I can't say that I have ever considered myself as being a person who would have enough interesting things happening to actually write a blog. That was, of course, until we moved to Haiti. Now, it is like making a list of things and prioritizing them. Some are so funny, some are sad, others are just plain unbelievable. In the three months we have lived here I have done my best to add a variety of different things to share, so you will have a good feel for Haiti.
When we started coming to Haiti, eight years ago and finally met John and Beth, we knew we loved Beth for many reasons. Let's just say Lisa and I knew we had a kindred spirit. It was a confirmation when we finally heard the story about her running over the cow in the middle of the road. Sorry, another blog. The other part to this story is, and I am not really sure why, all these kinds of things happen when Lisa and I are together. We also have this thing happening that everyone calls me Lisa and her Sheila. Anyway, back to the story!
The theme to this story would be - Driving in Haiti. It is, in a lot of ways, like playing a video game. Only this one is in real life on roads that are really more like creek beds than an actual roads. Instead of Pac Man coming at you, it is a tap-tap or any number of things that will end your high score career.
I haven't exactly forgotten to mention this, but I did happen to get in an accident with a water truck in John's truck about a month after arriving in Haiti while merging onto Delma. Yes, Lisa was with me and no we didn't stop. It is only important that you know that two white woman in the middle of Delma who can only speak the language well enough to do basic clinic kind of stuff is not a good thing. So, in a split second decision, I said, we aren't stopping! And we made our way up Delma with my knees shaking making driving a stick even harder! The part I really hate is, since the accident, I have been with Dan and Junior, and they have done the very same thing I did and made a clean get a way! My grandfather has always said, an inch is as good as a mile, I just didn't know we needed to measure every ten seconds or less. Let's skip the part about having to tell John.
You now know Beth's drama, my drama and now for Lisa's drama! I can only say, I am happy to report I wasn't with her. Not that it mattered all that much because when the story finally came out it started out that "Sheila hit a pig!" Wait! Wait, a minute! I didn't have anything to do with this. Lisa was on her way to the church and I was at the church with Beth since Lisa had borrowed her car in order to get the bride to the church in the nicest car. Yes, you know the one! The one in the laugh attack blog. Ok, yes, you heard me right, Lisa hit a pig on the way to the church with the bride in the car. It is still hard for me not to start laughing every time I think about it. Because all I can think is, oh my gosh, we had to buy chickens and a rooster can you imagine how much a pig will cost. The bride started crying, Renald jumped out of the truck, thankfully returning with the good news that the pig didn't have an owner and the neighbors would be happy to share the pig!
All ended well, the bride was only an hour late. By Haitian culture standards, that is a good thing. But, from now on anytime the words, cow, water truck or pig come up in conversation everyone starts to laugh if we are in the room. Oh, let's not forget the bacon jokes that have already started and the collective gasp heard in church today as everyone held their breath when John used the scripture about the pigs going over the cliff!
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