Spring Break in the Land of Contrast

Spring Break Week of Awesomeness is in full swing.  Being in Haiti, it's definitely taken on unique twists.  We're equally having a blast and hating our lives due to electricity issues at the house this week.  They don't call Haiti the land of contrast for nothing.

 These batteries sit right outside our house.

Two nights ago we lost power at 2 a.m.  During the night we only have limited power.  Our house runs on batteries from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m.  That means we have enough electricity to run a few lights and fans.  We unplug our refrigerator every night.  We don't run anything that requires a lot of power.  So when I say we lost power at 2 a.m. I mean all power.  No fans.  No lights.  Nothing.  Have I mentioned that it's flippin' hot in this country?  And the noise?  Have I whined enough about that for you to get the full picture of what it must be like to be in a house from 2 a.m. until 9 a.m. without one drop of power?  As soon as the power goes out the whole house is awake.  We're hot.  We need our fans to keep us cool, but we also need our fans to keep out the omnipresent noise of Haiti.  It does not matter what time it is.  It's unbelievably loud where we live.

 The inverter sits in our house and charges our batteries while the generator is on during the day.

We were already running on fumes without any sleep the night before, so when we woke up to no power again in the middle of the night last night, the first thing I said was, "I hate this stupid country.  Hate it. Hate it.  Hate it."  And I meant it.  I did.  I was done.  If someone had handed me six airline tickets in my smoldering, loud bedroom last night I wouldn't have thought twice about taking them.  Oh and let's not forget about that dumb goat.  Could my life get any more bizarre?  He's still here.  We keep moving him away from our house, and somehow he ends up tied right back in the same spot...next to our bedroom window.  After the power went out, that dumb goat was so loud, I literally had to check to see if the thing had come in the house.  Poor Aaron had to move the goat in the dark again...far, far, away from our house.

Power problems cause major sleep deprivation.  Sleep deprivation makes parenting four children with love and grace in an eighth world country practically impossible.  The morning after the two nights of no sleep found me in the kitchen begging my kids to stop talking to me.  I was a wreck.  They were irritable and impatient because they were tired too.  I've never been more thankful for large quantities of extremely strong coffee.

So while we're having a wicked fun time during the day with our Spring Break plans, we are also trying not to cuss and get a divorce in the wee hours of the morning.

Ready for me to stop being a big baby and show you all the fun we've been having the last few days?

 

These people we love invited us over to their house for swimming and a birthday party.

The Livesay family is fun enough to make anyone forget their power problems.

 

The next day we had movie/popcorn night at the orphanage.  In the midst of my sleep deprivation I forgot my SD card for my camera.  Thankfully I borrowed one while I was there, so one day I'll post pics of the lost day of Spring Break of Awesomeness.

Today we went hiking in the mountains with the Livesay crew.

This hike wasn't for the faint of heart.  On the way down Ashton said he thinks we walked at least 50 miles.

Some of us walked.

Some of us didn't.

But once we got to the top, it was all the way worth every sweaty step.

This is right after Hudson peed on his dad's neck.
These are the things no one tells you about before you have kids.

What is Hayden doing?  Yes.  It's okay to laugh.  We are.

Spring Break Week of Awesomeness has been a mixture of sweaty nights and fantastic fun.  It's been thanking God for incredible friends and cursing the entire island.  It's been taking in overwhelming beauty and raging irritation over things like batteries and inverters.  It's been that perfect peace that comes over me when I sit back and watch my boys adore the Livesay kids and laying in a hot bedroom at 4 a.m. wondering what on earth we're doing here....doubting...questioning.  I'd say this is the perfect Haiti Spring Break, wouldn't you?