Just for fun

One has to be careful when taking photographs in Haiti. It's best to do it surreptitiously when out in the open, because if there are people nearby they are likely to yell at you and ask for money. 

Children, on the other hand, beg to have their photo taken.

They boss each other around and try to sneak in on each other's moments of glory.

And then the whole gang will cluster around the camera to see the end result.

Notice how many times this girl was in front of the lens. 

There she is again, different day, lower left.

And walking with Dolly on one of our village walks.

Grandmas admiring the new baby.

Random photos.

This young Romeo thought he was hot stuff and insisted on my taking his photo when we were on our walk.

Little Romanov, whose mom is a cook at the clinic. Romanov hangs around after school. He is a little darling. 

He is eating spicy Haitian peanut butter on cassava bread, a favourite after-school snack.

This young woman spends her days mopping and cleaning the clinic. It's astounding how much dirt is generated by all of the residents and visitors to the clinic.

I'm pretty sure that her fashionable shirt is one of the t-shirt dresses that we made at church. I must have sent some to MBH. Can any of my lovely readers verify the fabric?

/

Zeenia, my favourite roaming naturopath, and Howard, the WWOOF'er  who arrived at the clinic just a couple of days before we left. He is from Portland and is a very likeable and adventurous fellow. They had been out visiting an organic garden that morning and I thought the whole American Gothic thing was too good to pass up!

Now for some street pictures.
This was on the way back down the mountain.

Motorbikes are the most prolific vehicle on the streets of Cap. These young men were happy to have their photos taken out of the back window of our car. And yes, we asked their permission. Traffic proceeds slowly  in the city! One of the best things I ever saw was a man driving a motorbike with a twin-size box-springs and mattress set balanced across the back of it. I have no idea how it stayed on.

Now for the surreptitious picture-taking!

You often see men pushing or pulling enormous loads of goods. 

                               

And women (and sometimes girls) carrying large loads on their heads.

                    

Haitian women have the most incredible posture and an unconscious "come hither" walk. Or maybe not unconscious, I don't know. It seems to be in their DNA. 

                    

Concrete is everywhere.

                               

                               

And that, my lovely readers, is the end of the Haiti posts. There are more stories untold, like the day we spent at the orphanage, but you will have to see Dolly or me face-to-face for those, if you care. I hope I have given you a small inkling of life on the island. But more than that, I would hope to have stirred you into starting to contemplate what you can do in the wide, wide world to make a difference. It's okay to contemplate the idea for a while. Sometimes I contemplate for years before I actually bring an idea to fruition. But when you decide to do something, I would love to hear about it.

Until then, prayers are good.