Monday, August 31, 2009

Petonville

This weekend brought not one, not two but THREE adventures outside the school walls. The trip to the Supermarket was on Saturday afternoon. Then Sunday morning we drove to the Scalabrini Seminary for Mass, this time in English. After Mass the Italian priest treated us to some homemade GELATO. Mmmmmmm. Later in the afternoon we headed out in the giant land cruiser (11 people in all) to drive to the home of one of the board members and benefactors to the school who lives in a nearby town called Petonville. This man runs two businesses that employ about 90 people and he has become one of the wealthiest men in Haiti. His home is up in the hills, and I knew we were entering a nice section of town because all the roads were paved, and the walls of all the houses were round, pretty stones, rather than concrete blocks. In addition to his financial support, his connections within the country are invaluable for getting things done at LCS. Anyway, his house is simply beautiful. We sat out on an open patio overlooking their small swimming pool and shady palm trees all around. His wife brought us iced tea, Tostitos and salsa, and chocolate cupcakes from the freezer! It was lovely to see a person who has built himself up in this country, and who works hard still on behalf of people who are struggling to do the same. And it was lovely to have a few little tastes of home!

After we left his house, we drove through the town of Petonville and stopped at the park in the center. It reminded me more of a small Central American city, with its pastel colored church and sketchy park in the center surrounded by people selling all kinds of food and crafts. We saw a young man painting an enormous canvas – at least six feet by six feet – of a tropical scene full of trees and birds and flowers. The colors were magnificent and the skill of this young artist was undeniable. We asked how much he was commissioned to paint it, and we were told 2000 US dollars. I think that may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I certainly hope he is being very well paid!

We walked along the street looking at lots of other paintings – the kind I love full of bright colors and scenes of regular people doing regular people things. We weren’t in the market to buy today, though I know I will be at some point in the future! A boy about 12 years old started following us asking for money and the little juices that some of us were drinking. We did our best to just walk and not engage him, but he actually tried to grab the juice out of a few people’s hands. We piled into the car and started to drive away, and the boy hopped on the back and rode along with us. I’m not really sure why … maybe just to mess with us. Maybe for fun. Maybe for a ride. After a few minutes when we stopped to turn, he hopped off, probably hoping to avoid any trouble. The whole day made for one of those crazy contrasts: from the beautiful home of one of the elite, to the sad plight of a street kid. I’m sure it won’t be the last experience like that.

1 comment:

Meg said...

Woah, that's different! Glad you get to experience both ends of the spectrum. Were they Tostitos Scoops or regular? :)