Friday Night Fun and Satruday Relaxation

By the end of the school day Friday, we had about 70 students left. These are kids who either can’t go home, or just really don’t want to yet. They’re not sleeping on the soccer field anymore, but most still aren’t sleeping back in the dorms yet. We’re hoping for Sunday night, if all goes according to plan. We decided to organize a fun activity for everyone on Friday night after dinner, so Coqmard (one of the oldest students who pretty much runs the show around here sometimes) and I planned a giant game of team pictionary. This is one of my old PHA stand-by’s, and I knew that the kids and staff at LCS would love it. We organized everyone into teams and spread them around the basketball court, then handed out a mini white board and marker to each team. Coqmard and I had made a list of words in Kreyol for the teams to draw, and the race began. For hirty minutes kids – and staff – were racing around the basketball court to get the words, flying back to their teams, drawing their little pictures and running back. Most importantly, they were laughing hysterically the whole time. The winners got candy, and everyone got a bottle of King Cola and we followed with about an hour of singing and jokes and dancing and games. One thing I love about the kids here is that they are so willing to play. There’s no “this is mad corny” or “too cool for school” attitude here. They just love to play together – the eleven year olds, the nineteen year olds and the staff all laugh at the same jokes and know the same songs. After two hours of playing and consuming a staggering quantity of sugar, it was time for bed. I don’t think anyone was thinking much about earthquakes last night. We were all too busy laughing.

Today, Saturday, I relaxed. I slept until 6:15 (which, trust me, is sleeping in around here) then ate breakfast with the staff not the kids, the first time we’ve done that since the earthquake. I spent time writing and e-mailing and organizing the hundreds of pictures I’ve taken in the past two weeks. I took a nap. I finally really cleaned my room. I had previously picked up everything that fell down during the earthquake, but I hadn’t cleaned up all the dust or reorganized the shelves or mopped the floor until today. I spent time with another staff member figuring out how to hook up a second computer and the phone at the same time to our library Internet connection. Then I sat down on the couch to read the book that I was reading when the earthquake struck. It was kind of eerie actually to sit in the same spot re-read the same sentence I was reading when the floor started shaking violently under my feet. I think I would have sworn off reading – or maybe sitting on that couch - for the rest of my life if an aftershock had hit while I was sitting there … but nothing happened. In the evening we had Mass at school with many of the kids who stayed for the weekend, dinner, and long after dinner conversations. My plans for Sunday are not much different.