black dresses and water balloons

the other medical volunteer, molly, left early thursday morning. i really am going to miss her even though we only spent a week together. i think it's because we shared a room and worked in the clinic all day and both liked gin rummy (i even learned how to play cribbage!). she let me use her fan and gave me the rest of her luna bars so that probably means we'll  be friends for life. :-) i am planning on visiting her (and the university of minnesota medical school) next year sometime.
the night before she left, a huge group of folks from a particularly well-off parish in orange county, california came to stay at espwa. they are very nice and i think this trip puts most of them wayyyy outside their comfort zones - which is great. we don't seem to have much in common, but i'm trying to be as welcoming and friendly as possible. some of them are young, still in high school even, and i think this trip will do a lot of good things for their perspectives moving forward.

the group doesn't have a project per-se, so they've picked up some odd jobs and used their skills where they can. they've also taken a lot of initiative to play with the kids which has given me a nice break. i am physically, mentally, and emotionally tired this weekend, so i'm taking the afternoon to write here and study a bit for the mcat. i also took a nap and had a coke (we have the old-fashioned glass bottle coke :-)

unfortunately, i had the experience of going to a haitian funeral yesterday. one of the teachers here at espwa died after battling a long "stomach illness" - from what we were told. that could be a lot of different things here and was probably some sort of infection. she was young and engaged to another espwa worker. we drove about an hour on bumpy, dusty gravel roads (i am so so so grateful that i don't suffer from motion sickness; i simply wouldn't survive here). pulling in front of a little church with a tarp hoisted by bamboo in front of it, we were the first - and last - white folks to arrive. we were escorted up to look at the open casket, as per custom, and greet the family. everyone was dressed to their absolute best with a 50/50 mix of black and white apparel and heels and hats. it was about 167 degrees in the church and the service included a few different choirs singing as well as various prayers and a very long sermon.

the most interesting and sad part about it was watching the way the haitian culture uniquely expresses grief. men are stoic (as in most cultures), while the women not only cry, but scream and sometimes fall the floor in convusions and have to be carried out. it was quite something to watch and sometimes i felt like shouldn't have been watching. and yet, i felt very honored and blessed to have been able to validate the grief of the people who work here at espwa and stand in their support.

paige - one of the fulltime espwa staff members - is 27 so she had an extra black dress that fit me well, thankfully. i guess when you come to places like this, you should be prepared for events like these.

on a lighter note, i finished 5 creole lessons this week and i really think i'm beginning to understand bits and pieces of this language. i understand the theory behind it now, sentence structure and how to make past, present and future tenses. the kids continue to amaze me with their ingenuity, strength, and love. the older ones care for the younger ones and there is such a strong sense of family here that you cannot help but feel included. i step outside and at least 3 kids grab my hand, arm, shirt, whatever they can. they like to ask questions and are completely patient with me as i try to understand what they are saying. even if i never get their questions, they are still happy to just be around me.

be certain though, they are still boys. i regularly get marriage proposals from the older boys and today i got pelted so hard by a water balloon by the younger boys that i believe my underwear are still wet.