The amount of images I have from each day is overwhelming. It would be too immense to just place in one post per day-that and the fact that I forgot to adjust my timestamp in my camera is proving to make it all the more difficult in determining what day I took each picture. These following pictures are also from day 3. Then we can get to day 4!
My morning began at 3:30 am.. They were not kidding about the adjustment to the time zone, or lack thereof. I looked at is as an opportunity and stole way to the rooftop and stared at the stars. All of them unfamiliar. A quarter moon shining just bright enough to see the silhouettes of palm trees and buildings in the distance. I sat there listening to the village come to life. First the birds, the roosters then a muslim call to prayer, followed by the bells o the hindu shrine. Each sound unique and distinct, some haunting and some comforting. And then the sweet sound of the children rising for the day.
Our daily agenda began with calisthenics that harkened to old movies I have seen where the staunch Brits do deep knee bends and plan their day around Tiger hunts a top elephants. Yet no Brits and no elephants, and thankfully, no tigers! Post exercise I was coerced into tasting the coffee-something I really dislike, however, this was not just any coffee. It was chai coffee with water buffalo milk and sugar. And it was delicious!!! I was quickly addicted and greedy for every last drop I could gulp down.
Sunday is market day-their equivalent of the farmers market. It was a plethora of scents and sights. Sometimes it might be better to not know what it looks like before it’s cooked.We headed to Sunday services where shortly into the service the children started dropping like flies. One by one they sunk down into their seats, slid down to the floor or flopped their bodies on top of my lap and fell asleep. It was fantastic! The Americans were then asked to come forward at the end of service to pray over anyone who might want it. It was a wonderful opportunity to pray directly for people and their needs.
Sleeping babes. (photo credit: Stephanie Crane)
Sisters
Besties!
Daily onion chopping.
On our way to market.
Fish anyone?
All you can eat shrimp?
My first full day ater market was filled with the children and all wanting a “photo”. I have what seems to be a mountain of images of the kids that I cannot fit into this post but will do so on my next entry.
After lunch we headed back to the village for a kids camp. It is basically like a one day VBS. There is a lot of singing and dancing, a short skit and a quick talk about the skit and its meaning. The kids then get a free meal and a craft. We were in this small school room, with resembles more like a lean to, with 100 kids. Here are some pictures of it all.
Peter and his posse.
Kelly.
Rrrrrro Rrrrrrro one of our Village Champions!
Katie getting her groove on.
Dance off!
Patty showing Ro Ro how it is done!
“And that kids is how you take a selfie!”
Because chicken.
The grub!
After the kids camp we went back to the compound and had some down time. We ventured over to Madame Cheap Cheap’s market stall. Madame Cheap Cheap is actually a whole family that sells wares and souvenirs and they are all related. However, they each have their own section and they try to out sell each other. It is quite comical. There is the matriarch, the original Madame Cheap Cheap, seen here:
Then there is her daughter, her son and all her grandchildren.
Michael was given the name “Big Booty Cheap Cheap” . Here he is getting his braids that they promised would make him look like Justin Bieber…..
The moon is creeping……
Kelly, our worship leader and jam-master K, also known as the “preacher!”
Stars.
One of my favorite pictures, Port-Au-Prince at night.
The morning of our 4th day in Haiti we were taken on a tour of the Mission of Hope complex. Here are some photos of the complex, as well as a few of some more Strategic Village Time.
The morning light.
Souvenirs from nature.
Basketball court that doubles as a movie theater on campus!
All of these images are part of the orphanage. Mission of Hope does not do international adoptions, as they want the children to be raised in Haiti to become leaders of the next generation.
Toni!
The next images are of some of the school buildings.
Mike Two Two
The interior of the church.
Paula trying to wash clothes. I did say trying. A for effort!
After hearing about Michael’s broken washing machine, the locals gave him a lesson on doing it himself. Not really, we all know Michael would just go buy new clothes.
This family ran a small market out of their home and this little girl was taking care of the customers and taking their money. I am thinking her math skills are superior to my own!
Heading in for lunch! The rest of our day was an adventure that will be continued in the next post!
