Dieuny's House

Jamlecks!

I'm going to get away from the mushy, emotional kind of post for today and talk about what I've been up to!

First thing's first: I've accepted an offer (with scholarship!) to Boston University to get my MPH (Masters in Public Health). I'll begin this fall and I'll move up to Boston later in the summer to move in to my new apartment and get settled in a new city. I'm a loser for saying this, but I sort of can't wait to be back in school.

In my last few months here, I'm trying to spend as much time with friends as possible. A few weeks ago, we went to Dieuny's house to visit her family and to eat lunch with her. Dieuny lives about a 30-minute walk behind the house in one of those neighborhoods you have no clue exists if you're always on the main roads. She lives with her husband and her son, Jamlecks (who are carbon copies of one-another). We walked most of the way on our own, and Dieuny's husband met us to walk us the rest of the way.

Her home is situated along a sunny dirt road (no shade anywhere to be found), behind a cactus fence. They have the only water pump in the neighborhood, so children are constantly in and out, pumping their plastic jugs full to take back to their families. There is one large, shady tree in the front right, and a small garden to the left. The house has three rooms, and Dieuny cooks outside.

Jenna and her friend, Angel, learn how to make
Korosol juice, something I will definitely miss.

The room to the right is the bedroom where Dieuny and her husband sleep. The bed takes up half the room, and their clothing and belongings are hung on the other side. Dieuny's husband is a tailor, but he works in a shop in town. The middle room is the living room, lined with the news as wallpaper. Fake flowers hang from the ceiling and four chairs are arranged in a circle around a small, non-functional TV. Dieuny explained that they hadn't had power in weeks. The room all the way on the left is the dining room and also Jamlecks' room. His bed is on the left, and the dining room table, chairs, and china cabinet are to the right. The house is too hot to sit in, so everyone is outside.

When we arrived, Dieuny and her sister-in-law were cooking in the shade beside the house. They handed us 3 bowls: 2 empty, one full of boiled carrots and beets. We were to peel the beets and carrots, keep them in separate bowls, and slice them the proper way. I learned how to make those beautiful carrot "roses" and became boss kawot, or the Carrot Boss.

Emily!

We learned how to take those massive, green spiny fruits and turn them into sweet juice. First, you remove the insides, white fruit with big black seeds. Then you use the bottom of a metal cup to get the juice out. Every so often, you pour out what you have through a filter into a pitcher. You add sweetened condensed milk and water as you go. It turned out delicious, the consistency of a fresh fruit smoothie. We'd brought ice in a big bucket, so we crushed it into smaller pieces and put it in the drink.

Besides salad with my beautiful carrots and beets, we had white rice, bean sauce, plantains, the usual brown sauce with nuts and onions, and a few other things. Dieuny taught us the proper order of the meal, and we took our food outside to sit under the tree.

Dieuny

Throughout the meal, friends and family kept stopping by to eat. I guess whoever shows up gets to have some, too. As our thank you gift, we brought Jamlecks some cute clothing: a little green polo shirt, a basketball jersey and matching shorts, and a tie-dye t-shirt that I know he would look adorable in!

Lastly: Ina May had more kittens! Her belly got so big so quickly we thought she might be sick, but a quick ultrasound (no, seriously) proved that there were indeed little kittens moving around in there. On Easter, she began crying a lot in the evening, so I stayed in my room with her and made her a nest in my closet -- I can't resist. Patti watched as 4 were born, and one more came a bit later. I thought she was done, but when I woke up in the morning, there were SIX kittens in my closet! By now, they're crawling all over each other and are a delight to play with.