Al George

Al George is one of my students. He has a very political name!

He is very funny...and always laughing. He gets all the little hidden jokes inside of our stories (which is hard for my kids since they don't always comprehend the background) and loves to make up stories of his own.

It seems right now that Al George loves me. He has told all of the students around him...and in the past two days, I have received many small bits of paper with the following written on it...

"I want to cise cise Miss Ashley" (cise is translated in 1st grade language to kiss).

Its good to be loved...even by a 7 year old!

Where did our puppet go??

My roommate Cady is a professional prankster...from the stories I have heard...she became a legend in college! So it comes as no surprise that she has now begun her pranking in Haiti...the targets, my 1st graders!

Cady 'puppet-napped' our favorite puppet, Jackie Chan (my students lovingly named him). On Tuesday morning, she 'sent' us a note that said something is missing from your classroom. What is it?? After we decided that it wasn't Vasthie (who was out sick with chicken pox...as you can see below), we realized that it was the beloved Jackie Chan.

So I have taken this opportunity to use this time to teach...hard to believe I know! But we are writing letters, describing him, and working on our sentences. The students have been really funny about it, and are always asking me if I have seen Jackie when I leave the room for just a second! Even yesterday in the late afternoon, I saw one of my students who asked me if I had seen Jackie Chan, and then asked me if he was in the box that I was carrying! It will be a funny day once we find him! I will keep you posted!

Blame It On The Rain...

Today I had a flashback...with the help of a CD from Thom. Thom and Cara go through their CD's and then send them onto the White House girls...so we can see if we want them! Today, I had a sack full of CD's on my desk...and the first ones I pull out are burned, then I pulled out an amazing copy of Milli Vanilli...Girl You Know Its True. No joke! Now if my students are going around singing songs such as "Girl You Know Its True" or even "Blame It On The Rain"...its not my fault!

The Zipper Man

So there is this man that comes to church on Sundays that I have affectionately named the Zipper Man. He’s in his late 50’s (I am guessing) and is very involved in church. I noticed this last year, and really thought it was so funny. He comes to church with a little lunch box that zips around. In that lunch box, he carries his Bible, his hymn book, and another book. All three of these books are zippered around the covers to protect the pages. I am hoping that he has stock somewhere in zippers...

Suzy Homemaker...

I have been little Miss Homemaker today (Mom, Grandma, you would be proud!)
This morning when we got home from church, I decided to make some cupcakes. Then, Cady and I had to talk about lunch, and we were having Emelien and his brother Josue over for lunch. So I then made some baked spaghetti. I was proud of myself today!!
Having Emelien and Josue over today was so much fun. Emelien works with John at the school, doing construction. He is 14, and has picked up English with John's help. He works hard, is super responsible, and easily one of the sweetest kids I have ever met. His little brother Josue, is in preschool, although he is 7. Josue just started school this year, and so he is starting a bit late, but working really very hard. These two boys are just amazing...and after an afternoon of silly dancing, laughing, singing, and translating words from English to Creole and vice versa, I felt very satisfied as Suzy Homemaker!!

Birds...

I have a fear of birds...and not because I think they are scary, I think many birds are beautiful, I just get nervous that a bird is going to attack me and peck out my eyes. Dumb huh?? And I think I only watched the movie "Birds" once!!!

My students during recess like to be creative. Many imagination games are taking place all day...and they love to use anything they can find in their games. A few weeks ago, my kids found these pieces of a tree that had fallen off and were laying on the ground. They collected them, put them together, and made 'nests'. Then they came and grabbed my hands, pulled me over, and showed me how they were the birds and they had made nests. I think I can handle these birds!

Ti Paul (or Ti John...)

Walking is one of my favorite activities in Haiti. I have become a huge fan of getting out, getting fresh air, exercise, and just being with some of my favorite friends.
We walk many different paths, but there is one path that takes us past a place where a boy named Ti Paul lives. Ti Paul (which means Little Paul) is physically and mentally handicapped, and one of my favorite people to see on our walk. He gets so excited to see us, especially when we start speaking to him! Once when we went walking, I was loving on him, hugging on him, and out of excitement, he bit me (not very hard), under my arm. As shocking as it was, I knew this was his way of showing how much he loved us giving him attention.
There aren't schools or homes for people with special needs to go to, and so I shudder at the fact that I am not sure what happens to these special people.
Yesterday, Allison, Cady, and I went for a walk. We walked past Ti Paul's house, and he seemed happy to see us, but hesitated in stumbling up the side of the hill. We finally coaxed him up just to talk to him, and he was so happy that he didn't even mention that I called him the wrong name (I kept calling him Ti John!) His excitement and love is what I hope I have always for my students and the people around me, whether I am in Haiti or in the States...(I promise though, that I won't bite!)