HAPPY BIRTHDAY YWAM JACMEL!!!

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you ! Happy birthday dear YWAM Jacme-el! Happy birthday to you!

Today was the YWAM Jacmel base's first birthday! In celebration, we all got the day off. It was WONDERFUL! The guys took me to town. It was soo cool to see more of the city too. We walked there, it's about one or two mile only, so, not too bad. But they spoiled me. Everytime I would ask was a food was, they would buy it for me. Evenually I stopped asking but they just kept buying. We ate, "chinos," (in spanish) and "zoranj" (in creole) but I have no idea what it was it in English (and, no, it wasn't an orange) it was kind of like an orange but it was green. If you know the name in english let me know, you can leave a COMMENT...COMMENT, or whatever. Anyway, we also had these fried dough things with cheese in them, and also peanuts, and sugar cane (pretty good by the way). They did at least let me by the water (which only turned out to be 15 gdes (1 gdes = roughly 3 cents US, I'll let you do the math, don't worry I won't even make you factor in the "haitian dollar," now THAT gets comfusing) so that was pretty cheap. Then we went and sat by the beach and ate it. OH! and I got to ride in a tap tap for the first time (tap taps are the haitian public transportation. They are usually very brightly painted and are filled with WAYY to many people. I loved it. You haven't done Haiti until you've riden in tap tap)

I LOVE the food they sell off the street here. We have a place that is pretty close to the base the sells stuff at night, like fried bananas (amazing, if you haven't never tried one, get ahold of me when I get back and I will make them for you), fried fish (yeah pretty much everything is fried) and, my personal favorite, this thing called "marione" (I have no idea how to spell it or even if I'm saying it right) but it's like fried dough, almost like a donut but a little more crunchy and it's not sweet but its just made with different spices mixed in the dough. absolutely amazing. Then they also have this little, like, salad or almost like a cole slaw-type thing that they scoop in the bag with it. I was told that it's made with, cabage, carrots, lemon juice and salt, but, whatever it, when you put the two together, oh my goodness. It almost makes up for there not being any chocolate in this ENTIRE CITY! I know. We look. I mean, when I signed up for this whole "missionary thing" I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Washing all my clothes by hand, that's fine. Not having electicity or running water half the time or air conditioning or flushing toliets ever, whatever. Sleeping with bugs, doesn't bother me. But not cholocate?!? Gosh, I don't know about that, that's almost, well, barbaric!

Well that was pretty much my day, all in all, pretty awesome. I'm starting to feel more comfortable here, I'm even getting used to people staring at me like I'm an alien and continue to do so even when I look right at them, or the occational screaming of "blonk! blonk!" from a child or whistle or kissing sound from the Haitian men (they do love that white skin) I must have a big sign on my head that says, "get your green card!" But it's not too bad, all part of the cross cultural experience.

Well zanmi mwen yo (my friends) I guess that about does it for this time. Don't forget to leave a comment and you will become my favorite ;) I love you all and God Bless!


Lauren McConkey
The beautiful city of Jacmel