Yet another day. We woke up and got ready for church, it was Sunday so we needed to wear nice skirts and look our best. We were all told to expect a long service so as you can imagine we cooled down as much as we could and filled our water bottles to the brim. I will admit that instead of going to church when it started we slipped into the service around 8:30 with everyone from Lifeline and took some seats in the back. As soon as we walked in a little girl walked past some of my friends and came up to me to hold my hand. She then proceeded to tell me to sit and she sat on my lap for the entire service. Every time we stood she had me pick her up and every time we sat down she quickly claimed my lap. Before long everyone was a sweaty mess including the little girl (when the Haitians are fanning themselves you know it must be hot!) She sweetly gave me a smile and squeezed my hand to reassure me that she was coming back and made her way towards the front of the church. She then walked up to her mother and pulled out a rag from her hand. The little girl quietly walked back to my seat, sat down on my lap and began wiping the sweat off of her head. Throughout the entire service she would look up at me, smile shyly and wipe her forehead. Soon after she returned to my lap she took off her shoes and before she proceeded to place her tiny little feet on my lap she wiped off her feet. It made me sit and think about how respectful that one small deed was. Here was a little girl, maybe 4 or 5, who had walked up to me wanting my attention and making sure that my skirt was not dirtied by her feet. It was such a small act yet such a big one.
After the service we were taken back to the compound and relaxed until around dinner. After dinner we enjoyed one of my favorite parts of the trip....soccer! If you know me, you know that I am not athletic what so ever. So I simply sat to the side and watched as the Haitians played. They are so amazingly good! Their competitive nature and their fancy footwork definitely made the game worth watching. At night when the soccer games go on many of the village kids are allowed into the compound to enjoy them as well, so as you can imagine I was once again surrounded by kids! This time though I learned some new things about being an American girl in Haiti.
Now before you worry, nothing bad happened. Everything was under control and it was an easy fix. Because of the culture sometimes women are not treated with that much respect, so as I was surrounded by little boys and some older boys just being myself and having fun I was constantly told by them "I love you baby" and "wait for me in America." Sometimes I just ignored them, other times I laughed it off and sometimes I would sternly say no and they would stop. I had many encounters with guys trying to hit on me, no matter what age they were, but you learn to not encourage them and to just say no.
That night after the soccer game I decided to walk some of the younger kids to the gate so they could walk home with their parents. As I was walking down the dirt driveway a girl put her arm around my waist. I then began laughing because she had found my tickle spot! Well of course the laugh was a dead giveaway and within a few seconds I had twenty kids surrounding me tickling me! I couldn't breathe and finally got one of the older boys to translate that they needed to let go because I was going to my house. At first they obeyed and let go, but half way up the driveway they ran after me and began again! Although it was annoying at the time I look back now and smile because I have never laughed so much in my life! In order to get away I literally had to sprint back to the house and up the steps! It was a joyous ending to a long day.
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