And so the adventure began. we travelled across the Mackinaw bridge under a wind advisory. We were only allowed to drive 20 mph over one of the longest suspension bridges. It is amazing how oblivious of potential death kids can be. I was acutely aware. So much so i was sure I was going to throw up. Obviously we survived and hit up a meet and greet with Paul Bunyan and his great ox Blue
Like I stated in my previous post, the weather had turned to a brisk 64 degrees fahrenheit. However, it did not deter us! Next stop? Tahquamenon Falls!
Since it wasn’t getting any warmer and we were already in the upper peninsula, we drove a little bit further north and headed to Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. It was incredibly windy, choppy and cold. As we are true adventurers, it did not deter us! Rowen even met a little friend!
We wrapped up our day and headed back south. Along the way you could really feel the isolation and the “wilderness” of the UP. we dd not see much for wildlife besides some cranes along the side of the road, however, this left an impression:
I call this image “Porcupine’s Revenge”. Dead porcupine and a car with two flat tires. Ha!
One of my favorite images.
We headed back over the Mighty Mac and got back to camp in time for an enchanting sunset. Thankfully the wind advisory was done and I was able to take some pics of the bridge.
Good night!
So we continue on the odyssey of the solo camping trip with the children……. This is LuLu helping set up the tent.
Not too bad if I say so myself…..
Our first moring!
Our view…..
Our neighbors. We need to get that one next time!
We took in some beach time…
And a bit of putt putt…
The next night was the night of the thunderstorms. The thunder woke me about 1:00 am and by 2:00 am I had to go to the bathroom really, really, really bad. So I got up and braved the elements to pee int he woods, only to find it lightly misting, so I bolted to the bathroom. Of course, when I got back the rain and thunder had stopped, but the wind kicked in. I was sure that we were going to be blown away. I was awake until 5:30 am. We got up the next morning and it was 52 degrees out and this is what LuLu thought would be good to wear!
But the sky was blue and held the promise for an adventurous day ahead!
Hello out there!!!! Oh my goodness, I had no idea how long it has been since I was actually posting. What happened to me? Oh yes, I remember, life. Not an overwhelmingly exciting full of exotic adventure, but just rather life.
I hope everyone was able to squeeze out all the joy of summer and then can some for mid January. This is the first back to school year where I really was not super organized. I made up for it in a weeks time, but I guess my heart was not in it. However, the last two weeks of summer, with my kids staring at me, with an occasional wide eyed blink, made me realize that perhaps they needed to be at school. Or somewhere else.
Our summer did not have a grand vacation, but rather a couple of adventures. I had a couple of my own, as well. We had too many to just sum up in one post, so I will inundate you, repeatedly, with antics of our summer. Aren’t you lucky???
School’s out and Rowen has a birthday and a piano recital. We have a neighborhood pool party and India wraps up her gymnastics career.
Say hello to Enderman. enderman, say hello to everyone!
Not sure if he looks more like Mozart or Beethoven….
This guy, or girl, hung around most of the summer in one of our flower beds. The one right next to the driveway, where I park my car and when I would get out in the evening he would scamper around inside the leaves and scare the crap out of me. I am pretty sure he was giving just what he was getting. Touche, little turtle.
Olympic hopefuls can now relax, Miss India is opting to head back to horseback riding.
Stay tuned for when the excitement never ends……
As A follow up to my last post, this is Michael’s story:
I can’t believe I have to do a part 2 to this. I promised myself I would not fall behind again. Its a good thing I am so easy going. I really only cared for a short bit. Now if I promised someone else, well then I would have felt bad for a little bit longer than that.
So we missed about 3 weeks of challenge posts. I did in fact take the photos, they just never made it to the blog. Flickr yes, the blog, no….The first missed was the topic “Mother”. Pretty simple.
The second was “Dirty”. It could have gone in so many directions, but I am all about capturing my here and now and dislike contrivances. SO my here and now, dirty.
And lastly, “Motion”, which normally would have to be contrived, but this was happenstance. I love happenstance.
I promise I won’t fall behind again, or at least until it happens again!
