The Guest Blogger from Geneva ;-)

Jamie asked if I would write her blog entry for tonight, which I thought would be an easy task.  Our first full day here in Port au Prince has been a long, full one, so this is harder then I thought.  So, I'll go the easy "chronological approach" and list out what I can remember of my introduction to Notre Maison and St. Joe's Orphanage.

I was rudely awakened at 6:40 by Jamie and Rhonda.  Since I slept with ear plugs and eye shades, and it took me HOURS to fall asleep, they practically had to drag me out of bed.  Showers here are a cold water single stream from a wall spigot, and it feels WONDERFUL as the days are hot here. Our meals are prepared by the Haitian staff here, and they are tailored to American, Canadian and European groups, so we had scrambled eggs, toast and sliced mangoes and watermelon for breakfast, all pretty tasty.

From there, we had our indoctrination to helping with the feeding the children with disabilities.  Some are in makeshift wheelchairs due to CP or birth defects, while others are quite mobile.  All of them love to be picked up and held, and most of them eat as if it will be their last meal.  As a result, I learned quickly to protect the bowl of cornmeal mush from the rascal who tried to grab a handful when they were done with their own.  One little girl even reached in the mouth of the boy I was feeding to get the food for herself.  The kids really do get plenty of food, but because many of these children were abandoned as babies, and some had to scavage for food before coming here, they are greedy for food.  By the time I helped with the lunch feeding of beans and rice, I was getting as savvy as the little ones!

After breakfast, Jamie took us on a walk in the neighborhood.  I was struck by the smell (a mixture of diesel oil, garbage, and ????) and by the goats, roosters and wild dogs that shared the street with us.  We were passed by women with huge bundles of laundry or baskets of fruit on their heads, and many children were walking to school in their uniforms (each little school in the area has a different color and style.)  Many kids were being driven to school by motorcycle - and there ARE no rules of the road here.  We heard calls of "Hey, you!" and "Blanc", not meant to be disrespectful but shouted in interest at these white visitors.  I truly felt as if I were in a different world.

The rest of the day was made up of taking some kids in wheelchair on a walk, washing floor mats used for therapy, playing with kids on the playground, filling the toilet tank with water before each flush, and visiting with other guests who are helping out here.  I even snuck in a little nap when I hit a wall and could not think straight.

Finally, I will sneak in a word about Jamie.  I am so impressed by her knowledge of the kids here, her skill as a guest house ambassador, her Creole fluency and her dedication to this place.  I think that the people at  Rotolo Middle School, where she works when she's not on sabbatical, would be amazed at what she is doing here.  I know that I am.  (I'm not going to let her proofread this before I post it. :-)

So, that's it for today.  Forgive the typing errors, as I am not used to this keyboard.  (BTW - thank you, Mrs. Schwab, for donating this computer; Jamie even used it to Skype with a Florida teacher and his music class during the school time for the kids today!)

Talk to you soon,
Susan