Ti vizit

On Sunday I took the bus from Cap Haitian to Port-au-Prince.  Although the ride is long, it is enjoyable. The scenery is beautiful  and I tend to encounter friendly individuals.  When my friend, an american sister from Ohio, picked me up at the bus station she mentioned that she need to stop at the grocery store.  Walking into the grocery store, I felt like I was walking into the US; if there are large grocery stores here in Cap, I have not seen one never mind shopped in one.   It was great to connect with friends at NPH, the organization I worked with previously.  The Sunday evening mass for volunteers was  in a combination of English and Creole, although I think we sang a song in Spanish; a few of the people present are native Spanish speakers. 

I spent Monday visiting the Father Wasson Angels of Light program.  It is wonderful to see how the children have grown! Monday was a good day to be there too, as I saw several workers who were off when I last visited on a Sunday afternoon in January.  I am surprised by the number of children who remember me, or at least the turtle puppet I used to use.   I regret that I honestly don't remember the names of all of the children; I do recognize their faces.  Since my last visit, several children with significant disabilities have moved into Kay St. Anne; this is likely a much better setting for them than the hospital, where many of them were abandoned by families not having the resources to care well for children with such severe special needs.  

On Monday evening we went to a restaurant, again I felt like I had briefly stepped out of Haiti.  The menu was entirely in English and prices in american dollars; although out of habit  when getting ready to pay I asked the waiter in Creole, if they accept american money; they did and actually most formally established businesses in Haiti do.  The vegetable fajitas I ordered were excellent!      

On both Monday and Tuesday morning, I attended the daily liturgy in the little chapel on the grounds of St. Damien hospital.  Both mornings there were funerals for those who had died in the (NPH and St. Luke) hospitals.  The frequent funerals during morning mass had started when I was working there and Cholera arrived.  The songs and routine were familiar.  Some of the people attending the mass were regulars four years ago, and there are new faces too.          

On Tuesday morning after mass I boarded the bus and returned to Cap Haitian around mid afternoon, grateful for my friends at NPH,  for conversations and connections, for the opportunity to see the children there, and grateful for a brief break.  Mesi Bondye!