03/21/10

I didn't blog last week because I had a visitor! Normally, I come home after church, make a little breakfast and then write on my blog. Last Saturday, my girlfriend, Lindsey, flew in to visit. Like any visitor, she started her trip on Friday afternoon, over-nighted in Miami, then continued on to Port au Prince Saturday morning and then here. It wasn't quite that simple though. Because of a change in their flight that day, Lindsey had to fly to Cap Haitian from Port au Prince, and then flew here. She was able to see quite a bit of the country by the time she arrived here.

Of course, it was great to have her here. The students here were very excited to have her here as well. Many of them have heard me talk about her and were anxious to meet her; especially the 6th grade. They knew she was bringing cupcakes for her. What they didn't know is that she brought enough to have cupcakes on two separate days. She brought enough candy for them to have something each day. The first day, she gave them Swedish fish. A few minutes after she gave out the candy, Diana had her hand up in a panic. She asked if she could get a cup of water after she told me, "I swallowed one whole!!!!". She was in a panic as if she had drank strychnine. By the end of the week I think the entire class was so hopped up on sugar that we had to tighten the bolts to keep them in line. It was probably the most fun week they have had. It was the most fun I have had.

I got to do many of the things that I don't do every week. We ordered goat with fried plantains along with rice and beans for dinner Wednesday night. Earlier for lunch, we had Haitian spaghetti. It is the strangest combination of ingredients but so good. The plate is covered with spaghetti noodles, then has a little hot sauce on top, a little ham, peanuts, and a garnish. Around the edge of the plate are sliced beets, bananas, and boiled sliced carrots. It is the strangest combination of ingredients for spaghetti, but is so good. We also had papita, which are plantain chips. They sell them off the street in small clear bags for the equivalent of $0.25. They are plantains sliced as thin as a chip length wise, deep fried and salted. They are crunchy like chips, but long strips since they are cut lengthwise.

On Thursday, we went to La Pointe to get some ice cream and to walk around. The trip was fun but in the end Lindsey and I both acquired matching burns on our legs. Lindsey got hers from getting off her taxi (moped). You need to get off the left to keep from getting burnt, however, her taxi driver leaned to right making her feel that she needed to get off that side. On the way home, my taxi sped up and we lost control a bit. The driver put his feet down to keep us stable, and I did as well. The problem is that when I put my feet down as we were fish-tailing, the back of my ankle was hit by the moped and I was burned. My ankle is a little swollen, but not too bad. The muscles are a little tight, but nothing like a sprained ankle. The burn is the worst. It's about an inch and a half in diameter. Fortunately for us, since people often get burned here, Norma had given everyone some prescription burn creme (Silvadene). Hopefully, I should be healed in a couple weeks. There's nothing like getting a matching burn on your leg with your girlfriend. Fortunately, we didn't do that on purpose. Had we, I would hope someone would have a talk with us about our relationship.

Other than the burns, this week was the best week I have had here. It was a blessing to share this place with Lindsey this week, have fun with the students, our staff and the Haitian culture. It is always a blessing to have new visitors here to experience this place, so if you are thinking about visiting, please let me know.