Sunday, 24 August 2014

Today I experienced what felt like an awkward blind date with two men at the same time, and speaking a foreign language!  In other words, my coworker invited me to her house for dinner, and I was seated at the head of the table between her two brothers.  Sa se Ayiti! 

In all seriousness, I had a lovely time and I was honored by the invitation.  Aside from driving 40 minutes down the mountain into the city to pick me up and drop me off, my friend had prepared an elaborate meal and her entire family welcomed me warmly and treated me like royalty.  The conversation over the course of the afternoon was something along the lines of, "You should eat more," "You must try this fruit" (it was kanep), "Here, have this juice," "When will you come visit us again?" "Just let us know when you'd like to come back," "We can take you to the beach next time," "Do you think you would like to stay in Haiti for longer than a year?" and on an on.  I could barely get her mother to stop hugging me when I was leaving.  I was so overwhelmed by their kindness and graciousness--I have been in the country only six weeks, don't speak the language fluently, and had nothing to offer other than a bottle of wine, but this entire family spent their afternoon sharing their home and life with me.  Sa se Ayiti.