My Day Off

Sunday – Got up early this morning to try running. I was always a bit hesitant about trying to run while in Haiti. I was wary about the heat and humidity. But how much worse could it be than a July morning in the Washington, DC area? So I put on my Chuck Taylor All Stars (not a very good running shoe, but that’s all I brought), stretched bit, and set out on my run. The air is humid but cool. I soon find that there is really no place to run. The paths and trails are “paved” with stone and gravel. It hurts to run on them. I can feel the stones and rocks through my sneakers.  So I run along the grass where I can. Soon, another problem. The paths only go so far. I run up to the new dorm/guesthouse (being built)

New dorm/guesthouse under construction

New dorm/guesthouse under construction

and then down past Dale and Ingram’s house to the chicken processing plant (still being finished up). Then I have to turn around and run back up the hill to the dorm site. I decide to stop, stretch, do some Yoga, and then just run in place on the steps overlooking the countryside. These are the same steps where I sat on my first Sunday morning and read a book. Occasionally, the sound of a passing motorcycle on the road below or the screaming of a group of large birds (crows?) in the trees breaks the morning calm. I run in place. The sun begins to peak out over the mountain range to the east. The mountains to the south are shrouded in the early morning haze. It is a beautiful “tableau” but I did not bring my smartphone to take a picture. I’ll get it another day.

An earlier view from my "quiet space"

  After brunch, a group of us pile into the Christianville school bus and head for an afternoon at the beach. There are 10 of us “blan” and five Haitians. We are going to a real Haitian beach, where Haitians go and where there are no tourists or “blan” from other organizations working here. The beach is next to the compound of the Episcopal organization where Dale and Ingram used to work. We park in the compound and walk a short distance to the beach. There are about 20 Haitians on the beach and in the water. They are swimming and kids are splashing around. Dale introduces us to the guy who seems to be in charge of the commercial activity on this beach. There is an improvised bar under a thatched roof held up by tree branches. There are coolers with beer (Prestige, of course) and juice drinks. Music is blaring from a pickup truck parked on the beach with both doors open. People are cooking. A woman is covering fish with cooking oil and laying them over a fire. We watch as a guy cooks “lambi” (conch) in their shells over a small fire. After the water boils off from the meat in the shell, he turns the shells over. The conch cook for about five minutes and then the guy removes them from the fire, using only a leaf to protect his fingers from the hot shell. Another guy takes a rock (the second most common tool, after the machete, in Haiti) and breaks open the conch shell. He pulls out the meat and drops it onto a bucket. Another person takes the meat and cuts it into slices and mixes in the spices. We taste the conch. Delicious!

     The beach is made up of dark, coarse sand, more like gravel. The air is hot, maybe 90F. The sea is calm and flat today. The water is beautiful and incredibly clear! Some of our group move off with their snorkel gear and swim toward a coral reef. I can’t swim so I wade out into the water up to my neck. The water is warm, warmer than my cold morning showers. We stand in the calm water and talk. It is totally relaxing. No work today. Well, maybe after dinner.