Saturday, July 14, 2012

Bainet

Bonjour!!!! Good morning!

When I first arrived to to the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, I thought it was beautiful. Everything was different and I soaked it all in. Each new area I would say, "wow, that is beautiful!" for everything. Marquise and Fritz said this was nothing and wait until we get to Bainet. Of course they were right.

Bainet is in a rural area surrounded by mountains. There is a farm every where you turn, chickens hanging out with their chicks, donkeys carrying supplies, dogs begging for food, piglets rummaging through the ground to eat whatever they can. It is gorgeous here. GORGEOUS. I walk out of my house and I see mountains upon mountains. This is just one picture of my view, not the best but still worth sharing.
Since I have been here, I haven't felt dry. My clothes get wet and stay damp, my hair is damp and stays damp. But I love that we live on a mountain because when I go for a two minute walk uphill, I can feel my muscles pumping and my first drip of sweat comes almost instantly. I like the workout. It has only been one day and my legs are somewhat sore. Good!

This is what the view looks like in the evening.
Because I am the only white person in the community, everyone stares at me like I am a celebrity. It doesn't get old. They stand in groups and gawk at me. Me being friendly and happy, I greet them and some of them smile and greet back while others just stare with a blank face. Sometimes I don't acknowledge they are looking at me and keep on walking. The majority of them are kind people, especially the children. Some children smile at me, and when I smile back they hide their faces. It's quite innocent and precious and I just want to hug them.

I did meet the school children yesterday and my heart was filled with so much joy I couldn't control my tears. 150 students greeted me with a warming "Welcome, Andrea!" It was awesome. The majority of them just stared at me with wide eyes and no expression, no matter how I smiled at them.

This is their school.
I sang my favorite children's song I learned at a summer camp one year for them. It is called "The Princess Pat" and it has movements with each line. This wasn't difficult for them because they are quick and it is a "repeat after me song." We did it three times, and then they sang a bunch of songs for me. I got really upset at one point because I wish I could speak with them like I do with my own students, but I got over it when we started to sing more songs.

I am enjoying myself here. I just wish I could communicate more. Much love.

Andrea

2 comments:

  1. IT FEELS ME WITH GREAT JOY TO SEE SOMEONE TALKING GOOD ABOUT MY HOME TOWN

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  2. IT FEELS ME WITH GREAT JOY TO SEE SOMEONE TALKING GOOD ABOUT MY HOME TOWN

    ReplyDelete