A Family Kind of Day

          Today started with the group--Manda and her family, Susan, Erin, and the interns--going to church.  They enjoyed it even though they couldn't understand any of it; my Creole is so much better that I understood much of it.

          Kevin and Nick, Mand'a dad and brother, finished putting up the tables in the therapy room--I am so excited to be able to use them this week!  They fixed the cow, fixed a light, and fixed a fixture--these guys are good!

          The next stop was walking to Divine Family to take the kids there and Lauren and Chedner to lunch, courtesy of Donna.  Kevin and Nick came with us because everyone else had gone to the Visa Lodge to relax.  The kids were ready when we arrived, except Kinslee who didn't want to put a shirt on.  Chedner, of course, needed to shower and dress (he's all about looking good).  We finally had everybody ready and headed to The Family, a small restaurant in the neighborhood.

           We had a good time--the kids behaved beautifully!  The food was good--when it finally arrived 2.5 hours after ordering!

Bringing in the tables

          I know service in Haitian restaurants is slow, but this was ridiculous!  I even told Gertrude three times when we would be there.  When we arrived, they were still bringing in tables that had been moved for a wedding reception the day before (the tables were coming in through a window-type opening that led to the roof, I think).  The cook wasn't there.  The food wasn't there!

Hanging with friends

          We ordered drinks, and Chedner had to go out to get them.  We ordered our meals--chicken and rice and beans for everyone (that's pretty much the only thing on the menu now), and then the cook (who had finally arrived) had to go out and buy the food needed to make the meals!

Having fun

          We are so lucky that the kids are well behaved and easily entertained.  Picture taking filled up lots of time.  So did creating a deck of cards in Creole for Heads Up.  We played a few rounds of Heads Up, which was hysterical because the kids were confused about the concept and just kept reading the words instead of acting them out; Susan was learning Creole, so she wasn't always sure what the Creole words were; and I had memorized the order of the words.  It may not have been what Ellen Degeneres intended, but it worked for us.

Tanya has attitude!

        The meal came.  Everyone had their fill.  And then we had to pay the bill.  Took an hour to tally it up!  Why, I'm not sure.  But, once it was tallied, it had to be double checked.  Twice.  Not sure why since our group was the only one in the place!

Famished from waiting for the
food!

          I really want The Family to be a place to take visitors to give them a sense of a typical Haitian restaurant, but I can't take anyone there again.  It's just too aggravating!  On the plus side?  The kids had fun, we got to hang out with Lauren and Chedner and talk with them, and we have good stories to tell!