katie loves haiti: February 2011

I am almost afraid to write that things are going well here on my own (I feel like writing it might jinx me). But, things are going well here. I've been trying to take it easy because I've got a cold right now. It is very hard to keep my distance from the kids without completely locking myself in my room. Thankfully, things have been relatively calm.

Our only "problem" of the day was when Samuel (our driver) took our truck to get the oil changed. Because I'm girly and never learned how to change the oil myself, I called the garage to see if we could take the truck in. They assured me that if we took the truck in the morning, it would only take an hour to finish. So, as soon as Samuel dropped the kids off at the hospital and and HIV clinic, he went to the garage and arrived just before 9 AM.

I called him at 11 to check in. He was still waiting! So, I called the manager. He assured me not to worry that they would be finished by 11:30. At noon, Samuel called me. He explained that they were still not finished and they were refusing to give him the truck so that he could go pick the kids up at school. I called the manager again. He assured me they were just about to give Samuel the truck. At 1:20 Samuel called me AGAIN...still no truck. This time, I was mad. I called the manager and explained that I was VERY upset with their service and that my driver was over an hour and a half late to pick up my children at school and at the hospital. Thankfully, that did the trick and they quickly finished and gave Samuel the truck.

Apparently, they took my instructions "change the oil" as "do a full service and take all day on it". Typical Haiti. Ugh. The good thing about it was that when they finished, they told Samuel he did not need to pay. They must have felt bad for taking FIVE HOURS to change the oil.

I considered not writing today because I didn't want to sound depressing. I decided that since I want my blog to be a holistic picture of what I'm experiencing here, I shouldn't leave out the "depressing parts". On top of that, writing on this blog has become sort of therapeutic for me.

I had an incredible time while my friends were here for the past week, but today was the day that I always dread: saying goodbye. I'm a social person and I like my loved ones close by. So, that poses a problem considering that I live in another country over 1,200 miles away from everyone. Don't get me wrong, I've got MANY new and wonderful friends here, but its just not quite the same. Up until now, I had not been homesick and I had never really felt "lonely".

Deana and I looked forward to this week for so long, but somehow it has come and gone already. There is so much to do here that a week just goes way too fast. When it was time to take everyone to the airport today, my heart felt heavy and I actually felt sick to my stomach. After they left, I was fighting back tears for most of the day. I had one of those feelings that even though I am surrounded by a lot of people and children, I still feel alone. With Dorothy in the states, I am now the only American at our house. I am fine being "in charge" and everything has been going well, but I'm feeling emotional and homesick for loved ones. On top of that, I think I am getting sick.

For those of you reading this who know me personally, please don't worry...I will get over it, and I'm doing fine. But, in the meantime, I would really appreciate prayers for the next two weeks as I am here alone.

To cheer myself up a little and make sure that I don't forget any of the great memories from the past week, I'm going to write about the highlight's of Deana, Tina, Jeanne, and Emily's visit:

The look of relief on Deana's face as she spotted me, the lone white face in a crowd of dark skin, waiting outside of the airport on their first day
Seeing everyone brace themselves while I drove them home from the airport (Haitian roads are crazy)
When one of the nannies asked me, "Is your friend Deana a boy or a girl" (I have no idea why she needed to ask me that...I think maybe the name confused her.)
Watching the kids slowly come out of their shells as they got to know Deana, Tina, Jeanne, and Em
Deana's reaction at 6AM after her first night here: "There are so many roosters outside that I feel like I've been sleeping in a chicken barn! Why are all the kids awake already? Also, what was that weird noise all night long!?" (our outside dog likes to sleep under my window and cough very loudly all night long)
Riding in the bed of the truck for hours on end (and getting covered in dust, dirt, and grime)
Hearing our dog, Nala, find and then murder a rat right outside our window one night
Deana, Tina, and I teaching Chacha and Mich how to jump rope
Listening to Deana squealing in the bathroom as she took her ice cold shower
Tina waiting for her coffee to brew then getting mad at the fact that someone "turned off the coffee pot" when really we just didn't have electricity
Chacha calling Deana "Dyno" all week
Laughing at the fact that Emily was always in the middle of a shower at night when the electricity went off
Deana wearing pink bubble gum flavor dentists' gloves as she unclogged our shower, toilet, and sink for us
Seeing how happy/appreciative the nannies were to get their teeth cleaned by Jeanne
Watching Tina bond and fall in love with Rose Mitchel
Seeing Deana help Mich with his math and teach him how to throw football
Taking the kids to the park
Sharing our mango, banana, and pineapple with the kids
Me convincing Deana to buy her husband a machete as a souvenir. Then, seeing Deana get all embarrassed as she had to carry a machete in hand as we walked home from the store
Tina trying to blow out a kerosene lantern...through the glass.
Watching Deana try to communicate with the nannies (who don't speak English)
Tina running into the door at the gift shop
Tina turning on a standing fan in their room only to find that it was broken and sounded like a chain saw
Deana getting spit up on everytime she picked up one of the babies
Comparing our sunburns and weird tan lines all week
Deana setting mouse traps all over the house and catching quite a few mice in them
Hanging out on the roof
Hearing Deana just say "cat" at the grocery register rather than "Carte Digicel" when I needed her to get me another phone card
Taking 4 VERY excited kids out for pizza and ice cream at Epi'dor
Hearing Deana say that she is proud of me
Deana "accidentally" flinging a dead rat carcass at my head
Hearing Tina, Deana, Em, and Jeanne cheer for me after I won a showdown between our little Tata pick-up and a Mack truck
Our trip to Mich's rural village
Watching others fall in love with "my kids"
Deana telling me that she wanted to stay longer
watching Deana almost gag as she tried to eat mayi laboui (a Haitian dish)
When I realized (after I was already in the shower) that I had no towel and Emily threw me a tiny kid sized duck towel (complete with legs and a hood)
Unpacking all of the awesome toys and goodies that they brought for out kids
Seeing how much fun the kids had spending time and play with them all week
Having fun and talking, and laughing with my best friend

Claudine likes her new hat

The kids LOVE the tent that my mom sent them

Claudine got a little bit too much lotion

Deana unclogging our shower with her bubble gum flavored dental gloves :)

Tina and Youvendjy

Kez giving vaccinations to all our kids

Deana announcing that she unclogged the sink, toilet, and shower

Rose Mitchel getting her vaccinations

Emily and Frances (she looks so grown up!)

Lala trying to find a vein to give Youvendjy an IV

You can't tell because of the camera flash, but we had no electricity and were trying to get an IV in by flashlight

Deana loved Stripey, hahaha

Johnny at the playground looking absolutely adorable as always

Christian and Johnny...so cute!

Jeanne checking Johnny's teeth

Jeanne checking Mich's teeth

The palace in ruins from the earthquake

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The cathedral in ruins from the earthquake

It was actually clear enough to see the bay while driving on main Delmas

Every time Deana held Francesca, she got spit up on....too funny!

Jeanne cleaning the nannies' teeth

Lunch time!

Rice and beans every day

We were posing for a picture and once again, Deana got spit up on. "Hurry! It feels warm and she got it on my foot, too!"

Guerdline and I

Tina and her baby, Rose Mitchel

Deana riding in the back of the truck

Hanging out with the kids in the backyard

Their laps were just not big enough

Some of the furniture my neighbors made. When I asked them how they learned to make furniture, he showed me a magazine that was in English. He cannot read/speak English so he looks at the pictures and mimics what he sees.