I woke up a few times in the night. The electricity was off again (no A/C) so we had to turn the fan on, which meant my sheet kept fluttering over my legs, waking me up. But it gave me a chance to check on Christina. She is a pretty restless sleeper, tossing and turning and hitting the wall with her legs, but she never woke up until morning, when she woke up quietly, bright and early. I was already awake (well, sort of) so I motioned for her to crawl into bed next to me. She snuggled up next to me under the sheet and fell right back to sleep for another half hour.
When she woke up for the second time we got her dressed, (she had wet the pull up, so it is a good thing we brought them) and went down to breakfast. Breakfast was chocolate filled croissants, lunch meat turkey rolled up (very weird), slices of cheese (White American, I think, which I did not eat, because that is just nasty on too many levels) yogurt, and raisin bread with butter. There was also thick strong coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. Sophie ate two croissants and Christina loved the yogurt. Weston fed it to her and she kept smacking her lips and grunting for more. I am not sure she had ever tasted it before. She also loved the cheese and ate two slices (I know, gross, but someone had to eat it and she actually liked it). We only gave her a small sip of juice but she would have had more if we had let her. In the middle of breakfast she got a strange look of her face, said "poopy", so off we went to the bathroom. I am so very glad she is potty trained. (And this is probably WAY more information than anyone really wants, but it doesn't look like she has worms. Everything looked very normal.) After she was finished I guess she had more room in her belly, because she came back to the table and cleaned her plate.
After breakfast I took a very cold shower -- and I mean COLD! Take my breath away cold! And since the water pressure was a trickle, it took a very long time to get clean so thank goodness I had thought to bring a stack of washcloths from home so at least I could cover my face to keep the water off and really get under the water to rinse -- and we all got ready. We played in the courtyard for a while, we threw the ball, and tried to get Christina to ride in the play car again, but she wanted to stay close to Sophie. She is Soph's little shadow. She laughed and smiled and ran around. She seemed very happy to be with us. We also played with some toys Sonia had in the living room for visiting kids. Christina only gets out one toy at a time and puts away whatever she is playing with before getting out another. She was intrigued by a riding truck that made noise when you pushed the horn. She liked that the noises changed each time she pushed the button.
Sonia picked us up mid morning to take us out to lunch. (It felt like we had just finished breakfast!) We piled into her car, Christina sitting on Sophie's lap. She got very quiet and withdrawn in the car. Maybe she thought she was going back to the orphanage, or maybe it was just the not knowing what was next, I am not sure. We drove through a busy street with crazy traffic. No one, I mean NO ONE, actually follows any sort of traffic rules. If you can pass, you pass, and a red light does not mean stop to most of the drivers. We drove by markets, tent cities, a graveyard (we were told it was the public graveyard), until we drove by the UN complex and the American Embassy.
We turned into a historical museum- like place for lunch, directly across from the American Embassy. Obviously this was a popular place for wealthy visitors and those working at the Embassy. We figured the food had to be safe. The dining area was outdoors under big tents, and open air buildings amidst old kettles and tools used when Haitian slaves made cane juice out of sugar cane. We sat down and Sonia ordered us each a cane sugar drink. Christina was reserved and quiet, which she tends to become when in a new environment. The buffet was not quite open, so we sat and chatted about the orphanage. Sonia has kids being adopted into many countries. Christina's best buddy, Christana, is joining a family in Germany, which makes me sad because they will never see each other again. The cane sugar drinks were sweet and thick, and very different from anything I have ever had before. Christina loved it (I had to take it away from her to keep her from drinking all of it, and she did a great job of not fussing) and Sophie didn't so we ordered Sophie a Coke instead.
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| Drinking cane sugar soda at the restaurant |
Christina's table manners are decent, she can use utensils, tries to keep the food on her plate and manages to stay fairly clean.
There were chickens, guinea hens and doves wandering around the grounds and Christina was enthralled. She had warmed up a bit by now and was taking everything in. She squealed whenever one came by our table.
