On the town

From the number of pictures added today you can see that we had a very busy day. We got up early and went to breakfast because our driver was coming to pick us up at 8:30. We got the number of a local taxi driver after he drove us to the airport to pick up Rachel last weekend. We first went downtown to see the Presidential palace, MOI (my captors), and all the statues and parks. Then we headed up through Petionville to the Baptist Mission. We went through the museum, bought some bread and jam at the bakery, ate lunch, did some souvenir shopping, visited the zoo and stopped at the playground. We decided to get a banana split for dessert which was a great hit. Rachel, Erin and I loved the sundae. I especially loved the whipped cream. But Kerwin loved the plastic boat that it came in. So before we left, the lady behind the counter gave him his own boat to take home. He was very excited.

Oh, just an aside, the boat was an addition to the toy we already brought with us. Last night, Kerwin began to take a liking to his Woody doll again. Woody sat with us and played Zingo. Then Woody sat with us and played cards. Then Woody slept with Kerwin and I promised him that Woody could go with us to the store today. So now, we have Woody and the boat in the backpack.

Then we went souvenir shopping at the Mission. Rachel found some wooden trays. Similar to the ones I bought her several weeks ago and then we lost somewhere along one of our many moves. While at the shop, we saw a yo-yo which we’ve been talking about a lot because it was on our Zingo game. It was only a buck, so Kerwin now has a new wooden yo-yo.

We went to check out the animals. A man was poking hard candy through the monkey’s cage. The monkey was opening the wrapper and eating the candy; pretty interesting stuff. Then one of the male peacocks had his full feathers all fanned out and was strutting around and shaking. It was quite impressive but the female peacock was having none of it.

Then we walked down to the big slide. Kerwin was not at all interested in going down. But me, being the wonderful mother that I am, climbed to the top of the ladder and forced him to slide down. After he stopped crying…just kidding. He did fine. After the first time he still wasn’t sure about it so I made him go a few more times and by the end he was almost enjoying it. We’ll have to try again at home with less of an audience. The slide was pretty crowded today.

After the Mission we went back down the mountain and went to the Caribbean Supermarket. It is a very good-sized supermarket with a lot of American products and good variety. We stocked up on bottled water and food just in case. I actually got chips and salsa, something I have been craving. I really miss Mexican food. Before I left I was averaging at least one order of fajitas a week, maybe two.

We finished up with some picture-taking downtown and then headed back to the hotel, put away the groceries and went for a swim. We got to talk to Mike tonight on the web cam. After a picnic-style supper by the pool, Rolgard, Kerwin’s favorite care-giver from the mission, came to visit. He was in Port-au-Prince getting some computer training for his work at the mission. He got to see Kerwin’s school papers and played some Zingo (a kids Bingo-type game) with us. Kerwin was so excited to play with Rolgard. He was paying really close attention the whole game and was helping teach Rolgard all the signs. He would help watch Rolgard’s card to make sure he didn’t miss any words. He was sad when Rolgard had to leave but not as many tears as last time.

Barbara, Vera, and Lawanna came to the hotel for dinner tonight. We had just gotten into the pool so we didn’t talk much but Barb said that they had gone to Archives today to get our paperwork out and they said that it is missing one signature and will not be ready until Monday. So lets hope that Monday the paper will be signed and ready to go back to MOI. I was not at all surprised by this turn of events. So much so, that I was hardly even disappointed by this news. As if this is normal, this is just they way things work. I’m no longer enraged by this inane system of government. I think I am beginning to be brainwashed by my captors.

Still pray for safety from the storm. And please pray that Archives will sign our documents and that we will be out of there on Monday.