And the thing is, I had asked them a long time ago whether they needed books. "Oh no, we have books." But then again, I would have known what books were required by reading their school papers ... in French. The language and cultural barriers get a bit frustrating at times.
Since time was wasting and Cowman was off today (Friday), I asked Mikenn if he would accompany me into town to buy the books his two friends needed. (Mikenn is finished with high school and is planning to attend a medical technician school starting in November, so he's got lots of free time currently while his buddies are now in class each day.)
So today I got my first tap-tap ride. For the uninitiated, tap-taps are group taxis, usually pickups or vans, jammed full of human bodies and then driven at lightning speeds up and down the major thoroughfares of Haiti.
And everything about driving in this country suddenly became a LOT clearer. Because I learned something very fundamental:
The roads BELONG to the tap-taps. Everyone else - private vehicle, motorcycle, pedestrian, cow - is a guest. So get out of the tap-taps' way.
I met Mikenn at 8:00 am. He had said the booksellers wouldn't open until 9:00, but I think he just didn't want to get up early. It took him about 16 seconds to flag down a tap-tap. This one was a van.
I will have to depend on words since I was unable to take any pictures because 1) I feared losing my grip on the camera and having it disappear out the open door and 2) as the only "blanc" on the tap-tap I was already attracting enough attention to myself without whipping out a camera and going all touristy and 3) no pictures can really do the experience justice anyway. (There are other pictures down below, though!)
So Mikenn slides into a rear bench seat and I scoot beside him and the driver hits the gas and jerks the van back into traffic. Caribbean-style music blares through the sound system. The man in front of me bobs his head to the drumbeat. Someone behind me is singing along ... and must be belting it out at alone-in-the-shower volume for me to be able to hear him beneath the music.
A young boy (maybe ten or eleven) wearing a maroon polo hangs out the open side door of the van. His job is to keep an eye out for potential passengers and tap the roof of the van when he sees one. That's the signal to the man behind the wheel ... and it's the ONLY thing that will make a tap-tap driver slow down. The boy will jump out and even help a customer cross from the other side of the street if necessary. He's also the one to collect the fare: 10 goudes to travel from Vaudreuil to downtown Cap Haitien. That's a deal for the 5 or 6 mile trip. The equivalent of a quarter.
I keep thinking, 'This kid's a hard worker. I wonder how much he earns each day. Shouldn't he be in school?"
Somebody jumps on that Mikenn knows. It's amazing how often I have recognized people out and about in this city of 200,000 myself, even after just two months. Before long, we're all elbow to elbow and I'm wondering how many more might join us. But then passengers one by one alert the boy to their stops. And I learn that if you're trapped in the seat farthest from the door, you don't wait for people to move aside to let you out, you just climb on over them.
After about twenty minutes of loud music and near misses and stops and starts, Mikenn and I make it to our destination. Downtown Cap...
... which is gorgeous in the morning sun.
And then the book market.
It didn't sink in until the end of our shopping how my presence was preventing any good deals. There's a price for "blancs" and a different price for locals. We were having trouble finding our final book. As I looked over his shoulder, Mikenn asked a guy with a wheelbarrow full of books if he had the physical science book we needed. Yes - for 300 goudes.
Mikenn made a little sound of disgust and told the man it was too expensive. I decided to hang back about ten feet and 'browse" elsewhere before Mikenn's next stop. He found the book and this time the price was 150 goudes!
The boys' school was just a couple of blocks away and so we figured we should just drop the books with Johnny and Ruysdael before we headed back home. No reason for either one to spend one more class sitting in the hallway!
Ruysdael was all smiles. Johnny too. Thank you again to the folks who are helping to foot the bill for these boys' education! I was privileged to be your messenger today.
Our return trip was in one of the pickup style tap-taps. Much breezier and no music. We arrived back home by 10:30. Just in time ...
... for some homemade donuts, courtesy of Melissa! That's what you call a good morning.
Two last pictures and two last words:
1) To those who gave special gifts to help the boys with their schooling and for all of you who support us generally month by month with finances and prayer, you have our never-ending gratitude. I truly cannot express our thanks strongly enough. God bless you!
Through you, the light of Christ is shining in dark places.
And 2) I think I am falling in love with this place and its beautiful people more deeply every day. You need to come visit us!
Seriously.
No comments:
Post a Comment