4 Star orphanage 

Public service announcement:  Some people have the address for my other blog which I am doing for some schools as a trade off for helping me get all my supplies and money.  The address is http://rlo1966.blogspot.com.  It’s cleaner and more user friendly.

This morning I was awaken by loud screaming children pre-dawn.  Apparently the staff doesn’t get up with the kid and get them a bottle hoping they go back to bed until it’s light out.  They don’t get bottles down here.

I was only thinking if someone could put some room darkening shades in their rooms.  Mostly I was thinking this because I didn’t sleep much last night. Honestly, I think I did at all.  Upon our arrival, we were taken to our rooms.  Fine accommodations to Haitian standards of taking up temporary residence at an orphanage.  I was told we had clean sheets.  That was a positive start.  Of course we got the beds dirty from taking all the crap out of the suitcases repeatedly.  I don’t believe the thread count is over 100 on them.  I was secretly longing for Egyptian cotton. You know one of those sateen blends.  It didn’t happen.  No mints on the pillow.   I asked Jamie where the control was for the Sleep Number system.  I would have been better sleeping on the floor.  After a few days, I’ll be so tired I won’t care.  Oh, wait, that’s today.   I had a clean towel and washcloth hanging on the towel bar next to my bed.

I’ll be living out of that tiny carry on for some time since I don’t have a dresser.  Due to my creative nature, I’ve carved out a cozy nook for myself.  It will do.  I could have swore  I was bit by a few mosquito’s carrying malaria.I started scratching, mostly out of obsession.  Then for some reason, I had to go the bathroom like 3 or 4 times.  After the first time of not realizing there was a stair, I was careful after that.

I was asked to feed the kids this morning.  Ok, no problem I said. I can do that.  Boy, I was wrong.  I’ve been working on a plan before I came down to have these kids utilize adaptive tools to eat.  Not going to happen.  The kids confined to a wheelchair are pretty much ripped off out of their morning meal by the kids who can walk. They’re like blue jays they just rob from everyone’s nest.

I wasn’t in my mode and several kids blindsided me and were trying to pull the food out of the kids mouths, yanking it off the spoon and just taking handfuls out of the bowls.  After, I ended up wearing half of the cornmeal they were partaking in, I nearly admitted defeat. But then I got cued in by the nannies and quickly took control, ok semi control.

Breakfast cornmeal

Really it’s just sad…and messy.  I think anyone who works in the special education field, should get a free pass to Heaven.  Seriously.  Plus, I don’t do real well with bodily fluids unless they are mine.


We did get a chance to walk around the block this morning and see all the kids on their way to school. They call the white people “Blancs”.  Today I tried getting sun so I only look like a semi blanc. They are dressed so cute in their uniforms and everything is clean. They want their pictures taken so badly.  They love to see what they look.  Saw a dead goat being cut up.  There’s a lot of them here. Of course the dogs are the walking dead as well.

In the neighborhood

There are a lot of groups here so this place is crowded.  There is no shame or modest here that’s for sure.  You get thrown into the fire as soon as you arrive.

I was able to secure a very very cold beer at lunch.  I originally wanted a Coke but the beer was cold and the pop was not.  I’m glad I did.  It took the edge off of this reality check I am going through.

Heaping pile of food...these are the regular kids

At lunch I attempted the feeding of the kids.  Each kid gets what looks like between 2 and 3 cups of food.  It was a super sized lunch and these tiny kids were going to polish this down.  I don’t think I could even eat that at a sitting.  It blew my mind.  The nannies shove it down like by the 1/3 cup.  They eat like little birds. I was asking why some of them couldn’t use a spoon.  Well, I found out 1, that they don’t have time with all the kids and 2 some just haven’t been taught.  The kids still eat like it’s their “Last Supper” and they steal each others food at a chance.  I did survive though.

After lunch we took some of the kids out for a walk in the neighborhood.  I was clearly perturbed that I couldn’t locate a bike path, sidewalk or paved roads for that matter.
Besides being able to make the locales stop and stare thinking we were nuts, it was rather comical.

my dinner

Deluxe high pressure water shower

Now as I just polished off dinner and admittedly felt like the kids at lunch.  It’s so funny that  I kept saying, “man, I’m hungry.”  It sounds so silly saying in a country that’s starving.

After dinner, I thought it be wise to go take a shower since I skipped a day in lieu of drinking beer instead.  Unfortunately nothing happened when I turned the water on.  The power was off again.  I just figured I’d be waiting another day.  The water here is not hot or cold.  It’s just what comes out of the tap.  You will not linger in a hot shower here, partly because you are worried someone may come walking in.  Eventually, I did get the shower.

I’m hoping that I sleep better tonight so I don’t have to be told I have black circles under my eyes.  I figure eventually, I’ll fall asleep.  I just don’t know when it will be.