Only once last night did I wake up to the barking dogs. Otherwise, I slept until I heard women working outside my window around 6 am. Most people here in Haiti get going early in the morning. I'm guessing it's mainly because they have to walk to get where they're going--they don't hop on a train or in their car. Well, some people here do have cars, but given the state of the roadways, it's not much quicker than walking.
I am so proud of myself for being able to sleep well last night. I'm surprised, really. At home, I cannot sleep with windows open. But here, the windows, doors...everything is wide open. It rained all night, but somehow the sound was soothing to me.
It rained hard all through breakfast: toast & jelly, eggs with bacon mixed in, and fresh bananas and pineapple. They are the tastiest bananas and pineapples I have ever had. Mmmmm.
We all got ready and dressed. We went to church in Pillatre, which is a small town near Cap Haitian where Manno is the pastor. The church campus also has a school and it's where we'll be doing the soccer camp this week. Manno and Prisca, our hosts, have two vehicles and the tap-tap. Since it was raining so hard, we had to get to Pillatre in the two vehicles. We asked Prisca, "How many can fit in your Jeep?" "Hmmm," she responded, "American style or Haitian style?" We all laughed and assured her that we were up for riding Haitian style. Haitian style is people crammed in on top of one another--maybe even a few on top or hanging off the sides. For real! We saw a truck just today where a guy was driving--DRIVING--with half of his body hanging out the window. A car that fits 6 people in America fits 12 in Haiti...maybe 15 if they're smaller-sized people.
So, we packed 10 people into the Jeep. We began to pile in and Manno said I should sit up front in the middle ("the tiny one" he called me - I love him for that). "Wait," he said as I began to climb in. He ran back into the house and came back with two pillows. That's when I knew it was going to be a rough ride. I have never seen potholes like I saw today. They weren't even potholes. They were craters. I was so thankful for those two pillows. I don't think we ever got over 30 mph. And, all the craters were filled with water and mud, thanks to the last 12 hours of rain.
We saw some strange sights on the road to Pillatre. People walking, people on motorbikes, people in trucks. Some trucks stuck. There are animals that root through the garbage piles on the sides of the roads--pigs, goats, cows. I think I saw a pony and a donkey, too. And there are rusting-out vehicles scattered here and their on the shoulder of the road. I imagine they are vehicles that got stuck or broke down right there in that spot and were simply abandoned. Many men walking on the road carry machetes. I wonder why...
The drive to Pillatre took about 35 minutes. When we got to church, we went straight in. I don't know what time church usually starts, but today it started when Pastor Manno arrived. I have been told that on a typical Sunday, there are hundreds of people who worship here. But, with all the rain, many people can't make the trip. There were about 50 people there, plus the 15 on my team. There was singing, preaching, more singing, more preaching, and looooooong prayers. The music was beautiful, even though I didn't understand the words. I met a few children who let me take their pictures. The whole congregation was dressed up in their best clothes, despite the fact that they had to walk a long way on muddy roads. Some of them walked all that way barefoot--carrying their shoes, so that they were clean when they put them on at church. The little girls have their hair all done, with lots of bows. Danielle would have loved to see it.
I watched out the windows during the service as the rain stopped and the sky began to clear. By the time we left church to head back to Cap Haitian, the sun was out. I noticed as we left that a hearse was parked near the church. Manno said that there was a funeral this afternoon. I wonder who has died, but have decided not to ask.
After church, we hung out back at the house in Cap and had a simple lunch. Haitians don't do any work on Sundays, including cooking. Later in the day, we went for a walk on the main road to the "car wash." I have never felt so vulnerable and uncomfortable in my life. We were 13 white people on parade (yes, 13 - Arizona was napping and Kevin? Well, they think he's Haitian. People in the airport gave him very strange looks when they realized he didn't speak Creole). It occurred to me that I was feeling, perhaps, what black people in the American South may have felt a few decades ago... I could see some people carrying machetes, and I didn't know how many others may have had concealed weapons. Some people we encountered were friendly, some ignored us, and others were pretty open about the fact that they didn't like us. There's a lot you can understand through facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. I was glad we were there in daylight, and not in the dark of night.
The "car wash" is a broad stretch of a stream in Cap Haitian, where there is enough shore for people to drive their cars up, so that the wheels are immersed, and wash their cars off. It's the same stream where you can also see animals drinking (and I would assume, defecating), people bathing, and others collecting water to take home for cooking and drinking. Oh, and the stream is also used as a garbage dump. Garbage, garbage, garbage. It's everywhere. The smell is overpowering. It's the smell of decay. I began to wonder if improvements could be made simply by educating people about the basics of sanitation and waste disposal, but I think there are many things I don't know or understand about the complexities of life and politics in Haiti.
On the way back to the house, I observed a second common form of security around here (the first being guard dogs). Broken glass bottles cemented on top of the walls around the property, sharp ends up. Clever. Nice reuse of material! It's even kind of colorful and pretty...
I miss my family tonight. I long to hold and love on my children and sing them a song at bedtime. I have felt very strange today about having some "down time." Almost guilty, I think. So much time to myself today. Usually, at home, I have cooking, cleaning, laundry or childcare to do. There's always SOMETHING that needs to be done! But here, after dinner is prepared for me, I eat and put my dishes in the kitchen and then....DO WHATEVER I WANT.
I don't know what to do with myself. I stood on the balcony and listened for a while to some children nearby who were singing, their voices carrying on the breeze. So sweet. Birds calls... A little lizard scampered across some tiles on the roof. I think I surprised a neighbor girl when she realized I was watching her. She began to dash inside her house and fell down. I'm guessing it's not everyday that she sees a strange white lady watching her from up here. She must have gone inside and told her mother she saw me, because her mother came out to see me for herself. I smiled and waved and called, "Bonswa!" And she smiled and waved back. My first successful exchange in Creole!
1 comment:
Wow, Sarah. You write so well. I have such a clear picture in my head of what you experienced.
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