. I was sitting in a chair when a few girls came over, pulled out my pony tail and started braiding. I didn't have the heart to stop them, but I didn't quite realize what I was getting myself into. Pulling, poking, dirty combs. And, in the end, I look absolutely ridiculous! Half my head is cornrowsed (how do you even spell that?) in this criss-cross pattern. I'M WHITE! Lamy was laughing at me and asking "why would you want to do that?"...and rightly so. Oh well, after all their hard work, I'll keep it in for the night...but it is coming out stat!

We updated dossiers and cranked up some tunes when we got back to LAC. I'm starting to feel droplets, so it is about to sign off.

Another good day : )

Haiti: Take 2...September

I will be arriving tomorrow (Thursday September 2) and will keep you all posted!

Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/117901094771866752297

Thursday: July 22

Back home again. It feels off though. I miss Haiti already. It will take time to process everything that we have seen and been through this past week. Indescribable.

I am just looking forward to going back in September. I will make it happen!

I will find a way to get my pictures out in cyberspace.

That is all, my friends. Haiti trip 2010 was more than I could ever imagine. I wish you could all have experienced it.

-Andrea <3

Wednesday: July 21st

Woke up tired again. I threw a sock at my mom in the middle of the night for snoring too much. The earplugs kept falling out again, too. We walked to the PT tent today with an extra couple pounds of mud caked to the bottom of my converse. It was another fun and rewarding day.

We went back to camp tonight to play soccer. It was raining, so we just played in the mud. When they saw that I was holding a soccer ball, they all started yelling at me. John and I played with the guys (shirts v. skins.) I kept my shirt on. They are so muscular! I just stared (maybe drooled a little) the whole game. It was a blast though. I was caked in mud and soaked. The ball went flat after about 30 minutes, but that didn’t stop anyone. At one point, they were all yelling at each other in Creole and it looked like a fight was about to break out. I feel bad because we didn’t end up playing with the little kids.

I’m really going to miss everyone from the camp. It was so hard saying goodbye. They are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. I am already making plans to come back by myself in September. I just can’t have this be the final goodbye.

Tuesday: July 20th

What a musical night last night! Snores were coming from all directions, and John’s cot next to me was squeaking like nobody’s business. As usual, we went back to the PT tent today. It was just me, so all the girls kept asking “where’s John?” I feel like a spectacle in the front of the tent…that crazy white girl. I was getting flattered left and right today though, and was left feeling awkward with my distaste for compliments. It made me really happy to hear that Jeff Berry, one of the interpreters, told me that it is his dream to become a doctor. He is seventeen and speaks English very well. It is kind of funny that if you call his name, he responds with “hello?” Thomas (one of the pseudo-interpreters”) kept asking about my mom. I think he has a little crush on her. He’s a good looking guy, probably around 22ish. He would say, “Does your mom miss me?” But you never know how me means it with translation.

The patients were all proud of me for now being able to count to 20 in Creole. I got a lot of chuckles when I was trying to do the days of the week, although they did try to help guide me through it. I always get asked if I like Soulja Boy, Akon, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and all sorts of artists that I don’t really care for but smile and nod to anyway. It is funny the impressions our culture makes on them.

I have to say that the most rewarding thing I did today probably would sound really stupid to anyone else. Apparently some glasses come with a small painted on image on one of the lenses. Usually you see stickers, but these are really painted on there. The other day I saw one and got most of it off this one guy’s pair of glasses. Today, I noticed the same thing on Jeff’s: a yellow crown. He asked for “a favor,” to get this thing off because he heard that I had done it before (weird how word gets around.) Of course I was willing to do it and it wasn’t any trouble at all. Just a little rubbing alcohol and viola…a clean lense. But Jeff was so happy and grateful…disproportionately grateful. Something so simple meant a great deal. Although he was no longer “the king,” there wasn’t a crown in his line of sight anymore.

I was a little bummed that we didn’t get to go back to camp to play soccer tonight because of the downpour. Rain or shine I want to go tomorrow. It is time to sleep now, although the snoring has already started and Cindy’s fan is buzzing. The air conditioning shut off two hours early, so we’re all pretty much baking like potatoes in here. I’m planning my next trip down here though. These people are indescribable. I want to take them all back on the plane with me. You would fall in love the same way I did.

Monday July 19

Today we went back to see patients. John and I sat at the front, checked in patients (with help because I can't understand any of their name pronunciations,) made flow charts, and goofed around with the little kiddos. The girls congregated just to stand there and call his name. Today was basically the same as the other days as to what happened in the PT tent, except it was ridiculously hot...by far the hottest day so far. Somehow my new nickname is "big baby." I have no idea where that came from.

We had a "party" tonight with honey baked ham shipped from Michigan....and plenty of M&Ms We are eating well for being in a third world country. I've had beer the last two nights with my mom here. That was strange as well. Let me tell you though, beer and honey baked ham is quite the interesting combination.

Two more days at the clinic and we will be heading home. Tomorrow night John and I are going to go back to camp and play soccer with the kids in the afternoon (when it is nice and roasting.) I'm looking forward to that.