A Lesson Learned, A Lesson Taught

After a ride on a partially open ended truck to the internet cafe, I am working though shoddy connections to write a quick update.

I love Haiti. I am not sure if it's the inherent spirit of resilience or the beauty of the people or the desire for betterment among my Haitian "family," but this truly is a magical place. It's crazy to think that a land littered with trash, ridden with disease, and thought extremely dangerous by most has captured my heart. It has beautifully marked me.

This morning, we had these wonderful banana-ish things for breakfast, oatmeal, and (thank the good lord) coffee. Another volunteer and I spent the morning scanning files in order to receive funding for HAC in Haiti. I also had a mini Creole lesson, which I'll be happy to share when I get back to the states.

This afternoon, I helped teach an English class for Haitians who have a very (very) limited command on the English language. It was humbling to see their effort in learning a language so different than their own. It made me think of my students in Texas and how hard they have to work to get caught up. And then, I thought about how I was always ahead, I always had more than enough. Most people consider me a hard worker, a lot of people might say I am a "good" person. Really, though, the effort I need to put into life is minimal compared to the strife a lot of people overcome daily.

After the English class, I hopped into another class for slightly more advanced English speakers. They knew how to woo a girl because for the first few minutes it was a broken record of, "you very pretty, you very pretty." We hashed out some common American phrases (including BYOB) and I parted with them to go to yet another more advanced English speaking class. Here, I answered multiple questions about American women and how to woo them. I told them to take them on adventures and hikes and then treat them to a picnic. Their curiosity was so genuine, we had a lot of fun talking about dating and love and relationships. They were shocked I wasn't married; I told them I didn't want to be tied down and they said, "Yes, NaTalie, you need to be free." I agree, for now, free is me. We ended class sharing what we would do if we could do anything. Every thing one of them shared a desire to help those who needed help. Amazing, right? A people so in need still see the need for help in others.

The story, today, taught me a lesson on loving and giving, simplicity and selflessness.

Much love, ya'll.