About a week ago, our good friend Johnny was saying that his family doesn't really do anything special for Christmas. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. In fact, he explained, without electricity it isn't even possible to watch any Christmas specials on TV.
That got me curious. Just what kind of "Christmas specials" show up on Haitian TV each December?
"Well, there's 'Maman, J-ai Rate L'Avion', of course," he told me.
That's French for "Mommy, I Missed the Plane".
Johnny and Mikenn and Ruysdael described it to me and it slowly dawned on me that they were talking about "Home Alone"!
Later, I got to thinking about how to bring "Home Alone" to Johnny's house over our Christmas break. With a set of computer speakers Melissa ordered for Christmas that draw power via USB, I had everything I needed to show a movie without requiring an electrical outlet. We borrowed the DVD from the Heckmans and I made sure Caleb's laptop was fully charged.
One of the best investments I made before we left the States was a mini video projector from Brookstone. It can run for two hours on its rechargeable battery. I have used it numerous times in my classroom and for showing movies on the wall for movie nights at home.
So tonight we used it to show a movie on the front wall of Johnny's house up on the hillside. Mikenn supplied the white sheet and he and Johnny pounded a couple of nails into the concrete with a rock to tie the sheet tight. Family and friends and neighbors gathered around to watch - I suppose about 20 or so - bringing their own chairs.
I was excited to find that the DVD included a French dubbed version of the movie. I turned on the English subtitles for Caleb and me.
I also attempted to take a couple of pictures. Keep in mind that the quality is poor because everything (inside the house and out) was pitch black if not for the camera flash!
About the point where Marv and Harry finally realize that Kevin is staying in the house alone, Johnny leaned over and said, "It's raining." I didn't feel anything so I dismissed it. A minute later he said again, "It's raining."
I said, "I don't feel anything."
"It's raining - down there. And it's coming this way."
Thirty seconds later, big drops started pelting us and we gathered the electronic equipment and the bed sheet and went inside. Johnny's mom's room is the biggest space in the house, so we set up there to watch the rest of the movie.
"Watch" and not "hear". The rain on the metal roof was almost deafening and completely overpowered my little speakers for much of the remainder of the movie.
In the course of the evening, Johnny and Mikenn were excited to show Caleb and me the bedroom they share.
They share a full sized bed that almost fills the entire room. Mikenn's school uniform hangs on the back wall, protected from dust and dirt.
Johnny, Caleb and Mikenn stand at the entrance to the bedroom.
Some of Johnny's artwork hangs on the wall.
Outside of Johnny's room is the kitchen, where his sister was cooking in the dark when we arrived. She ran from my camera, though!
Johnny also wanted to show me the bedroom of his twin brother, John, who is also an artist.
Johnny, Ruysdael and Mikenn were real sweet after the movie was over. They made sure they helped me get the pickup turned around and heading down the right street. The heavy rain had made some of the bad gulleys even worse!
I think they were afraid that we wouldn't find our way out of their neighborhood - about five minutes after Caleb and I arrived home, Mikenn called and Johnny texted to make sure we were safe at home!
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