So things are coming to a close here in Haiti. We did our last show this afternoon at an enormous tent camp sponsored by Isra-Aid. 400 kids surrounding us during the show, and when it was over crowding around us, tugging our clothes, grabbing our hands, pinching our legs (anything to get attention), one girl just wrapped her arms around my legs and wouldn’t let me go until we finally had to get into the car and leave. The time we get to spend with the kids after the shows often feels like the most special and significant, but this time is always delicate and can often become little scary, depending on how big the crowd of kids is. They can easily get restless or frustrated at not being close enough, not being able to see or not getting enough attention and start shoving each other or start pinching and pulling us much harder to get noticed. This is especially true with Joe who all the boys all adore, but because he’s kind of the “punching bag” in the show (gets knocked around, falls down a lot), the boys think it’s really funny to just start hitting him. So there’s always this game of trying to find the balance between connecting with the kids and keeping them entertained and at bay enough that they don’t just eat us alive. Never a dull moment. I realize I’m talking about this as though we’re going to do another show tomorrow.. but we’re not. We get on a plane for New York tomorrow. It’s kind of a strange thing to come down from – doing these high energy, playful shows in this very extreme environment. And now that it’s over, grappling with the reality of this place and how our time here doesn’t even feel like a drop in the bucket.
I hate to leave my last update email on a sad note. So I’m going to just pop in a journal entry that has a lighter tone to it and with that, I’ll head back to my tent for my last night in Haiti. So many thanks for the support and encouragement on this journey. I still can’t quite wrap my head around this experience – all that it’s meant thus far and how to process it all as we head home tomorrow.
