In the last few weeks I have been so blessed to first have Jan and Betty-Anne, midwives from Canada and then Kristen and Dave, my sister and brother-in-law, here with me. All of them have provided with me new eyes for which to see Haiti, and thus new energy to power through and actually enjoy my final weeks here...thank goddess, as Jan would say.
Kristen and Dave were here for 6 days, which flew! We rode motos through the countryside: visiting a fort from the times of independence, we went to the beach a couple times, walked around a lot, and poked around some old buildings. It was so nice to have people to explore with and to be with people where were still amazed by say, taking public transportation that included a live turkey. I also during this time discovered rum punch, which is a delightful mix of Haitian rum, grenadine and orange juice.
Betty-Anne and Jan are still here (3 weeks total) and I continue to learn a lot from them as they've been midwives for 30+ years. Now that it's a boy-free zone again, we spend lots of time lounging around nude--doing laundry, reading, or just taking in the sun. It's very fun living with midwives :) We've also had several births recently, and I've had the opportunity to hone my suturing skills, which thankfully I don't need to use too often. I've been inspired by Betty-Anne's positivity about and success in (midwives) changing birth practices around the world. She teaches classes in letting go of fear of vaginal breech delivery for doctors and has worked in Afghanistan, Guatemala, ETC, written books and done research, and really seems to be chipping away at the backward birth practices that exist in varying forms all over the world. And Jan keeps me smiling and grounded with her honest, joyful, straight-forward manner and her stories about living in Sri Lanka and the Philippines, being a vagabond hippie in the 70s, and her family. Kristen and I decided that because of her love of maps and sense of adventure, her easy-going-ness and ability to get along with anyone, her blonde hair, and a bunch of other reasons, she really belongs in the Olsson family, alongside our own Aunt Jan of Kansas City :)
The last few days have been full of parades here. No one works and the kids are all out of school for several days before and after Easter. And would you believe it? They don't believe in the easter bunny here! haha, as such, they just go to church, parade around the streets, and traditionally eat fish. And apparently people go out dancing, which is what I'm getting pulled away to go do now... Happy Easter!
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