Day 3 - Haiti 2014 - An organized teachers nightmare

July 2, 2014 IT rained a little last night, so we found some comfort in a cooler night. I finally got some rest. Another early morning began at 6am with the typical power outage and outside noises. I lie in bed as long as I could before it got too hot and everyone else was getting up. Again, we spend the morning chatting over coffee (heavenly harps playing) before heading to the orphanage. TOday was my day. The teacher and me kicked into action and I planned and organized a rotation of stations with different activities. This way, we could interact with smaller groups of kids, give directions without shouting, and hopefully build some relationships in a smaller setting. Let me say for the hundredth time: Welcome to Haiti. All planning and organization must be taken with a grain of salt. It all went out the window within five minutes. I had the choice to micromanage and force my plan onto everyone, or to let go and let God. Yep, you guessed it. As long as everyone was smiling, who cares where they ended up. There was NO rotating at all. ONce they figured out the different activities, they went where they wanted. I ended up learning how to play Haitian dominos with the older boys...which WASNT on my lesson plan. I'm proud of myself for letting go and not getting all stressed about a failed plan. In hindsight, it wasn't a failure because everyone had a fun day. Devin was sad that the sidewalk chalk wasn't a big hit....but found another fun activity to do Sasha's awesome t-shirt rag bracelets weren't a hit at first, but then a couple girls became interested and she bonded with them. I tried teaching Nelson, Dave, and Saudette Battleship (donated by a family in Palm beach) which was an excruciating task. Jimmy is a great translator, but the whole concept was beyond them. I think they got it eventually, but I had to walk away after a while. I tried teaching a couple other board games...but the pieces went missing quicker than I could teach the game. They are resourceful and find their own uses for whatever they can get their hands on. I used to get offended to see toys ruined so quickly...but MIchelle explained it perfectly. American kids have so many toys that only get played sporadically - so they last a long time. Orphans play with a toy until it no longer can be played with or used in any way. IT gets a lifetime of love in a day or two. We gave out sunglasses and within a day or two there were no glasses to be seen. It's not because the kids didn't appreciate what we gave them, it's because they loved them and played with them until they died. Back to learning dominos. Remember when I said I am competitive at games that don't matter. Yes. Case in point. I talked a big game. I won my first game. I talked more smack. Then I lost. The loser has to stand up for the next game. I was okay with this....but apparently I lost SO BADLY that I had to stand for something like 22 games. STill to this day I think they were messing with me. After about an hour of standing and not winning another single game, I said I'm only standing for two more games. The boys said I had 6 games left. THen finally I made a good move and won my right to sit down. Before being punished into another hour of standing, I left my seat and allowed someone else to play. That's when Sasha decided she wanted to get weave in her hair. For the next three hours, 4-5 Haitian women and girls tug and pull and braid weave into Sasha's poor little scalp. It's actually cute on her. Dinner tonight was....WOW. I'm going to have to say it exceeded Epidor. That's a really big thing for me to admit. The Haitian cooks were at the house ALL DAY preparing our meal. THis is what they do. Cook ALL DAY. They refuse to use any utensils that would make the job easier/quicker/more efficient. They do it the Haitian way. What else is there to do?! We feasted on Haitian Chicken with rice and beans and SAUCE! Seriously, the sauce. It's gravy from Heaven. There was also a squash that I had never tried before which was delicious and picklez. Picklez is something I can get here at Haitian restaurants, and is extremely easy to make. It's basically a Haitian cole slaw. Cabbage and carrots with vinegar and scotch bonnet peppers. Haitians make it deathly spicy, but the cook Michelle hires knows to do about 1/4 of the spice they typically use. It's still mouth wateringly spicy and scrumptious. It rained again this evening. Cool evening + full belly = beautiful nights sleep.