May 1

May 1 is Labor Day around the world (in the US we celebrate it on the Monday so that we get a long weekend). So we got Wednesday off. No school (which I wasn’t officially told until Monday afternoon—not that I would have done anything different but still)! There was a youth fair in the courtyard that was set up by the church. I think it was aimed at the youth or something (I didn’t quite understand that part of it). Music and stalls all day with typical Haitian foods and crafts for sale. I went to check it out and was immediately set upon by about 4 children who then walked me up and down and pointed things out but really didn’t talk much. Some of them were from the school here and I recognized them but the others I am pretty sure that I didn’t know.  The music was good and it was just a really laid back nice time. But after a couple of hours I was done and escaped upstairs…not after trying lalo (a green leafy vegetable?) which is a Haitian dish that they really like and I thought was ok. I shared with 3 of the girls who were still wandering around with me at the time. I was very glad they were there to eat it. I also had grilled mais that is like eating popcorn kernels grilled on the cob—a little softer than regular kernels. Not bad but again not my favorite unless I’m hungry.

That afternoon I got the chance to go to the national fair that was about 15 minutes away. It was a bigger fair with more offerings of the same really. Crowded and friendly. Lots of straw hats for sale (as well as anything else). We wandered through the agricultural section with chickens, goats and even a crocodile. Ate sugar cane (like chewing on a tree but sweet) from a vendor who chops off the bark and cuts it into smaller pieces for you to consume. You tear off a bite sized piece, chew twice to get the juice, and then spit out the fibrous pieces. Here in Haiti they spit them back in the bags that they have them in whereas in Malawi you throw it on the ground…I’d been wondering about that as I’d seen so many people eating and selling it but not see it on the ground.  It was a nice day off!