What will I miss? (or not)

After waking up at 7:30am to a kid practicing drumming on a big, echoey, plastic bucket next door (this isn't the first time)... I decided to think about some of the things that I'll miss, and some of the things that I really won't miss. This idea came first out of frustration, but then sounded like a kind-of nice/interesting/reflective post, so... there ya go. I'm leaving on SATURDAY, in just a few days, after all!! (so crazy.) These are listed in NO particular order.

Things I've enjoyed and will miss:

- all the people; Sarah, Melinda, Ninotte, Sabine, Gislaine, Shela, Cahle, Danaelle, Ismani, Dada, Franky, Linda, Marita, Craig, Brian, Yvette... the list goes on.

- constantly feeling like I'm in discovery/learning mode

- late-night hang-outs with the midwives after we put the kids to bed

- the nights and mornings that are blissfully cool, and made all the more special by how hot it gets during the day

- the busy times in the clinic that were filled with consultations, lessons on checking/feeling a baby (inside and outside of the mom), and births

- watching Danaelle do everyone's hair in the neighborhood

- Danaelle's cooking

- trips to the beach to swim in warm water, drink beer, and eat delicious fish & bananes

- Bassin Bleu; I would have loved to go there at least once or twice more

- all the colorful art!

- the beeeeautiful island, both on the beaches (when there isn't too much trash piled up) and up in the mountains, where green seems to stretch forever

- Sarah's affectionate cat, Cat

- speaking Haitian Creole, since by now, right as I'm about to leave, I'm finally speaking and understanding quite a lot (yay immersion!)

- the fruits (and fruit juices) of Haiti

- COCONUTS, fresh coconut milk, coconut meat (either young and soft or mature and crunchy), all coconut-flavored food and sweets...

- the relaxed, slow island lifestyle

- being a part of the clinic, helping out, knowing how it all works and flows

- getting to watch and help with the deliveries in the clinic

- tagging along on various adventures to places like Kay Joe, St Michel Hospital, the Alliance Française, clients' houses...

- the gorgeous blue of the Caribbean

- hilarious moments with Danaelle and Dada, those goofballs

- quiet moments on the roof, especially in the evening when it was cooler (and maybe there was a sunset over the mountains, too!)

  

 - having a great mix of English speakers (so I didn't ever feel overwhelmed or homesick for the mothertongue) and Haitian Creole speakers (so I was still extremely immersed and was able to practice/learn Creole really fast!)
- moto rides (aka Haitian taxis)

- sitting/napping/reading in the hammock at the volunteer house

- Ayiti (Haiti)

Things I'm really not sad to part with:

- the little drummer boy next door, who has woken me up early on numerous occasions

- the loud party music that blasts late into the night at the restaurant nearby

- the fact that people burn their trash sometimes (if they don't just dump it in the river), which a few times happened in the morning at my neighbor's... Melinda and I were "smoked out" of our own house, since the smoke came in the windows, woke us up, and sent us outside.

- people assuming I'm rich and trying to cheat me when I buy things (although I'm pretty good at getting the right price now, which can be satisfying!)

- everyone here calling me BLAN because I'm white

- the association between voodoo and everyday life, which can sometimes convince people to stay home with a voodoo priest instead of going to a doctor (this is often life-threatening)

- the trash that is scattered (or sometimes piled/heaped) anywhere and everywhere

- the humidity and heat, especially at its peak

- Sarah's puppy, Crab (and all the puddles it would leave INside the house)

- needing a mosquito net to sleep; it makes it even hotter!

- MOSQUITOS and all their dasterdly little bites

- the risk of getting sick with all kinds of exciting, different maladies

- the girls' DVDs, because every single one is horribly scratched and constantly skips or freezes

- COCKROACHES. especially the huge ones

- being just a little too long for my bed, which isn't ideal for the mosquito net set-up

- the frustration of a long struggle of a day with the kids (only sometimes)

- the risk of getting weird bleach marks on your clothes if you give them to Mona to wash

- struggling with internet and phone connections