Friday, September 14, 2012
Roosters do not crow simply to verify
the break of dawn. They call at all hours of the day and mix in with
the sounds of noisy crows picking berries off the shade tree to the
left of the porch, and the oriels that swoop and sing. They blend
with the neighborhood children laughing at their own cleverness as
they stretch garbage bags over bamboo, and attach strands of
t-shirts, too tattered to wear, to make kites that bob and dive in
the air above the dusty road. Roaming chickens cock their heads to
take note of the call, then continue their pecking at fallen mangoes
beneath a canopy of leaves, filtering the mid-day sun. Before living
in Haiti I thought of roosters as only the mythical herald's of the
morn, but they already are blending into the commonplace of the rural
Haitian landscape.
I have lived without my watch since
coming to Haiti. I will need to observe time again, soon enough, but
for now I am pleased to bed after a few hours of dark and to rise
with the brightness of day. I am beginning to fall into the rhythm
of life here at COTP.
After getting up this morning I washed
a few items of clothes in the kitchen sink and walked from our
apartment at Manna to COTP. I saw the girls for a few minutes before
breakfast. Today was french toast day and I found my appetite had
returned some with the smell of warm cinnamon. Fresh pineapple,
avocado, and tomatoes were also set out. Not my usual breakfast
combo, but ok.
After returning from breakfast,
neighborhood friends showed up at the gate asking for Noah and Elijah
-- McKenzie and his older brother Tony. They introduced us to the
many fruits on the trees of this compound, eager for us to sample,
and ready to laugh at our varied responses to the unfamiliar textures
and flavors.
 |
| Gracie, Karys, and Elijah standing in our front yard with a prize coconut. |
Locals eat the coconuts when they are
green on the outside. The coconut “water” is clear and sweet,
and the pulp thin and slippery. The boys laughed and pulled faces
when I told them I like my coconut “old and brown”! Crazy
“blan”! I took the coconut water, some grapefruit, sour orange,
and mango and squeezed it into juice mixed with 7-Up and shared it
with the boys. It seemed to be a hit. Elijah and Noah loved it!
Knowing what to share and not to share
is a major dilemma. McKenzie wants Noah to bring out his DSi and
give it to him, which I said “no” to. But sharing our delicious
fruit punch was an easy yes. Then there is the whole spectrum of yes
and no in between. What is going to bless our relationship with new
friends? We know they sometimes do not have enough to eat and that a
few days a week they pick up the large empty milk cans which have
been filled with our leftovers from brunch and mid-day meals. They
eat our scraps so their stomachs do not go hungry in the evening.
These same children then come over the next day to play ladder ball
and have nut wars from the roof of the volunteer center with the
boys, while the girls jump rope, giggling when I get in and jump
before declaring I am too “fatigue” (tired) and “cho” (hot)
to continue. Just some normal malnourished children..... there are
some realities and discrepancies here almost too big to think about.
It's no wonder that as infants sometimes their mothers would rather
give their infant to a stranger than watch them hunger and thirst
through years of childhood. It's a thought too hard to contemplate.
Can I blame a child for becoming so bold as to ask for a DSi or
bread? God give me wisdom to find the right balance in a place where
creation and stomachs groan for Maranatha (Christ come quickly).
