Musings

Verrettes, Haiti
February 28, 2011

After awhile, you stop paying attention to things like, hmmm, is that water they’re washing the vegetables with filtered, or just from the fountain? Did they wash their hands after going the washroom and before handling the food I’m about to eat? Was the rice cooked in filtered water? and so on.

Am I really riding helmetless in flip flops on a moto in town??? Am I really going to have some of the meat & vegetables that sat on the table overnight? Do I care that I am rotating through the same clothes all week- one dress, two tank tops, one pair of jeans, on pair of work pants?

The biggest things I care about is the lack of internet, but I’ll just have to get over it. This is how it is in this particular location. I’ll cherish my time with the kids, and with the construction crew, and wait for times when I can get in touch with the outside world.

I showed Sano the photos I had taken of him after I downloaded them onto computer- he realised that I had taken them from my camera to the computer, and was quite impressed. Another fellow (I am terrible with names-maybe Sanso?) came along and wanted me to take his photo- he was quite tickled with the process, especially when I dumped the photos onto the computer. He asked if he could have a copy, so I really must prioritise which photos I print before coming back to Verrettes. Of course, I can always mail them, but it would be better to think I’ll come back. I sense (and hope) that I will have a long relationship with this community.

Observations about my childless state

Today one of the guys at the jobsite told me I’m a very pretty woman, and the other fellows chimed in with agreement- I thanked them; it was sweet.

One thing I’ve noticed here is that when men meet me, a few sentences into our conversation they ask if I have kids. When I say no, they almost unanimously cry out, ‘Oh no, why not?!’. When I explain that I was with someone who didn’t want to have kids, they say Oh, you should have a child- do you want one? And then I explain that while I’d love to have a child, I don’t want to have one on my own, and so the next statement is usually… Oh, you’re not with someone? Why not? A beautiful young woman like you…why not? And so on. It is very sweet, that they are all so concerned about me not having kids. I’ve tried to explain that I borrow kids, and bond with kids everywhere I go, probably moreso because I don’t have kids of my own, but I don’t think they really understand or accept that. Cultural differences. Still, though, it’s nice that they are so concerned for me well being!