Symphony of sound

**Previously unpublished post from a couple of weeks ago?

One awakes in Deslandes to a symphony of sound…the roosters start crowing from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, each crow louder and stronger than the previous. Slowly but surely the place wakes up…you hear babies crying, voices speaking as people make their way down the path to get water, or go to market. A few days ago, there was a truck that arrived at around 5am- it had arrived to deliver sand & clay to the site, and started honking (as most vehicles are apt to do!) before it got anywhere near the site, to let someone know to open the gate.

This is a most magical and mysterious place- at time when I think I understand what is happening, I realise that I don’t actually know. (Aside: Love, the little girl who lives behind us, just came dashing over, intrigued to see what I was doing on the computer). She is on er way across the road with a broom. They sweet the courtyards here, sweeping the leaves into the cacus hedge, where the next day they will emerge once again onto the lawns.

There is such a sense of pride here with cleanliness. People take off their shoes when walking onto the cement porch, and most certainly, take the off before entering their room.

I feel very fortunate to have found this little pocket of paradise, this place where people live life simply and fully. The bleakest of memories in Haiti come from the sadness and the strife in the larger cities; of displaced people from the earthquake, of extreme poverty that has befallen some people. Here in the village, as Milfleur, that ever so wise little boy once said, the peasants here are more rich than Canadians- they can go outside, pick a mango, and eat, whereas we (Canadians) have to go to work, make money, and then go buy food. He is one wise soul!

We’re starting to get a great connection with a number of the kids here (and of course, I continue to fall deeper in love with them!). They love spontaneity, and are so creative with making games out of things they happen to find. Yesterday, three little boys used the trench being dug for drainage as a game, and when they noticed a stake had fallen, they put that across the trench and now had something to hop over, and continued taking turns, laughing and enjoying for quite awhile.

Yes, people here live simply and fully, and maybe sometimes don’t get enough to eat, but that doesn’t bother their spirit. We are warmly received by the community.