Almond trees and chalkboards

I would never starve on a diet of Haitian food, and Germaine, the cook, creates smells in the kitchen that put a smile on your insides! And I thought I didn't like mangoes, but it turns out I'm a bit of a princess and just need mangoes right from the tree! Lucky for me, there are several close by, not far from the coconut and almond trees at the school next door. Who knew almonds grew on trees? And the trees are so pretty...

The school and the church border the compound, and the school accommodates children up to grade 10. In September they will add a grade 11, then grades 12 and 13 the subsequent years. Some of the kids who came with us couldn't wait to show us the classrooms, where Karen told us they will start learning 4 languages at the start of grade 7-- French, English, Creole, and Spanish. They also show us the kitchen where the women make the children's 2 daily lunches over hot charcoal stoves. For some of these kids, the meals at the school are the only food they get for the day...

From the classrooms, we cross the rocky lawn that doubles as a soccer field and end up at the  church, which has been newly repainted with warm yellow walls. On a previous trip, Beate made drums by tightly wrapping packing tape over wooden frames --the kids will play them for us when we go to church on Sunday morning...

We cross back through the property, and the 2 boys with us, Moise and J.J., run ahead to one of the beautiful trees in the corner of the property. Turns out it's an almond tree, and before we know it, J.J. Is lost in the leaves and branches--tree climbing is universal! Meanwhile, Leica (Lay-ick-a), found some ripe almonds on the ground and is hard at work opening one with a small rock. I didn't realize getting one small almond from its shell was so labor intensive--guess that's why they cost us a small fortune at home--but none will ever taste as good as the ones Leica proudly shared with me.

Time to make our way back to the compound--we can hear the chorus of little voices on the other side  of the wall. There's still a little time for playing before darkness sets in.

As one more day disappears, I have been reminded of the importance of education, especially to the these children, and they are SO happy to learn. But from almond trees to chalkboards, if you keep your eyes open, learning will happen all around you!