What Happened?

Monday after work I started some informal Creole lessons. I go to Canaan every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after work to learn and practice Creole with Robert. Robert speaks French, Creole, and knows a decent amount of English. I’m hoping that spending time with him and practicing more will speed up the learning process. I’m finding out that I have a hard time learning languages. There is a lot of memorization, and you have to practice without having everything perfect. Well, I have a horrible memory and I don’t like doing something in front of others unless I have figured out; hence, why I’m bad at learning a foreign language. Anyway, while we were talking I found out that Robert’s grandfather used to be the president of Haiti. That explains why he knows French….most of the upper class in Haiti speak French. He is very helpful and seems to enjoy teaching.

So, remember how I said the weekend was pretty low key? Well, some things happened over the weekend that I didn't find out about until Chris and Leslie got back. We have a guy that comes by after dark to keep an eye on the house and the mission. His name is Jean (a lot of people have that name here), and he usually walks around with a flashlight and is a presence on site to keep people from wandering onto the property. Jean doesn’t speak a word of English and of what little Creole I do know, I still have a hard time picking it out when people are speaking to me. Since Chris and Leslie were gone, he would say “bonswa” (good evening) to me and then start a conversation. I would try to listen and contribute to the conversation, but I was completely lost. After a minute or two, I think he realized I didn’t understand anything and he’d stop trying. Well, on Sunday he came by and we went through the same routine, except that he seemed a little more enthusiastic about something. I couldn’t make out what he was saying and just thought he had a little more energy than usual. Once Chris and Leslie got back I told them to ask about what he was saying on Sunday. He told them that he arrived on Sunday and while talking to someone outside the gate to our house, he saw someone walking in our yard. The person was trying to steal keys to the door locks that we hadn’t installed yet in the new dorms. Jean yelled at him and chased him away. I heard the commotion going on outside and I went to check it out. I didn’t notice anything at the time, but that explains why Jean was more enthusiastic than normal. I slept just fine that night not knowing what had happened. Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t know what was going on.

I’ve been feeling a little funny since around Thursday of last week. Whenever I eat something my stomach immediately starts to churn and make a ton of noise. There are other symptoms that deal with digestion, but I won’t go into that here. Chris had been experiencing similar symptoms and then he started losing his appetite and getting tired really quickly from doing anything. He took some antibiotics and seems to be getting better, so I followed suit yesterday and things seem to be settling down for me also. I’m actually surprised it has taken this long for me to get sick. Hopefully I will continue to stay pretty healthy….it makes life a lot easier if your not sick.