The crew which we work with is an amazing group of guys. I have equated them to the characters in Winnie the Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood. When I get home I will be uploading pictures of them. It takes too long here.
First is Christopher Robin; that is the architect/carpenter Chris. He is the foreman of our crew and assigns tasks-ish. He is like most carpenters I know in that he really hasn’t grown up yet. He is ex-military and loves to play with the two young boys that are part of our crew. So they are not only learning how to build a house, but they are also learning how to box/wrestle/wiggle ladders/do gross things with the putty we use on the roof. He reminds me of my brother Dave; so I can’t help but smile.
The oldest member of our crew is Lenair. He is like owl; he is wise and gentle and makes sure I don’t fall off the roof. He is 46 years old and lost everything in the earthquake. He had a small jewelry store in PAP and was on his way home when the quake hit. His store was destroyed and all of his inventory was lost/stolen/pulverized. He is one of the group of folks that the government has given a small plot of land north of PAP. The land may or may not have belonged to someone else, but now there is a small tent city there. Each person has marked off their land and planted trees in the perimeter. There is a tree here that grows at an exponential rate and provides much needed shade. Lenigh is a very humble man and works hard every day. When it became understood that he lives in a tent still the liaison for our project approached Chris and I if we would be interested in using the scrap (which there is a lot of) to build Lenair a permanent structure. So we now have two projects. The architect designed a modest home 12 x 24 and we have begun to lay it out. Lenair’s neighbors are now all helping him dig the holes and level his lot. They tell us that Jesus blesses us for what we do for Lenair. If it weren’t for the steep WALK up the mountain side to get to his plot I may believe them more. We will partially build the structure and carry it up the hill. Hahahahah I can hardly wait to see this happen at the end of a long hot day. The neighbors that are not immediately involved are all curious about what we are doing up the hill. Wait till they see us carrying walls up the hill. He and his wife are so appreciative and Lenair works hard before and after work getting his house ready to frame.
Patrick is the baby he is 17 and is a very sweet young man. He reminds me of Rue in Winnie the Pooh. He is always optimistic and pleasant. He is in school and hopes to study architecture. The odds are against him since his family doesn’t have much money and his father died some time ago. His mom has become my friend and she brings us our daily beverages and our beer after work. I think that is the only source of income for the family, besides what Patrick is making at the site. Every day after work I sit down next to Patrick’s mom in the shade and buy my beer. She opens it for me and dusts me off. If I fuss over a splinter she makes sure the guy with the long finger nail comes and helps to remove it. The rest of the crew was taking a very long time finishing up their stuff so I gave her a foot message. She loved it and the small crowd that always it there watching everything we do loved it too. It was a great moment. Patrick got away with me buying him a beer one day, but his mom put an end to that afterward. His conversation with his mom went something like he is doing a man’s job so he should be able to have a man’s beverage at the end. She wasn’t buying it. At least this is what I assume there conversation went like since I don’t speak Creole. He only gets pop now.
Deu’nel is rabbit, albeit way over sexed. He knows everyone on the site and its vicinity and he loves the ladies. A few of them like him too. I have seen another few run away from him as he approaches, I think those are the smarter ones. He is the mover and shaker; if you need something he will get it for you; if you have something extra he knows who needs it; if you are about to cut the wrong line he say, “no Kelly”. He is like the mayor. I imagine school was too controlled and boring for him, but if he could get an education he could do things. He learns quickly, but once he has learned it he doesn’t really want to do it anymore. He walks the line of trouble, but scolds the young boys if they linger around the site too long on their way to school. He talks all the time even though he knows neither I nor Chris speaks Creole. He doesn’t care he tells us long demonstrative stories using his hands and laughing (so we laugh) and seems satisfied when he is done. I am sure his stories are great.
Jesnair is the papa of the group. He reminds of Pooh. He is always calm and always happy. He speaks Englishish. He has lots of questions about verb use and noun choice. He is a learner. Whenever he learns a new word he walks away repeating it over and over. He is very philosophical and doesn’t like to see people upset. People in Haiti get upset frequently and they settle their disputes loudly. Jesnair doesn’t like this. We work together frequently because he wants to learn English and he can do fractions (sort of) so he can measure while I cut. When I hand him a board he always says, “Thank you my lady.” Or “Kelly are you my angel?” He makes me smile. We are working on getting him to understand the English tape measure. He will say, “Kelly are you ready?” (As I am staring at him from the bottom of the ladder) I say, “yes of course” he then says something like, “I need it 14 and 5/8ths minus 1/16th.” I just smile and say ok and figure out what that heck that means as I walk to the saw. I love working with him.
That is our crew. Only one speaks a little English, but all are learning carpentry. It is great to see. Our hundred acre wood is windy and dusty and hot. I don’t think it could be any other way.
Some are still a little timid with power tools. I must admit I am a little scared with them using them. The first time I tried to teach Patrick how to drill gently until snug he buried the screw. Ok, it was more than the first time, but power is awesome. They make these cute little benches with the scrap wood. They will be all the craze soon.
My creole to date (spelling doesn't count)
Moto = hammer
Clue = nair
ashel = ladder
u lae = on top
I get all kinds of answers for bottom so forget about it, they do. I have nails being pounded all over except the bottom.
glacier = cold
met = tape measure
vinne = get
ci beu plait = if you please
merci = thank you
I have a fewer lexicon than a one year old.
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