Superbowl in Haiti?

OK, I'm definitely not what I'd call a football fan- I used to watch football occasionally with my dad, and I enjoyed that, especially when he explained the game to me. But to go to an event touted as a superbowl party? I've never done that before. However, once I got to feeling better (ie, the nausea and other stomach ailments subsided), I decided to join my beach friends to go out to the Caribbean Lodge for the Superbowl event. There was a fundraiser occuring there at the same time, for Rebuild Globally, a Haitian company who make sandals out of used tires. Julie Colombino, and amazing American woman,  has been instrumental in getting this company up and going. In any case, the big draw for me was the half time show at the lodge- Julie used to dance for Cirque du Soleil, and she did an incredible dance up in the air holding onto and wrapping silk scarves around her body- incredible! The Caribbean Lodge isn't my style- it has a similar feeling (to me at least) as the UN restaurant does- a place that caters to white people with money. There was a pool, an all you can eat buffet (seems a bit ironic, or even wrong, given that so many people in Haiti have to work so hard to get one meal a day!), and a band that played live music out by the pool until the game started. All in all, quite festive, and vodka jello shots with whipped cream were the big hit for the fundraiser (um, no thanks. even when my stomach isn't queazy....not for me!).

And so, there you have it- I lay back on my lounge chair by the pool, ignored the game on the screen (that was partially hidden anyway by the grass roof of the bar), and looked at the moon & stars- tried to wrap my head around the difference between what I was seeing here, and what I would see at home, and how I saw the sky in both Thailand and Turkey earlier this winter.

Maybe I'll be going to Deslandes tomorrow- who knows?

For now, I don't know (nor do I much care) who won the game tonight, but I sure enjoyed sharing the night with these folks who are becoming my Haiti family, all of these international volunteers, some of whom have stayed here for the duration, others who, like myself, return when they can. I feel delightfully spoiled by my experiences, and quite privileged, for sure.