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Mesi!!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Day 12: BEACHHHHHHH!!!
We woke up very early today even though we went to sleep very late. We wanted to wake up to eat breakfast at the hotel, and to finalize some plans for the day, before the Pye's left for the day to VBS. The previous day we had told the Cornerstone Highschoolers to come to the beach in Jacmel with us. We wanted to talk to Danny to make sure we had someone with us who could direct us where to go. We ate toast with peanut butter and bananas, drank coffee, and Becca had Haitian spaghetti as well. We taught the Alabamans how to eat the spaghetti with Ketchup. They thought we were crazy until Becca ate it and showed them, Then they tried it and loved it.
We then headed back to our room to...sleep. haha. We know its crazy we woke up to eat and talk then fell back asleep for a couple hours. We finally woke up when one of the girls from the orphanage in Leogane called us to see how we were, and check when we were coming back. We headed to the Pye's house when we were ready so Becca could post all our blog updates. Not long after Becca started our Leogane peeps arrived to take us to the beach with them.
We took a couple of the Pye kids with us. There was some controversy as to what beach we would be going to. Becca and I had worked hard to find the best beach for them to go to. The translators started arguing about which beach to go to. We asked what was up and one of them said to us we are going to so and so beach very angrily and matter of factly. We were very taken aback by his brashness. There was a lot of drama. Becca and I were upset because we invited the high schoolers there, made a plan, and then they didn't even care what we said. We had also hired a guy to help us find our way. We were concerned about how the high schoolers translator had spoken to us and how he treated the guy who was helping us. We decided it would be best for us to do whatever was easiest and not make it a bigger issue. The beach we ended up going to was lovely and there was no problem. We were still upset with the translator that yelled at us though. He kept giving me "dirty" looks and I was about to say something but decided it was better not to. Awhile later he asked me to speak to him. He apologized to me, which was very very unexpected. I told him I was sincerely thankful for his apology. I also told him I was upset that he yelled at me, that I would never speak to him that way, and then told him again thank you for apologizing. He also apologized to Becca. We hope that he decided on his own to apologize to us, rather than someone else asking him to do so. Either way I think it was very significant that he apologized.
We had a lot of fun swimming around with all the Americans and with the Pye kids. The beach we went to was a public beach that a lot of Haitians go to. There were a ton of local kids there and we were so happy to see the American high schoolers playing and interacting with them. I think they made a good impression. Becca drank delicious coconut water straight from a coconut. She also pulled out a loose tooth of one of the Pye girls who came with us. The girl is nine and her tooth was VERY loose. After a long time she eventually let her pull it out. We had to coerce her with an ice cream cone.
It was very cool to see how our little knowledge of Haitian culture and the Creole language has paid off. We have been working really hard to try and learn as much as we can about Haiti and we can tell that the Haitian people we interact with really appreciate it. They are always surprised at us when we try and speak with them even though it's very broken when we speak.
We were really tired after we got back to the Pye house and we hadn't eaten all day. We decided to head to the local hot spot/fast food joint called Jacbel where we ate American style fries. We saw a father and his daughter sharing ice cream together and we could tell that he really loved her. I told him that we worked at an orphanage and that we really loved seeing him loving his daughter. He seemed really happy and proud. (The guy who works at Jacbel totally looks like Tracy Morgan lolz.) We walked home, chatted up the locals and ate dinner with the Americans. We also witnessed Danny being crazy and splashing like five buckets of water on his wife Leanne. She's a really good sport. All the kids were standing around laughing and it was cool to see them acting like a family and having a good time.
That's all folks!
YAY WE'RE UPDATED!!!
Tomorrow we are headed back to Leogane. We have really enjoyed our time here and plan to visit in the future. It was cool to see a different part of Haiti and a different way to run an orphanage. I think we really learned a lot and now we really feel like part of the Pye family whether they need two more kids or not! (Pye blog: www.pyesinhaiti.blogspot.com)
-Amy (Pom de te)
We then headed back to our room to...sleep. haha. We know its crazy we woke up to eat and talk then fell back asleep for a couple hours. We finally woke up when one of the girls from the orphanage in Leogane called us to see how we were, and check when we were coming back. We headed to the Pye's house when we were ready so Becca could post all our blog updates. Not long after Becca started our Leogane peeps arrived to take us to the beach with them.
