Soccer is to Haitians what Hockey is to Canadians

I (Joan) usually start my day at 6:30 a.m. with a walk around the compound; Keith tells me that 7 go arounds makes a kilometer. The kids are still eating breakfast and getting ready for school, the sun is not yet up but it is light out and the air has not yet become so humid that anything done quickly causes major sweating. I can get in about 6 rounds uninterrupted, then the kids are out and curious about what’s on my iPod or giving me gifts of leaves, or they want me to hear their memorized homework for that day and that’s it for the walking. Yes, I guess I could start earlier but I would miss moments like these.

Djemima, Karena and I in bedroom

Anne, Jofky and I with charts

The kids love to see our pictures, of themselves and of our family. Just before heading off to school they gather in the front porch and pray before heading out. If they come early, we get a chance to see pictures. They head out to school and I head to the office. Various jobs come my way, doing payroll, typing class lists, tidying up. At last we have internet to send the class lists to Liette, Karen’s daughter, so she can get getting sponsors for the new kids.

Kids looking at photos with Joan

We spent yesterday morning taking pictures of the preschool 3 and 4 year olds. Are they ever cute. I think it felt like a field trip to them as they left the school grounds and entered the compound for their photo. Some were not too sure about us “blancs” ( that’s us white people) but we only had one crier. Each child in preschool 1,2 and 3 gets their picture taken for their sponsors. Preschool 1 are all new and there are 45 of them. If you can, please go to HATS website and check out how to become a sponsor. Thanks, it is so needed.

Kids at picnic table

Ducklings in a row

Homework is an important time of the day. The kids get home from school at 12:30 and get changed. Got to keep those uniforms as clean as possible! They have about ½ an hour to play, then its lunch time and then lessons begin. That’s what they call homework here. So it is about 3:30 or 4:00 before everyone is done and then it is play time.

Today, the school organized a soccer game with the uniforms that the team brought with them. The older kids got to watch and there was serious playing and cheering going on. Soccer is to Haitians what hockey is to Canadians! The older school kids had cleaned the field of debris and rocks the day before and this morning when they knew that the game was really going to happen, they made the goal posts. New soccer balls were found in the depot for the game along with the uniforms and the kids had a blast.