I am blessed. I am inspired.
What an amazing opportunity I have had.
I know what I'm supposed to do with my life. Using dance to bless others was the best feeling in the world. I sincerely hope the Indigenous Pitch invites me on many many more trips like this one. I'm already thinking and planning for next year.
As you can see I'm back from my trip to Haiti. I return home healthy, blessed, inspired, thankful, and reflective. I'll try to explain my trip as best as can with as little words as possible.
I had no idea what to expect on this trip. I have only had a little experience teaching dance to children who speak another language and even then, they could pick up certain English words. This was one of the challenges for me throughout this trip. It's very hard to look at these children and not be able to have a conversation with them. I struggled with the desire to get to know them personally. There was so much I wanted to ask.... especially since they were all children relocated from the earthquake. Most times, outside of class, I would just sit with them, keeping them company. Despite the little words exchanged, the kids loved to be around me. I found them fighting to hold my hand and sit on my lap. As little as that seemed in those silence moments, it ended up blessing them more that I knew. Our team as new friends from far off land, offered unconditional love and attention that they needed.
It was hot..... and very humid. So much so, the first night I felt like I could breathe. I was running on little sleep between the extreme heat and the rats jumping on my bed. My room had some windows, but they lead into the dining room instead of the outside. Apparently there were others that lived in that house. Two clever, hungry rats. Making their home in the roof of the dining room, the kitchen was a great place for a midnight snack. The only way into the kitchen at night was threw the little hole in the window screen by my bed. The first night, I had over heard some team mates talking about these two rats, but didn't think I would encounter them that night. Struggling to sleep that night, I laid there in the pitch black. Right by my head, I felt a "ker-plunk" as something rather big dropped onto my bed. I threw up my hands to try and scare whatever it was away. Not being able to see anything (and thank God for that!), there was nothing to do but try to sleep still. Soon after it happened again, but I was too miserable to do anything. The next following days, the rat proofing commenced. I'm happy to say after a couple failed attempts, I finally stopped them from entering our room via my bed. It took two seat cushions, some masking tape, a dirty towel, and switching my head to the other side of the bed.
I taught Ballet, Swing, and helped with Art. The first day was a trial and I re-thought my teaching approach after I knew what to expect. Each day, it got better and I had some very good classes. It was rewarding to see some of the kids doing things I taught them later on. I knew for some it stuck and they could carry what they learned on.
Only some of my favorite experiences included:
1. Dancing and playing with the village children at the basketball courts. The joy in those kids laughter when we rounded the corner.... I'll never forget.
2. The first time the drumming sparked a camp wide dance jam. The entire staff and 100+ kids dancing and laughing together.
3. Hearing the children sing together for our camp performance. All of them sang a praise song in English.... it gave me goosebumps.
4. Mobs/Parades that celebrated the world cup, engulfing our cars on the way from the airport to Limbe.
5. The breathtaking landscapes.
The week was over in a blink of an eye. I can't wait until I return.
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