That is what I frequently hear being called out by children here as we pass, especially in more rural areas. It's basically yelling “white person” which I've discovered encompasses those of Asian descent, Indian descent, Middle Eastern descent, etc. Basically, a non-Haitian. At first this was a bit disconcerting for me to be called out as a white person; however now, it's so common to me that I think it's time we introduce the American game of “slug bug” to the mix. I can just see it now, one kid yells out “blanc” and slugs the other kid who bemoans the fact he didn't see us and call it out first. :)
One of my patients here who is 4-years-old was fascinated with my hair when we were casting her. I think she was more interested in my hair than the measurement and the molding process. Although she no longer plays with my hair, she does seek me out to say good morning and to give me a hello kiss. So cute! Having kids in the clinic adds such joy! I love the times when I walk towards the back to do an adjustment for another patient and walk past the kids sitting at a table enthralled by their coloring books and crayons, or random bouts of laughter that I hear from another part of the clinic, or the sound of one of our little guys who has discovered the hours of fun one of our rolling stools can provide. They are balls of seemingly endless energy! It's also great for them to have other kids with limb loss around to play with as well as getting to see adults with prostheses. It is such a unique setup here in Haiti and this “blanc” is grateful to be a part of it!
Here are some unrelated but no less interesting pictures.
This is one of our technicians walking with a patient after an adjustment:
And this is what we found inside one of our bags we use for Wednesday clinic in Port-au-Prince:
