A Summary Of The Day 4/22/15

Today began with a 6:00 wake up, which was extremely popular with the kids of the group, but the fulfilling day of hard work was worth the lack of sleep. We ate a delicious breakfast at Walls Guest. House and were on the road by 7:30. We arrived at Pastor Rene's school, dropped off the school supplies which we brought for the children, and were given a tour by Pastor Rene's son, Frenaud. The children were very enthusiastic about our visit and once they discovered that my sister and I spoke French, chattered away in French at a ridiculous pace that made me exhausted! But it was nice for the group to connect to the children on a personal level.

After the tour, we spent long, demanding hours in the sun painting the outside of the church, located directly next to the school, the exact same shade of pale yellow that it was before. It was "hot as Hades or rather Haiti" in Dr. Jay's words, we were constantly stared at and swarmed by children, and by the end everyone was completely covered in paint. In other words, at home I would have been miserable and taking breaks every other second to escape the heat. Yet, here in Haiti every single person, American and Haitian, worked until coaxed into lunch by our concerned chaperones. It's a different environment, one where working on a project like this is a way of communication that shows that we are here not for charity but for sharing. I didn't want to stop and was having fun talking in my broken French to our driver, "James", about Haitian culture and Creole.

Inside the church for lunch, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (pre-made in the morning at Walls) and cold soda brought to us by Frenaud. During lunch I finally got to play soccer, which is something I've been itching to do since I saw (extremely good) Haitian kids playing on Monday. A juggling exchange started between James and myself,  which led to half the youth, who were supposed to be working on painting, to start a juggling circle as well. The break may not have been relaxing, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Afterwards, we re-painted the inside walls of the church. It was demanding work, which left us all exhausted and paint splattered (Aaron was especially covered in dense, white flecks), but the new brightness of the church was work every minute of work. We spent a enjoyable, hard day of work filled with wonderful people, fascinating conversations, and amusement.

Upon our return to Walls, we enjoyed the comforts of the hotel with new appreciation, a nice dinner (complete with two adorable cats at my feet), card games and a refreshing swim in the pool. We finished the day with a closing circle and talk as well as blog posts by Noelle and myself!

Thanks to all who made this trip possible,
Mary Cate