We took a couple of the Pye kids with us. There was some controversy as to what beach we would be going to. Becca and I had worked hard to find the best beach for them to go to. The translators started arguing about which beach to go to. We asked what was up and one of them said to us we are going to so and so beach very angrily and matter of factly. We were very taken aback by his brashness. There was a lot of drama. Becca and I were upset because we invited the high schoolers there, made a plan, and then they didn't even care what we said. We had also hired a guy to help us find our way. We were concerned about how the high schoolers translator had spoken to us and how he treated the guy who was helping us. We decided it would be best for us to do whatever was easiest and not make it a bigger issue. The beach we ended up going to was lovely and there was no problem. We were still upset with the translator that yelled at us though. He kept giving me "dirty" looks and I was about to say something but decided it was better not to. Awhile later he asked me to speak to him. He apologized to me, which was very very unexpected. I told him I was sincerely thankful for his apology. I also told him I was upset that he yelled at me, that I would never speak to him that way, and then told him again thank you for apologizing. He also apologized to Becca. We hope that he decided on his own to apologize to us, rather than someone else asking him to do so. Either way I think it was very significant that he apologized.
We had a lot of fun swimming around with all the Americans and with the Pye kids. The beach we went to was a public beach that a lot of Haitians go to. There were a ton of local kids there and we were so happy to see the American high schoolers playing and interacting with them. I think they made a good impression. Becca drank delicious coconut water straight from a coconut. She also pulled out a loose tooth of one of the Pye girls who came with us. The girl is nine and her tooth was VERY loose. After a long time she eventually let her pull it out. We had to coerce her with an ice cream cone.
It was very cool to see how our little knowledge of Haitian culture and the Creole language has paid off. We have been working really hard to try and learn as much as we can about Haiti and we can tell that the Haitian people we interact with really appreciate it. They are always surprised at us when we try and speak with them even though it's very broken when we speak.
We were really tired after we got back to the Pye house and we hadn't eaten all day. We decided to head to the local hot spot/fast food joint called Jacbel where we ate American style fries. We saw a father and his daughter sharing ice cream together and we could tell that he really loved her. I told him that we worked at an orphanage and that we really loved seeing him loving his daughter. He seemed really happy and proud. (The guy who works at Jacbel totally looks like Tracy Morgan lolz.) We walked home, chatted up the locals and ate dinner with the Americans. We also witnessed Danny being crazy and splashing like five buckets of water on his wife Leanne. She's a really good sport. All the kids were standing around laughing and it was cool to see them acting like a family and having a good time.
That's all folks!
YAY WE'RE UPDATED!!!
Tomorrow we are headed back to Leogane. We have really enjoyed our time here and plan to visit in the future. It was cool to see a different part of Haiti and a different way to run an orphanage. I think we really learned a lot and now we really feel like part of the Pye family whether they need two more kids or not! (Pye blog: www.pyesinhaiti.blogspot.com)
-Amy (Pom de te)
Day 11: Lots of crashing
We started out the day eating cliff bars and chatting with a new team of people from Alabama(is everyone from Alabama???) We were discussing how all the girls were going to have to guard each others butts as we climbed into the tap tap when we discovered that we were riding in a regular bus! YAY! We then headed to church. The church in Jacmel was very nice. All the people were very dressed up. The women were all in skirts and the men were all in dress pants and collared shirts. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there. There was a lot of great music, but the BEST part was that there were fans! Shallow I know. Actually the best part was one one of the 'bamans broke their plastic chair. There was a designated person to come in, remove their chair, and replace it with a Saturday metal chair. Pretty funny as he was sitting in the 3rd row from the back. After church we were walking out when Becca slipped on the edge of the road. I made fun of her of course. Then like 2 minutes later I slipped on the same part and fell all the way to the ground on hands and knees. I basically spent the whole days slipping around. Toms shoes+a little bit of dirt=slippery.
We didn't really have a plan for the day. We asked 2 of Danny & Leann's kids to show us around Jacmel. It was cool to see the different style of buildings there, but no one was really out and about. I think they were not out for 2 reasons. One was that it was Sunday and things are much calmer on Sundays. The other is that there was a major soccer game happening, and everyone...EVERYONE was glued to their TVs watching.
