You don’t know when you’ll see them next but there are constant reminders or flashes of experiences that bring you back, reminding you of their impact on your life, and how much you miss them.
For example, my friend Esther is forever linked to grocery store tomatoes. She’ll never let me forget a hilarious evening that started with me “squeezing tomatoes” to choose the ripe ones. This involved a mad rush back to the store since I had left the rental video near the pile of tomatoes because I just “had” to buy a couple more on the way out. In my defense they were perfectly ripe and an amazing price!
Reminders of Haiti are everywhere, too.
Summer has returned to the Atlanta area – hot and humid. So far, I’ve resisted turning on my AC at home and have an oscillating fan keeping the night air pulled in through the window to cool me off and lull me to sleep. It feels just like Haiti, and many nights my thoughts drift back there; the experiences and people that have changed my life.
A photo of some of those people, our amazing group of technicians and staff in Deschapelles, hangs on my wall at work. Their smiles forever ingrained in my memory. Above that hangs a colorful painting by a local Deschapelles artist reminding me of the vibrancy of life in a little town worlds away.
A book of Creole Proverbs sits on my shelf at home where, a couple of weeks ago, I even heard a rooster crowing in the middle of the night. I wonder if the time-confused rooster in Deschapelles is still around?
And, I will never be able to look at a hot dog the same way again. For the rest of my life, they will remind me of Haiti and the hot dogs and spaghetti meal that’s a common breakfast there.
I’m hopeful I’ll get to go back. A chance to spend time with a dear old friend. Time has changed us both. Situations are different. But, the love and connection I feel for Haiti and its people is unwavering.
