Living with kids

Me and Ronyka

Abed and Me

During my time in Haiti I lived with two children. Abed is a year and a half and Ronyca is five. I got to watch them grow and learn new things in the six months I lived in their home. Here are some short stories of our time together.

After Abed got comfortable having me in his home we would make faces at each other; sticking out and curling our tongues.

One time when Irma was getting water for Abed there must have been some water in the lid of his bottle because when she popped it off water went all over his face. He didn't cry though and she didn't notice, which was the funniest part. No one else saw.

One Saturday afternoon Abed was bouncing a phone and hit himself in the head. He laughed at first then realized it kind of hurt. He started to rub his head and look around to see if anyone else noticed. We made eye contact and I just shook my head. He stopped and shook his head too and went on playing.

Pop comes in glass bottles. (There are plastic bottles and cans but glass bottles are cheapest because you trade in your empty bottle for a full one.) After I was done with my 7up one evening I started blowing over the top of it. Abed and Ronyca thought it was the best thing. They were both laughing for awhile. Abed tried to blow too. The next time I had a 7up and the kids were around I blew over it at different intervals while I was drinking to make different pitches in sound.

I was sitting on the ground eating a bowl of rice and peas when Abed tripped over my foot. The rice and spoon in my hand went flying everywhere when I tried to catch him. He wasn't hurt. It was really funny and no one else saw. I got a broom to clean up the rice.

Ronyca was running and throwing herself onto my lap with her arms around my shoulders. Abed wanted to do it too. He tried but isn't quite tall enough so he just ended up running in between my legs. 

Vonnie was giving Ronyca a bath. She opened a new package of soap and threw the package on the ground to pick up later. Abed picked up the trash and put it where the trash is supposed to go.

Ronyca uses toys to put on make-up like she sees the women in the house doing. We pretended to wash clothes, eat, wash dishes, ride in a boat, watch a movie, and take communion together. It took me a while to figure out we were taking communion. It doesn't matter what culture you are in, the kids watch the adults to learn how things are done. The same way the kids watched and learned I did as well.

Ronyka, Me, and  Goneas

Sometimes after church Goneas would come over to play. She is around Ronyca's age and goes to Agape school so she knows me. One day the four of us played soccer in the main room. Goneas used my flip flops to mark where the goal was. I was the goalie and the three kids kicked the ball away from each other to try and score.