Windows Down

Normally if we are in our car here in Haiti, our windows are up and our air conditioning is on as high as it can go. It is so hot most of the time, and since much of our driving time is spent sitting in traffic the exhaust from all of the other vehicles can be overwhelming.















Today, though, I was up in the cool mountains

near the place where Kyle and Megan are in day-camp. My window happened to be down as I started out, so I just left it….even opened the passenger window.

Driving with my windows down allowed me to experience a different dimension of life here.

The sights, smells and sounds that I normally pass without notice became so close when that single pane of glass was removed.

Timid smiles and waves, whiffs of pates frying in oil,

the rhythmic tap of the hammer as stones became gravel,

groups of children laughing as they walked home from school in their uniforms and ribbons (girls),

warm air and then cool air wafting in, two men involved in animated conversation, another man racing to keep up with his donkeys, the grass, the trees…… One old guy even stopped me to tell me how he had fixed a big pothole in the road that had been washed away in the rain. (I think) Anyway, the opportunities for interaction, even if just a quick smile, are limitless. Now as I sit here waiting for Kyle and Megan to finish for the day, I wish I had my camera. One man smoothes out fresh cement on a sidewalk with his trowel, another sits and watches while his friend clips grass with a hedge clipper (my attempt at a hidden camera), a guy who was previously mixing cement by hand now lounges against a wall....

I will probably continue to have my windows up when I drive in the city because of the reasons mentioned above plus the added security risks lowered windows can bring. But I think in the future I will look for more chances to enjoy life with the windows down!!

*Included are some pictures I took the next day.