Dessert was honeyed creeps and rum raisin cake. They were both a bit sweet for me. We finished our meal and then walked around the grounds where there were cages full of peacocks, pea hens and others birds. The peacock gave us a show which was fun to watch. We also saw huge mango and banana trees.
We walked next door to a huge two story warehouse full of furniture. Called "Voila", it is basically a giant furniture store, like you would find in the US. The prices were listed in US dollars and were a bit cheaper than the comparable furniture we would find in the US. There was a small Radio Shack store was inside as well. The warehouse was mildly air conditioned (I don't think the electricity was on here either -- the escalators and many of the overhead lights were off) and we walked around for a few minutes while Sonia went to get the car, because by this time Christina was getting sleepy and needed to be carried.
We walked next door to a huge two story warehouse full of furniture. Called "Voila", it is basically a giant furniture store, like you would find in the US. The prices were listed in US dollars and were a bit cheaper than the comparable furniture we would find in the US. There was a small Radio Shack store was inside as well. The warehouse was mildly air conditioned (I don't think the electricity was on here either -- the escalators and many of the overhead lights were off) and we walked around for a few minutes while Sonia went to get the car, because by this time Christina was getting sleepy and needed to be carried.
Sonia asked if we wanted a tour of a few Haitian sites before we headed back home. We piled into the car, Christina snuggled on my lap, eyes getting droopy.
We drove back the way we came and not too far after we passed the Embassy and UN complex Sonia turned down a bumpy, poorly maintained dirt road. We drove past banana trees for a mile or so until we came to a piece of land with a high metal fence and bright blue gate. Sonia said this was land she owned and dreamed of building an orphanage here. We found out that the house the orphanage is in currently is just rented. Sonia says the gate and wall cost $40,000 to build, but it withstood the earthquake well. The area is safer than where the current orphanage is because it is so close to the UN and embassy, and closer to her home. Somedays it takes her 2 hours to get to the orphanage from her home, if traffic is bad. She estimates to build the buildings and furnish it will cost $500,000 which she does not have, but she says she "has to have a dream, right?"
What amazes me is that really is not that much money, if you think about it. The price of a really nice house in the US and you can provide orphans a safe, nice facility. And I truly believe the orphanage is crucial in helping the kids transition better to their new families. When the kids feel safe and warm and well cared for, it makes a huge difference.
We then drove through a private cemetery, which was beautiful; Sonia told us you can rent a plot for 99 years. Never did figure out what happens after the 99 years are up. What do they do, throw your bones and dust into the street!?! We then drove through a newer neighborhood with very nice houses that Sonia had never been in before.
Finally we returned to her home. Chrisitna woke up when we tried to get her out of the car so we headed to our room to play. We had A/C for a change, so we sat in the room to soak up the cool air. It doesn't last long, the electricity is out more than it is on. When we have Christina alone in a place she feels comfortable, she is a hoot! She chats up a storm; I so wish I could understand what she is saying! It doesn't seem to bother her that we can't understand her, she just keeps talking. She sings to herself as well. She loves to copy whatever Sophie does and loves to tell Sophie she has to go peepee so that Sophie will take her to the bathroom. They played ball for a while, rolled around on the bed and Christina climbed all over Sophie. Then we got out the iPad and played a matching game. She was touching the screen a bit hard for my liking so made her hold my hand and use my finger to touch the matching cards. After 2-3 games she had it all figured out and knew exactly how to play the game. She is super smart. She got so tickled every time she won the game and would throw herself onto the bed with a squeal. She could have played the game for hours.
