It was SO nice to finally be back to sunny Haiti weather again. The sun came back for the first time since Wednesday or Thursday. Mom and I walked the kids to school around 7:30 AM, and then we went to work painting the rest of the wall. It went much faster with two people working, and we finished it. We will still need to go back and touch up some areas, but for the most part it is all done!
Mom got a taste of what it is like to be a white woman in Haiti doing “a man's job”. We had quite a few people stop, stare, and talk to us. It's funny because mom kept calling me her translator...I would hardly call myself a translator! But, I guess I get by alright. One woman stopped and watched and talked for a while. She said that she would like a job cleaning, washing clothes, or helping with the children. I explained that I am here working for another woman and she would need to talk to her if she is interested in a job. So, she went up to the house and talked with Dorothy. She came back out later and told me she was very happy because Dorothy told her to come back tomorrow. She gave mom and I both hugs and kisses, and then she helped to pull weeds that were in our way of painting. I found out later that Dorothy did not hire her. She simply told her to come back tomorrow to discuss it. A few minutes later, another woman walked up to me, randomly gave me a hug and a kiss, and wanted to talk. She had her little son with her, and she said he had a problem going to the bathroom. Then, she showed me her note from the hospital saying that he needed to be circumcised and that it would cost 1000 Haitian dollars. I told her to go up to the gate and speak to the nannies or to Dorothy. My Creole is too limited to be able to get the full story from her or be able to help her out. So, Dorothy ended up calling a doctor that she knows and he said he will do it for free tomorrow. We also ran into Anne (the mother that we took to the maternity hospital). She had stopped by to get a ride to the hospital to get a tubal ligation, but the truck was not here because they were out picking up the kids. I wish that I could have helped her!
After we finished the wall, we cleaned up and had lunch. Then, I spent some quality time with Rose Mitchel holding her, putting lotion on her dry little arms and legs, and feeding her. I'm so attached already! After I put her down, I spent the rest of the evening playing with my “big kids”. Mich has been dying for a kite ever since I arrived. He has tried making one several times, and last week Brenda tried helping him. Now, he has been asking my mom to help him. So, she has been searching the house for materials.
It was SO nice getting back to the regular school routine. The house was much calmer when all the kids got home. They were so much better with their manners, behavior, and energy level. Six days off school (the majority of them rainy) was far too long. Man, I feel like a parent, ha!
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