Some children who greeted us with the traditional "Hey You" and "Blanc" as we worked on demolishing a house
One of the things that you can expect- particularly in the smaller towns like Leogane- is for people- especially the children- to be fascinated by you and what you are doing. As we would walk down the rubble-ridden streets, children would run out of their tents and yell "Hey you, hey you, blanc!!!" until we acknowledged them and smiled and waved. Usually there were groups of children that would gather to wave at us. I thought it was absolutely adorable. Sometimes the children would run up behind us and just grab our hands and want to walk with us. Many of the children were fascinated with arm hair and were entertained Zach's arm hair for extended periods of time. One time in particular, we were out by Ca Ira looking at an orphanage on the coast and as we walked back through the town to find some moto taxis, three children latched on to me- one on each arm and one in front and just started walking with us. They stayed with us for quite a while- as we walked along the beach, through the town, by a little restaurant, and back trough the town. By the time we got on our moto taxis we had become the best of friends.
Zach and I walked to the other end of Leogane to find a hospital one day and on our way back I saw one of the biggest smiles that I have ever seen in my life on the face of a little girl. She was standing on the side of the road with her father. She couldn't have been more than 2 years old and she had the chubbiest little cheeks. As Zach and I passed, she got an enormous grin on her face and just smiled and waved at us with such enthusiasm until we passed. It wasn't possible to overlook an opportunity to connect with that angelic little girl through such simple things as a smile and a wave. It was a moment not to be forgotten. I only wish I had had my camera with me!!
