Processing Haiti

Our trip to Haiti was amazing. It always is. I love Haiti, and I honestly hate leaving, but after a week, I desparately want to see my kids, who are being extra naughty right now. Traveling to Haiti is always hard too. Its hard to love on tiny little babies who are so sick and frail. So often we hear the statistics concerning children's health in Haiti, but it is another story as you hold a statistic and pray your heart out that this child will receive all that they need to have a healthy and happy life. I got to visit with several kids that I've met multiple times in the past. Its great to see them slowly improve each time that I see them. The creche is moving in a month, so we packed up some of the extra items and loaded them up to take to the new building in the mountains. The crazy thing about moving in Haiti is, there are no boxes. In my 10 moves, every time we decide to move, we hit the liquor store and grocery stores for our personal crap recepticals and load up and move. In Haiti, you scrounge all over for empty tubs, coolers or any other vessel that can be loaded, thanks Spiderman toy box, and then you fill it up and go. With all of the people in our group, the loading and packing part went super quick. We also had time to do some crafts/activities with the kids and paint at the new building up in the mountains. I got to visit with our sponsor kiddo, who has been going to therapy and is beginning to walk some. It was great to see.

I also noticed that for the first time since the Earthquake, noticable progress has been made in housing development. Many of the open areas around the airport, are open areas again. The large park by the palace that housed thousands of people last fall is a park again. That makes me very happy.

I had my first real experience with authentic French food. At the guest house in the mountains, the owner was a trained French chef, and I may never be the same. The food was A.Maz.Ing!!!! I'm considering moving to the mountains just for the food. I also learned that the mountains in Haiti can be cool. It was very pleasant during the day, but at night the temperature drops, except, unlike your house, there is not one bit of heat. The water is slightly heated, which is a great thing, and we all had one sweatshirt, which we slept in, but regardless I froze my tail off in Haiti at night.
I truly was disappointed to leave, but I was eager for a hot shower in Miami. Of course, as my luck would have it, our motel had hot water issues, and we had no hot water, Seriously!!! I could have cried.

While we were gone, Gabriella got an ear infection. Of course, nothing makes you feel like mom of the year when your kid gets sick and your several thousand miles away. She's doing great now, and I still get the joy of dealing with her antibiotic laden digestive system, so I don't feel near as guilty now.

I recieved approximately 1023 mosquito bites while we were in Port-au-Prince even though I was literally dredged in Deet. Of course, several of the neighbors to the Heartline Guesthouse developed Malaria. I don't take malaria medication prior to trips as it makes me sick, but currently I'm winning on the malaria lottery, and I feel tired, but fine.

I had this fabulous idea that once we arrived in Miami, we should go check out the IKEA. We have never been to one before. In hindsight, when you are trying to reconcile all the injustice in the world, maybe that's not the best time to visit the IKEA. Seriously, how can we be surrounded by so much, when so many people are desparate for food and shelter. I was thoroughly impressed by IKEA and we wandered through there lost and in awe, but I did find a handy gadget to frothe my coffee whenever I feel like it.

We arrived home Saturday night and collapsed into a pile of exhaustion. Yesterday we celebrated Adlerson's birthday and I heard those eight little words that make my heart bounce, "Mom, I have a science project due tomarrow." Apparently, Aurrora's class was assigned science fair type projects while we were gone. I find it great that the kids were only given a week to complete this project. We had no guidelines as to what this project was supposed to encompass, so I did what any good mom does. We did a project that I entered in the 4th grade science fair, and yes my Grandpa did it all for me back then. I made her to most of it, and I sent her off to school full of confidence that all would be well. Tonight she tells me, her teacher publically ridiculed her project. Yes, I am one angry mom, and the e-mail to the teacher is heading off soon. Seriously, 3 kids demonstrate their project a day, and she knew we were gone, and yet Aurrora still is chosen to demonstrate on the first day and then her project is used as an example of what not to do. So yeah, this angry mama bear needs to go take care of a little business and possibly bathe my children so I'd better sign off.