The First of the Lasts

View from Delmas

It's really starting to hit home that I leave in less than a week.  I had to run up to Delmas 66 to have pictures printed, and as I walked back down, I realized today was probably the last time I would be up that way on this trip.  I stopped and looked out at the ocean off in the distance.  I just love that view.  I took some pictures, but they just can't capture the look as well as the human eye.

Looking down Delmas

At Delmas 75 I stopped and purchased a Coke and an ear of corn for lunch.  I leaned up against the 1/2 brick wall and ate.  I got lots of stares and a few comments, but today those didn't really bother me.  I was focused on being able to eat cooked food from a street vendor, which is hard to do in most places in my area.  I was pretty full after about 1/2 the ear, but I didn't know what to do with the rest!  I didn't want to throw it out--first of all, I couldn't do it because it was only half eaten and I would feel as if I were wasting food (but I didn't want to offer to a stranger!); secondly, even though there was garbage all around me, I just couldn't bring myself to toss it on the street.  So, I carried it with me.  Finally, while waiting for my taptap I slipped it into a side mesh pocket of my backpack meant for water bottles.  I actually carried it all the way back to the orphanage with me (along with the empty can of Coke because I couldn't litter with that either!)

Yesterday was my last day with horse therapy.  The kids did great!  Cade didn't need anyone to hold him on--he sat on the horse, just as proud as can be, with no attempts to throw himself off.  Christina can now ride with just a little support on one leg--she started without being able to sit up and needing someone to ride behind her.  Jean-Daniel sits up straight the whole time and even pushes his helmet back by himself so that he can see.  Rosaline is sitting up straighter for longer periods of time.  Her face lights up every Wednesday morning when it's time to go, and I love seeing how the trainers work with her and talk with her.  Milo is great with her.

Tonight's storm

More rain

We've been getting a lot of rain lately and not just during the night.  Yesterday and today it rained stormed around 5:00 p.m.  And I mean it STORMED.  Thunder, lightening, wind, rain.  Last night the wind blew so much many of the rooms flooded because the rain was coming in so much.  I won't necessarily miss the muddiness that follows rains here, but I will miss the intensity of the downpours.

"Haiti is advancing"

I took a couple more pictures on my walk down Delmas.  The Martelly signs have been showing up everywhere in the last week.  He's two years into his five-year term and does not hesitate to toot his own horn.  I would expect it if he could run for another term right away, but he can't.  In Haiti, a person can only serve two terms, but they cannot be back-to-back.  I find that interesting.  Maybe he's already preparing for the election in 2020!

 The picture of the food stand on the right I took because I pass it on my way down Delmas every time I go to print pictures.  It's somewhere around Delmas 85, I think, and I have always wanted to stop and get something.  I don't, however, because I'm not sure how my stomach would react.  It's obviously a large operation and well established based on the size and the number of customers I usually see at it.  The first time I saw it I thought it was a "soup kitchen" because of its size.  I've never seen a "soup kitchen" here before, so I guess it's a for-profit business.  I just like it.  Who knows?  Maybe on another trip I'll stop in and buy some lunch.