Ok mama Becca and mama Amy don't freak out...but we rode motorcycles or motos as they are called here. We asked that they drive slowish and to please not kill us. It went well and we actually enjoyed it. We made it safely back to the Pye's house.
After going to town we mostly just hung out. We ate "American Spaghetti"and tried to get on updating out blog. YOUR WELCOME! Does anyone even read this? If so why doesn't anyone leave comments????
It was raining a lot so we avoided walking home to the hotel that is like a block and a half away. So everyone here fell asleep. When we decided to leave the gate was locked from the inside. We had to call Danny and wake him to help us. As I was walking out of their house I slipped off their 3 stairs. My butt landed at the bottom in a puddle of water, my neck hit the top stair, the back of my lungs hit the second stair, and my lower back hit the bottom stair. It was awful. I didn't want to cry in front of the guy so I sat up on my knees and tried to catch my breath. Danny asked me if I was ok and I said yes. Then we walked up the hill to our hotel. I was struggling big time. I felt like I couldn't breath and everything hurt. When we got to the hotel I slipped on the tile entry, but didn't fall. We went inside into our room. While Becca showered I called my hubby. Of course he was nice to me so I kind of relaxed and maybe cried a little. Then Danny called on the other line to make sure we made it and to ask if I needed a doctor. I answered him with the shortest answers I could because I didn't want him to know I was crying. Dumb I know. So that's how we ended the night. It was very late like 11pm :(
Amy
We didn't really have a plan for the day. We asked 2 of Danny & Leann's kids to show us around Jacmel. It was cool to see the different style of buildings there, but no one was really out and about. I think they were not out for 2 reasons. One was that it was Sunday and things are much calmer on Sundays. The other is that there was a major soccer game happening, and everyone...EVERYONE was glued to their TVs watching.
Ok mama Becca and mama Amy don't freak out...but we rode motorcycles or motos as they are called here. We asked that they drive slowish and to please not kill us. It went well and we actually enjoyed it. We made it safely back to the Pye's house.
After going to town we mostly just hung out. We ate "American Spaghetti"and tried to get on updating out blog. YOUR WELCOME! Does anyone even read this? If so why doesn't anyone leave comments????
It was raining a lot so we avoided walking home to the hotel that is like a block and a half away. So everyone here fell asleep. When we decided to leave the gate was locked from the inside. We had to call Danny and wake him to help us. As I was walking out of their house I slipped off their 3 stairs. My butt landed at the bottom in a puddle of water, my neck hit the top stair, the back of my lungs hit the second stair, and my lower back hit the bottom stair. It was awful. I didn't want to cry in front of the guy so I sat up on my knees and tried to catch my breath. Danny asked me if I was ok and I said yes. Then we walked up the hill to our hotel. I was struggling big time. I felt like I couldn't breath and everything hurt. When we got to the hotel I slipped on the tile entry, but didn't fall. We went inside into our room. While Becca showered I called my hubby. Of course he was nice to me so I kind of relaxed and maybe cried a little. Then Danny called on the other line to make sure we made it and to ask if I needed a doctor. I answered him with the shortest answers I could because I didn't want him to know I was crying. Dumb I know. So that's how we ended the night. It was very late like 11pm :(
Amy
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Day 10 Just another day in Haiti
Today we woke up early to visit the Pye’s VBS. We really loved the songs and skits they did. We videotaped them so we can show it to the girls when we get back to Leogane. The VBS was run by the 22 Pye kids and a team of Americans from Alabama. They also have some women to cook lunch for all the kids. Amy and I were on hot dog and rice serving duty. I felt Haitian with that giant pot of rice. Amy and I were lucky (kind of) to hold tiny babies all day long. Amy’s baby slept the whole time. My baby however was fine for most of the day but then got really cranky. I figured it was gas. It wasn’t. He must have eaten a lot that day because whatever was in his diaper exploded out onto my skirt. I had to wear a poopy skirt all day. Ugh. I told his mom that it’s a good thing I love babies.