We drove back the way we came and not too far after we passed the Embassy and UN complex Sonia turned down a bumpy, poorly maintained dirt road. We drove past banana trees for a mile or so until we came to a piece of land with a high metal fence and bright blue gate. Sonia said this was land she owned and dreamed of building an orphanage here. We found out that the house the orphanage is in currently is just rented. Sonia says the gate and wall cost $40,000 to build, but it withstood the earthquake well. The area is safer than where the current orphanage is because it is so close to the UN and embassy, and closer to her home. Somedays it takes her 2 hours to get to the orphanage from her home, if traffic is bad. She estimates to build the buildings and furnish it will cost $500,000 which she does not have, but she says she "has to have a dream, right?"
What amazes me is that really is not that much money, if you think about it. The price of a really nice house in the US and you can provide orphans a safe, nice facility. And I truly believe the orphanage is crucial in helping the kids transition better to their new families. When the kids feel safe and warm and well cared for, it makes a huge difference.
We then drove through a private cemetery, which was beautiful; Sonia told us you can rent a plot for 99 years. Never did figure out what happens after the 99 years are up. What do they do, throw your bones and dust into the street!?! We then drove through a newer neighborhood with very nice houses that Sonia had never been in before.
Finally we returned to her home. Chrisitna woke up when we tried to get her out of the car so we headed to our room to play. We had A/C for a change, so we sat in the room to soak up the cool air. It doesn't last long, the electricity is out more than it is on. When we have Christina alone in a place she feels comfortable, she is a hoot! She chats up a storm; I so wish I could understand what she is saying! It doesn't seem to bother her that we can't understand her, she just keeps talking. She sings to herself as well. She loves to copy whatever Sophie does and loves to tell Sophie she has to go peepee so that Sophie will take her to the bathroom. They played ball for a while, rolled around on the bed and Christina climbed all over Sophie. Then we got out the iPad and played a matching game. She was touching the screen a bit hard for my liking so made her hold my hand and use my finger to touch the matching cards. After 2-3 games she had it all figured out and knew exactly how to play the game. She is super smart. She got so tickled every time she won the game and would throw herself onto the bed with a squeal. She could have played the game for hours.
We got her to stand still long enough to measure her, she is 39 1/2 inches tall, which according to the growth chart puts her at the 25th percentile for her age. And although we couldn't weigh her, I don't think she is more than 30-35 lbs. She has a big ol' belly but the rest of her is skinny.
We were called down to dinner, which was rice (again), some sort of shrimp dish that Sophie and I did not get to eat since we are allergic -- I can not imagine having to be rushed to a Haitian hospital with an allergic reaction, that would be AWFUL, but Weston said it was great-- fried plantains, and avocado and green bean salad. And they served Weston a Haitian beer, which tasted SO good. Christina once again ate well and was quite silly at the table. She laughed and made faces and wiggled. She is a bundle of energy when she feels comfortable and safe.
After dinner we tried to get her to settle down a bit so we read a book for a while and then put on a kid's movie, which she became enthralled with even though she couldn't understand it. We bathed her, got her ready for bed and she snuggled into our sheets and tried her best to keep her eyes open so she could finish watching the movie. Finally I had to turn it off so she would fall asleep.
After she was snuggled into her little bed, stuffie in hand, Weston washed Sophie's hair (which she said felt great, even with the cold water) I snuggled Sophie for a while and we called it a night.
After dinner we tried to get her to settle down a bit so we read a book for a while and then put on a kid's movie, which she became enthralled with even though she couldn't understand it. We bathed her, got her ready for bed and she snuggled into our sheets and tried her best to keep her eyes open so she could finish watching the movie. Finally I had to turn it off so she would fall asleep.
After she was snuggled into her little bed, stuffie in hand, Weston washed Sophie's hair (which she said felt great, even with the cold water) I snuggled Sophie for a while and we called it a night.
It was a great day. Each day we get to know the real Christina a little more. She was meant to be in our family and we love her so much. We took tons of video (instead of photos), which I am trying to figure out how to upload. Once I figure it out I will add video to this blog!
oohh- i'd love to see video! I feel like you get so much more of a person from video. I love reading about your trip!
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