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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Haiti Day 6

Jouer 6
Le 7 Janvier, 2009

Today started out right on time. I was the first one up from my tent, so I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, all of that fun jazz. Jan was already there, so she did my hair and, by 6:30, we did devotions. Today’s devotions were about God’s plan and trusting God to lead us even if the plan may not be what we think best.
After devotions, I joined Andy and Jim in the ‘to be’ orphanage bathroom and acted as their assistant for setting up the pipes for the plumbing. It was a fun job, in the shade, and I caught on quickly. At one point, they noticed that I had caught on to the part names quickly. (e.g. the elbow, t, etc) Andy tried going into detail saying how the elbow had the male and the female. I asked which was the male and he just said “well…” Everyone laughed and it has been the butt of every joke today!
Breakfast came around 9:30 and Jan made pancakes for us once again. It was a fulfilling breakfast and it made us less homesick for American food.
I went back to plumbing for a little while, then Jan came to get me and we went to the market with Wilfred and two of the women who work in the orphanage. It was extremely hot and was an outdoor market, but it was really cool. I felt like a side show again, but I really didn’t mind anymore. There was not anything interesting to buy. Everything was just imported goods and a lot of random stuff you could normally find in the dollar section of Target. Jan and Wilfred shopped around for various things the orphanage needed and Wilfred bartered with the sales people until an agreeable price was found. People were all around and I had fun making them laugh by taking pictures then showing them.
While Wilfred went to find some butter, Jan and I sat in the car and waited with the windows down. People walked by with baskets on their heads and leading horses. Some carried chickens around, which amused me quite a bit. One adorable boy came up to our window and started a conversation with us. He spoke amazing French with me and his English (which he used with Jan) was just as good. We found out his name was Sammy, he was fourteen, he knew six people in Colorado (his cousin lives there), he hated snow, and he loves Jesus. I was amazed at his innocence and was surprised he never asked for anything. He was simply curious. I was sad when it was time to go , but we said goodbye to Sammy and returned to the orphanage. (Jan plans to see him again next Wednesday and now Mike wants to hire him!)
When we arrived, I changed back into my work clothes. As I walked past the complimentary boy from the day before and his friend, they said ‘bonjour Mademoiselle intelligente!” I just laughed and replied my own, “bonjour.”
Andy, Jim, and I continued to work at the plumbing. I became the small task girl, but it was cool because it wasn’t just busy work, it was actually a system that incorporated me. We got both the hot and the cold linked to all eight shower spots and the tubing for the two urinals and two toilets in the boys’ bathroom as well as all six sinks in the girls’ bathroom hooked up. Andy and I had fun joking back and forth and I just had a blast working with them. I swear, Andy can make anyone laugh even the Haitians just by being crazy and goofy, but he also knows what he is doing and gets the job done. I have a lot of respect for both him and Jim after today.
Lunch came around 12:30 today and consisted of the usual sandwiches. We then all walked over to the Wozo and took six Haitian orphans with us. It was so much fun to have them there; three girls and three boys. We played with them in the pool and, rather successfully, taught them how to swim. (This was surprisingly with the language handicap) It was a ton of fun. The girls kept calling for Adam. (They seem to have developed a crush on him) We were all the perfect temperature, but the kids were shivering when they got out. It is the cold season for them! The kids saw me writing in my journal so I had them all write their names for me. They seemed to enjoy showing off their writing skills.
We returned to the orphanage at three and got right back to work. We worked until about six, and then I ran around with the kids for a while. Annie was surrounded by a rather large group with Rony and Emmanuel. The boys were exchanging bets on pushups and other physical tests. It was funny because Annie beat most of the younger boys. It then became just a physical-feat contest. It was so much fun and I couldn’t stop laughing. I wasn’t able to participate because of my neck, but it was still fun. I got to speak in French with Rony for a bit too!
At one point, the kid who calls me ‘intelligent’ (Annie says his name is Son) came up and started conversation with me. I showed him pictures of my family and friends and got a little group gathered around me of people who all wanted to see. We continued our conversation in French and at one point, I don’t remember what lead to it, he told me he preferred watching me over working. I laughed it off saying ‘it’s because it’s different, is it not?” He agreed, it is weird for a woman to work in Haiti so it really isn’t a creeper thing or anything. We continued our conversation with few problems. I’m getting better at conversing, so that’s good! After we wrapped things up, I went back to work.
Dinner came around 7:30 and was the usual spaghetti with random chicken bones mixed in. We got a surprise visitor when a spider the size of my fist climbed up a nearby column. That thing will haunt me for weeks.
After dinner Jim, Andy, and I finished the tubing for the new showers before taking our own showers. (We finished around 9:30 pm) As usual, it felt good to get clean, but I was extremely spider paranoid the entire time. It is currently about 10:30 p.m., and I am beyond exhausted and, therefore, ready to sleep through the night.

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