We'll Be Here 'til Thursday! Try the Veal!

We're here! The luggage is here! We're clean! We have scabies (OK, Malot has them something terrible, but fortunately we brought cream and washed and doused him heavily in it. Hopefully he'll start to clear up soon.)

I have a new appreciation for albino tigers today. We felt a bit like displayed animals in the zoo today when the vehicle we were riding in broke down several times and we found ourselves stopped in Haitian traffic.

Haiti's has two basic traffic laws: "honk until they move" and "swerve so you don't get hit". All other "normal" traffic guidelines are completely ignored. Find yourself feeling that the traffic on YOUR side of the highway is too heavy? Just drive on the side that was intended for oncoming traffic! Feel that the other cars driving 4 abreast on a 2 lane road are too spacious? Simply make your own lane in between them! Decide that you went the wrong way? Simply drive in reverse right there on the road where you are until it's convenient for you to turn around!

So there we are, in the middle of this chaos when the tap-tap breaks down and all the other lanes and honking and dust and people are left to swerve around us on the highway. For about an hour. It was quite dusty, smelly and may have possibly caused some degree of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was like our own exhibit at the People Zoo. Look at the White Americans! At any rate, there we were, a truck full of white Americans. As trucks swerved around us and honked, people pointed, nudged each other, stared and yelled random things in Creole that I'm probably glad I didn't understand. It had to be quite a sight! And there was an entire gaggle of us! Probably seemed a bit like migratory birds.... you know they're just passing through but you have to get a good look at them while they're in the area.

When we finally arrived at the orphanage, and pulled in behind the gated wall, it was like we'd been transported to heaven and there were angels singing. All the kids in the orphanage were sitting in the outdoor space just singing their little hearts out - not as a show because we were coming, but because that's what they do. I couldn't stop myself from peeking around the wall to look at this sea of beautiful little Haitians, just singing and singing. It was beautiful. I hope the little video clip I took worked.

When I finished trying to get my camera to do a video clip, I looked out at the group of children again and immediately found Malot. He's lost some weight since his picture, but Momma knows those eyes. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he was willing to come with us. We went into another room in the orphanage where we could sit with them for a bit and I pulled him onto my lap. He eyes were tearing up and he hung his head, I pointed to him and said his name, "Malot?" and then I pointed to me and said, "Manman" (that's mother in Creole) and repeated that several times. Then I took a picture of him on the digital camera and showed him the displayed result on the camera's screen. He thought that was cool. So I took one of the two of us and showed it to him. He took the camera from my hands and LOOKED at it. His face got all scrunchy as he studied it. And then he leaned down and kissed the screen with our picture in it. Somehow in that moment, he felt he was going to be OK.

He's cheerful. I've caught him singing little Creole songs to himself. He LOVES cars (machin). He likes to laugh. When I showed him the clothes we were going to put on him after we bathed him, he got very excited. He splashed around in the tub and loved the water. He didn't have any trouble with bathing. The clothes we brought for him he loves, particularly the sandals.

I just drifted off, so I think I'll share more tomorrow.

We've had good lightning this evening. I guess there's a Tropical Storm coming.
And yet, even with all the issues and delays and everything - We believe this is right where we're supposed to be.