01/11/11 Falling in love with Nikinzi

Today was my longest shortest day, my body is so beat up and tired, but when Annie came to round us up for the night, I felt like it just wasn't enough time.

The Azzeale was a way different experience for me today than yesterday, I felt more productive, less depressed and more inspired. I held the youngest baby in the hospital, he is 5 months, but he is as small as a newborn. I kept telling him that he was such a beautiful princess until his cloth diaper unfolded mistakenly and I realized he was a boy.

The sisters asked us to bring some of those big water jugs up from outside and to the different wings of the Azzeale, even though it proved to be a physical challenge. When I walked through the main area, where nearly a hundred different people sat and waited for medical attention, with a big water jug over my shoulder - it made me feel like the person with the answers. It was a nice feeling.

The walk home proved to be another long one, but when we got back - instead of jumping into sorting clothing donations (which we did yesterday), we kind of just hung and talked within our own group. Not about Haiti, or poverty, or the kids, just about life. Food from home. Our families. It's nice to feel connected, in tune, and in touch.

After a long talk that was drawn out mostly because we didn't want to go back to sorting clothes - it was already time for lunch or dinner as it is known here in Haiti (our dinner being their supper). Dinner was white rice, bean sauce, beet salad and okra with goat. I'm starting to see more that most of our dinners are big meals. And our supper, which in the states would be dinner, are much lighter meals. Which makes a lot of sense, especially in the sense of digestive issues and things like that.

We got to hang out at the orphanage after dinner, which is my favorite part of the day. And the kid who's name I have been screwing up is actually Olichard but it is pronounced 'oh-lee-shaar'. He sat and talked with me for hours, but which seemed like minutes. About his family, and how long he has been here, and all things of the sort. Everything he said sounded so simple, but I was lost in his story. He knew all of the kids, when they came here and their entire rap sheet. He was like a search engine for everything that was 'Maison Fortune' related. It was awesome.

I fell in love with Nikinzi, he is 3 and absolutely gorgeous ! Both times that I held him today, he fell directly to asleep. It was so nice to rock him to sleep, it gave me a little 'peace and comfort' in his peace and comfort.

I'm really excited for the festivities tomorrow; it will be officially one year since the earthquake, they have a mass planned as well as several readings, and our group donated money to get the kids, chicken legs and coke - which is something they normally only get on Christmas. I'm not sure if I should expect sadness or happiness from the kids tomorrow. Typically I guess you would say sadness because of remembering all the devastation from the earthquake - but I have learned that nothing here is typical.



(Nikinzi pictured above)