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| Riding in the back of the truck |
We started for Chedner's at 8:00 a.m. as planned. He was ready to go when we arrived. We arrived at the hardware store about 10:00 o'clock or so . . . we encountered just a tiny "blokis" around the American embassy. I was impressed with the hardware store, primarily because it had quality looking materials in it: lawn furniture, faucets, toilets, paint on the shelves. It looked familiar (read American). We were able to find pretty much everything we needed except rags and small containers to hold paint. I think the concept of a "rag"' is alien to Haitians. I guess I should say the concept of buying rags. Why pay money for things that you can make at home by recycling the clothes no longer good to wear? It makes sense--all the rags we had as kids came from old, cut up t-shirts. |
| Shopping |
We got extra brushes and rollers because the older boys wanted to help. Don't know that that turned out to be such a good idea! More on that later.
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| Yes! Under our limit! |
We kept the cost to under $300 which was good. The hardest part was picking out the color! For some reason Chedner didn't want to pick the color! And, I have no ability to color coordinate--I wore pink and green on the plane and Rhonda and Susan questioned my outfit. Susan came to the rescue and chose Pastel Green. Unfortunately, they didn't carry that color in 5 gallon buckets. So, we went back to the color wheel and settled on "peche," or peach. It still went with the chocolate for the door accents, so we were good to go.
Coming Down
Upon return to Chedner's we hoped to begin painting. No such luck. The walls still had to be sanded (so why did we wash the walls yesterday if they still needed to be sanded today?). Within minutes the air was filled with a fine dust. We explained to Chedner that we couldn't begin painting the ceiling while the boys were sanding because there would be too much dust in the air. I was growing worried because we were concerned about being able to get all the painting done, having already lost precious hours this morning. So, we walked back to Gertrude's for lunch with Chedner's promise that the sanding would be done when we returned at 1:00.
As we approached Chedner's after lunch, we could still hear the sounds of sandpaper ringing in the air. We looked at each other and shook our heads. The boys were "sorta" done with the job, but we were determined to begin on the ceilings. Chaos.
Upswing
The tiniest of positives come right before the ceiling fiasco. We called the little kids upstairs and handed out their gifts: a lunch box filled with toys and school supplies. Smiles all around!
Plummet
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| After the paint fight |
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| Not sure who won or lost the fight |
We opened the ceiling paint, and you'da thought that they boys had been given a sugar I.V.! We poured it into the paint tray, and before we knew it, the five older boys had pretty much all the rollers and were slopping it everywhere! We had put down a drop cloth, but they paid no head of that. White ceiling paint was on the floor, the table, and parts of the walls before it got on the ceiling. It was 30 minutes of chaos, and I just about lost it. I felt sick to my stomach because all I could think was that I was totally screwing this up. And, to top it off, various neighbors felt the need to stop in and view the work. Kids on their way home from school poked their heads in. I felt as if I were in a three-ring circus!
Up, Up, Up!
Eventually Chedner moved the boys on to ceiling in the back rooms which left Rhonda, Susan, and I to paint the walls in the front room. I have to admit, the first rolls of wall paint dropped all our stomachs. It went on like white wash. No kidding, I thought we would have to put on about 15 coats. The paint was thin, not stirred well enough, and the walls just soaked it up. Not all places on the walls had been prepped well enough, so in spots it bubbled. I have to admit, at moments I felt as if we were just creating a huge mess. However, after about an hour, the room actually started to look okay. I'd even venture that it looked decent. While Rhonda and Susan did some touch-up work in the front room, I moved on to the hallway. By the time we left, the front room looked pretty much finished and the hallway area had a good first coat on it.
Tomorrow our plan is to start bright and early at 8:00, paint until noon, break for lunch, and then paint another 3-4 hours.
We headed back to clean up, tired and sweaty, but feeling as if we had accomplished something.
That's the painting saga.
I wanna go back to the "upswing" portion. The kids loved receiving their lunch boxes. I think the thought that someone had thought to bring them a gift blew them away. I think that they had something of their own blew them away. I think that they had a gift blew them away. I forget how much I have in the States and how much I take for granted. It's not right or wrong or good or bad. It's the reality of the world we live in. 
But, I need to hold onto the reality that so many others live in and figure out ways to walk with them as equals.
I think tomorrow's blog will be less about what happens and more about thoughts. I have so much that I want to share, but my battery power is running low. As is my brain power!
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| Taking care of the kids |