After VBS the team went to Basin Bleu and I went with them. Amy was really tired so she went back to the Pye house. Amy hung out at their house and talked with some of the kids that she hadn’t met before. One of them spoke English really well. I am glad I had enough energy to go to Basin Bleu again because it sure is beautiful. Today the sun wasn’t out so it was a LOT colder. But it was refreshing. I don’t know why but I climbed up to the waterfall again to jump. It was way scarier the second time because I psyched myself out even more.
When I got back to the Pye house Amy and I hung out for a little bit then went back to our hotel to eat dinner with a new team of Americans. We always talk a lot to people who speak English because we’re not used to it. I’m sure they all think we’re a little crazy. After dinner Danny took us with him to a really nice beachfront hotel because he had a meeting there. Amy and I had some drinks while we waited for him. The hotel was BEAUTIFUL. We never saw anything like it in Haiti before. We talked to some boys there that told us that there was a Voodoo place really close to the hotel where they sacrifice children four times a year. We confirmed with Danny who told us that one of his daughters was supposed to be a sacrifice but that he bought her from them for 13 American dollars. Wow.
Day 9 Waterfalls and ASL
We were invited to come to a place called Basin Bleu today with a team of people who had spent their time in Gran Goave doing soccer camps. It was a long bumpy ride up the mountain (we have several bruises all over our backs and butts) and a 30 minute hike but it was soooo worth it. There was also this rock that you had to climb down and Amy was really scared. But she was fine. The waterfall was beautiful and I jumped off the top!! It was 120 feet but seemed higher. I was soooooo scared. The cold water was refreshing. The hike back from the waterfall was really long and Amy and I were going pretty slow. All those sporty people we came with were running past us and it made us feel awful because we couldn’t breathe or move quickly. We were the last ones back of course and the only ones breathing heavy and sweating so much. On the way I saw an avocado tree and stole one because it was huge and looked delicious. We haven’t eaten it yet because it’s not ripe at all. Back near the beginning of the hike there were all these workers there who kept making kissing noises at us like the Haitian men usually do. Being the wonderful and hilarious people that we are, Amy and I taught them that instead of making kissing noises at American women they should say “I work out” in English which sounds AWESOME coming from a person with an accent.
When we got back to the Pye house we walked down the street to a restaurant named Jacbel. It has French fries! We were very tired and hungry so it tasted extra delicious. Amy and I were sitting there eating our food when a big truck drove by on the street and shook the building a little and EVERYONE in the place jumped up and ran to the door because they thought it was an earthquake. It was awful to see the intense fear that they had and see how something as little as a truck going by affects people daily. Also while we were eating Amy noticed a deaf couple signing to each other. I told her about how I knew a little sign language and she made me talk to them. I’m so happy I did because they knew American Sign Language. Apparently there is a huge deaf population in Jacmel because they have a school for the deaf here. Cool! I was so surprised at how much I remembered from my classes so long ago. I told them about how Amy loves Charly and wants to adopt him and he said God bless us for the work we’re doing here and made Amy and I cried a little because he was so sweet. When we came back and told Danny about it he told us that a ton of deaf people go to his church and they always have translators during the services. Sweet!
-Becca
Day 8 Trying new things in Haiti
We finally woke up to get showered in the new orphanage showers. It was pretty nice and we were pretty darn stinky from sweating the whole night. We knew that our ride was going to come sometime that “afternoon” but didn’t know exactly what time so we didn’t make any plans for the day other than packing. It should have taken one hour but it took us allllllll day. We also had to take some time to fix the power in that one room that didn’t work before. We got wonderful directions from Sherman again so it was pretty easy. But we still feel cool and accomplished. Our ride Danny FINALLY showed up to get us at like 6:30. Our girls were really worried for us and told us not to go because the road to Jacmel is windy and dangerous at night. We had no problems because Danny has driven it hundreds of times. We picked up two guys who wanted a ride and they thought we couldn’t understand Creole but we could. They were saying inappropriate stuff and were so surprised when we told them to stop. We talked to Danny the whole way and got along and understood each other’s sarcasm. Now we’re great friends. We arrived at our hotel after a two hour car ride and were ready to sleep. Our hotel was shweeeet. We felt like we were staying in a 5 star hotel. It had WARM water, real beds and air conditioning. Oh and water pressure!
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