We got back to the hotel and quick took showers so we could go hang out with the kids for a little while. We got to the orphanage and it was odd because none of the kids were outside playing. The girls were all waving for us to come into their dorm. We asked them why they couldn't come out and play with us. Apparently they were in trouble for something and were not allowed to leave their rooms. We went inside and played with the kids for awhile. The girls were constantly asking if we were still going to stay the night with them. They kept pointing to their bed and pointing for us to sleep with them in the bed. After spending the afternoon with them we headed back to eat some supper and pack some items.
For supper we decided to head to Sean and Carolines to have our last meal with them. We ordered our meal from this barbeque chicken place up the street. We had this the very first night we were here and decided to have it out last night too! We had spicy chicken, plantains, salad and french fries. It was so good. I am really going to miss the fresh food that we get everyday. I don't think my digestive system will be ready for the processed food that we have at home. We also tried cashew juice and it was really good. The texture was different because it was blended up cashews. We played with the kids for awhile talking about all the different Disney movies we have seen. Soon it was time for the kids to head to bed and for us to go to the orphanage for the night.
Haley and I were heading back to our room to grab shells for Ryan and Riley. We had found a whole bunch at the beach one morning and did not have room for them in the suitcase. There is a very steep cement hill outside the hotel. You have to be careful when walking on it because it has a few holes and lots of rocks. Haley was not paying attention at all and fell really hard. I had saw the whole thing happen and could not stop laughing. I was crouched over on the side of the hill laughing. I caught up to Haley and apologized for laughing but it was so funny!! In all honesty I was a little bit skeptical of staying at the orphanage. I had no idea what to expect since I have never done anything like this before. I was also very excited because it was something new that I have never tried before. If you can't tell already I love to try new things and not many things seem to scare me. :) I kept telling myself to just think that you are camping or that you are at wilderness camp.
We arrived at the orphanage and the kiddos were so excited. They ran up to us and were speaking a million miles an hour and I have no idea what they were saying to me. When we got there they were outside but soon we moved into the dorms. The girls were playing hide and seek with us along with showing us where they sleep. They also showed us the bed that we were going to be sleeping on. They gave us new sheets to sleep on! We were getting the royal treatment.
All of the sudden the girls were pulling our hands and saying, " Pray, Pray, Pray." We headed towards the building where they have all their meals. We sat down at the large picnic tables and waited for all the kids to pile in. Once everyone was there they started singing a few songs in French. I could pick up the tune of the songs but could not put a name to them. After they sang we did a short prayer and message. They translated the message for us. They were talking about how we need to treat others the way that we wanted to be treated. Do unto others as you would want done to you. They talked about the importance of forgiving each other even when it is difficult to forgive. They also said that if they never see us again they hope that someday they will see us in heaven when were are away from all of this pain. This was so sweet and melted me to pieces. I will also never forget during the message I had girls holding my hands and some laying on my lap falling asleep. They have stolen my heart and they don't even know it. It really made me sad thinking about leaving this place in a day. After they sang a few more songs the kids were dismissed to go to bed. Since it was later some of the younger kids fell asleep on the tables. They were so tired after the long day. We got back to the dorms and Haley and I soon realized if we didn't crawl into our beds they would never go to bed.
We both slept on the top bunk and were getting situated in our beds when they little ones came bringing us blankets. They were throwing them on our beds. They also gave us pillows. It was so sweet seeing how much they cared about us being comfortable for the night. I had a fan right above my bed and it felt really good because it was really hot in my room. Soon the girls came in and kept asking to turn the fan off and I said no its okay! Then they all made the action of me getting my head cut off. They thought if I slept so close to the fan my head my get chopped off! I told them it was okay and that I would be careful not to go near the fan. After that they all head to their own bed for the night.
So Haley had a fan by her bed and wanted to turn it on so we had more air movement in our room. We both thought the fan looked a little funny but were not too concerned about it. So she told me to get out of bed to turn the the fans on since she is scared of heights and did not want to get out of the bed. I got out of bed to turn the fan on and soon the one by Haley made a really funny noise. All the girls came running back to check on us and guess who got in trouble. Abby. Haley is the one who turned the dial on the fan but it had looked like I was the one who did. Haley thought it very comical that they all thought it was me who did it and not her. I guess it was payback for laughing at her when she fell earlier.
After all the commotion the girls went back to their beds and the lights were turned off for the night. I laid down and realized that they beds here were better then the beds we had at the hotel. About ten seconds after laying my head down the chickens started squawking. It took a little bit to get used of it. I bet their was at least fifteen chickens outside the window. In the middle of the night I woke up to the sound of what almost sounded like rain coming down. Soon I figured out it was pigeons on the roof. It sounded like they were sliding down the roof. At around 5:15 this morning I started hearing little footprints walking past our beds. They were trying to be so quiet and not wake us up. I was just laying their watching them all stumble outside to go brush their teeth. Each time they walked by they would look in the bed and smile at us! Even though they looked pretty tired they were all smiling and excited to see us. We said goodbye for the morning and they all said, "No." They thoughtwe were leaving for good and were really sad. We told them we would come back later to say goodbye.
I have been trying to absorb every last moment I have left in Haiti. It has been so awesome getting to know all these people and their culture. I have learned so much from them and they have made me look at life a little differently. I think I will be forever amazed by these kids work ethic. Even at 5:30 in the morning the kids start doing their chores without complaining. They all work together to keep the orphanage clean and running. Some days they make me feel real lazy. Many of these kids have already done chores before I even get out of bed in the morning. These kids are also so independent. They do everything on their own and rely on no one to help them. As the end is drawing near I am getting excited to head home but part of me is sad that I will be leaving. I just keep reminding myself that I am so lucky to have this opportunity and I should be happy that I was given the chance to get to know these kids and this culture!I will have one more blog post not sure when I will have internet again but I will get it up as soon as possible! :)
With Love,
Abby
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