Roxanne et Lucienne have spent a year in exile from Hayti. The summer of 2005 was getting tres dangerous in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince. After a complicated vwayaj/voyage across the country including a week in New Orleans just before the inundation, we have settled in Trinidad, Calfornia.
Roxanne attended pre-school for two days a week last year and speaks nothing but english now. She has chosen not to speak kreyol/french; probably because the kids at pre-school (half of whom are yurok indians) made her feel foreign because she spoke no english.
has its own page.
The winter of 2004-2005 saw kittens in the house, four of them. 
The latest to open her eyes turned out to be the biggest one, and Roxie's favorite. We kept that one. Of the other three, one died of distemper, one was sold for 100 gourdes and one went on with a country cousin to the zone below Seguin. Sarah's menaj came for a few months from the orphanage in Mexico where he lives. They got married and Sarah and the kids went away to Mexico.
The kids got dressed up for RaRa season. Marching bands go thru the neighborhoods in costume and you go out and made an offering. This is Roxie and sister Nanou with Akee and Lali in back. They didn't go out with the marching bands tho. In these unsettled days it is less than safe.
We returned to Ayiti/Hayti on 13 September, 2004. Roxanne's adventures in the airports were more fun on this trip, her second return to our haytian home. Returning to the mountains was a relief. It feels like home. The jeep was left at Tony's petite orphanage and the battery was dead from sitting so long. One bump start after stalling on Route Freres going up to PetionVille was the only drama due to that tho.
I was hoping that three months away would have resulted in some reduction in the violence level en peyi-a. Unfortunately that was not the case. The partizans Aristide had just burned down a Teleco station in Port au Prince when we arrived. Two weeks later saw the commencement of a full offensive by the armed gangs of the poor areas of Port au Prince. No jobs have been created since the new occupation and pep-la are poorer than ever and starting to feel that they have nothing to lose.
Getting back to the balansin/swing was nice. This is hanging from a tree in the yard and uses a country sisal rope and a section of bamboo. We found a peyizan made ti potty for the girls. The schools that the dutch NGO runs up here buys these potties. Stick a big empty powdered milk carton under it and voila! Sarah's menaj finally showed up from working for the orphanage group in Mexico. Mark (the blan) was in Santo Domingo and then came to PetionVille to work here for a while. Phillipe is a haitian/dominican who usually lives in the mountains in the Dom Rep.
On June 1 Lulu and Roxanne and J.David were driving on a country road just north of PetionVille when we were waylaid by a truckload of M-16 toting ex-policemen who robbed us. Almost got Lucienne and Roxie to get in their car with them. Former Aristide policemen going on to their true jobs as gangsters. Kidnappers and crackheads. So, we wanted to get away for a while. Out of the country. More hassling at the usa consulate got Lucienne a multiple entry visa and we were off! To Kalifornya, land of milk and honey and very high rents!
We took a train ride across the country which turned into a five day adventure. Without fresh laundry. The Sunset Limited was cancelled due to a derailment in San Antonio so we were re-directed to D.C. and Chicago and thru the Dakotas/Motanna to Portland, then down to San Jose/Santa Cruz. A bit of a trial actually, with totally full trains and only two seats for the three of us. But Lucienne got to see how large this place is. Haitians think that Miami is the whole country. After a week in Santa Cruz we went up to Trinidad, Humboldt County. Sister Pamela's place.
We went to a baseball game and the Eureka zoo. The famous 40 year old chimp was sleeping, as he usually is. We had a birthday party for Roxanne in Pamela's garden. She turned two on August 18. Maisie Pei was there. She is almost four. We drove up to Seattle with the Silver Streak trailer and stayed at Sylvia and Jim's for a week.
We went to a birthday party for Maisie Pei at the beach. Nice sunny day. It was a good August in Humboldt. Actual sunshine in the morning! Time is almost up tho.Three months in the USA. Political conventions, too much money and consumption. It will be good to get back to Hayti, the land of the brave.
Nan April 19 we returned from a month in Etats Unis, Otazini, United States. Mostly en Miami avek relatives of Lucienne, but we sojourned to New Orleans for a stay with kousin Kawolin. It was nice to get back. Roxie was tres content to see Petion, our chein (dog) and mimi (kitty). Getting back to her swing was a relief too.
In March 2004 we made our first trip to the USA, Etats Unis, Otazini en kreyol. We stayed with family friends of Lucienne in Miami and with my kousin Kawolin en New Orleans. Lulu and Woksi liked the zoo in N'awlins.
In February of 2004 sister Pamela came to visit again. There was insurrection going on in the countryside, a minor war. Not a lot of fighting but a lot of chasing the police out of their commissariat. 
We went to Jacmel for Carnival. Hardly anyone was travelling so the town was quiet and we got a room at the Hotel on la plaj. Went swimming in the pool and the beach. The 'kanaval national' which is a week before the real Kanaval was even nicer than the year previous as the crowds were much smaller. There was no police checkpoint on the mountain coming into town as all the police were laying low.
August 18. Ah yes, what a day. Pi Woksi is a year old this day in 2003. It is time to buy some new clothes. Lucienne and David go off with Roxanne to an actual clothing store in PetionVille. Up to now Luci has bought 'pepe', used clothes from street vendors. This is a special occasion tho.
In the middle of a hard days shopping a short break is sometimes required for refreshment. It was hot up there in the childrens department. Isn't that a lovely dress? Its my favorite.
So Woksi started walking at a bit more than 11 months. She was standing for almost a couple of months before that. Here she is so pleased to be walking at 11 and a half months.
About every three months I find myself thinking that this is the perfect age for a ti moun and wanting this stage to last forever. At three months she started turning into an actual person, smiling and squirming around. She had been staring at me for a few weeks, then she started smiling and laughing. Why would she laugh? What is discernable as amusing to a three month old child?
