Love and War and by war I mean schoolwork.

It's been a good couple of days. I have been able to go to the town a few times with Paulette. I complained to her about my swollen feet and she tells me that the walking will be good for them. However, I think she just brings me along for entertainment to see what I'll say and do. Today she took me with her to get some eggs. She teaches me a lot of Creole on our walks so that's nice. When we got back I heard her laughing so hard in the kitchen. I went in there and she was telling her sister all about the things I said and did and how hilarious it was. For example, we saw a bus full of "blans" (white people) and she laughed at how excited me and the bus full of people got when we saw each other.
Paulette is so wonderful with the kids too. A few days ago I was watching her sit outside with the kids. She had all of the kids line up and had them sing for her. I could tell that the kids respected her a lot. The kids were very serious and it seemed like they wanted to make sure they were singing as loudly and beautifully as they could. After that she and the other worker got up and started playing a game with them which ended in hugs and giggles from both the workers and the children. It was so great to see the kids with adults who took the time to play with them and love them. They were really enjoying each others presence. I started to get emotional because my thoughts went to the girls in Leogane as well as many other children here in Haiti who don't have that. I have always thought that the success of a child relies heavily on having a stable adult in your life who cares about you. I read a study in college that said that children do best in school when there is a teacher or other adult in their lives who asks them about their work on a daily basis and cares about what happens to that child. I think that the kids at this children's home are so much better off having consistent adults in their lives who love them and care for them. It makes me happy to see that these Haitian woman really care about these children even though they don't belong to them. I wish so badly that every child could have that.
Today was the first day of school for all the children. Most of the kids go to a Haitian school that is a few minutes away. Five of the kids stay at the house to be home schooled. The five kids that stay home are kids who are the farthest along in the adoption process. I think most of the five will be home schooled in the US as well. (p.s. a mosquito just flew into my mouth. I really hope it hasn't eaten yet..) I am here to work with them on their schoolwork. All of it is in English. It's difficult because not only are they learning the subject matter, they are also working hard to learn English at the same time. Some of the kids are VERY antsy and have a hard time concentrating. It's slow going but I really enjoy it so far.
All in all I've been having a good time.