This is what I came for

Today I went to the community center with a couple other volunteers, and that expericence certainly made my trip worthwhile.

We first stopped at another community center to drop off some shoes that had been donated. This turned into a literal brawl. About 8 kids and a couple adults came out to the truck and were pushing each other out of the way to get shoes. Diane (the creator of the community center and the place I am staying) was yelling in french and trying to tell them to make a line, but that was completely hopeless. I've heard that this is how it goes when donations come in down here, expecially in Haitian communities, but it was still surprising to see it in person.

When we got to Diane's community center, I found that the kids are pretty agressive and physical toward each other, and no one ever tells them to act any different. It was my natural reflex to tell them not to push and hit each other, but that was also hopeless. So they colored pictures and did a couple rather challenging puzzles, and we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The kids seemed to like all of these activites, and I guess anything is better than running around the streets unsupervised. They were constantly asking if they could braid my hair, so don't be surprised if I come back with some sort of braided 'do :x

Finally, I was very happy to find that the kids LOVE the volunteers. They were constantly holding my hands, hugging me, and holding on to my clothes. I accidentally gave one of them my watch, with the plan of just showing it to her, but she was so happy (literally had tears in her eyes) that I didn't have the heart to ask for it back. The kids are totally adorable and I will post pictures as soon as I get them from Diane, but for now: more rhum!