I love being
in away from home for long enough that you start doing everyday things. No
matter how mundane, the activities typically turn into adventures. While living
in Romania, doing laundry lead to one of the strangest dinner dates of my life –
a tight-fitting male fishnet shirt was involved.
This week,
in Haiti, my everyday adventures were going for a run and getting a pedicure. The
run reminded me in many ways of the advertisements for Tough Mudders, without
the registration fee or the excessive drinking. My house, here in Arcahaie, is
in the middle of a banana plantation and less than a mile from the ocean. This
provides for great views but several running challenges. The irrigation canals
in the plantation set even, but inconsistently sized hurdles. The barbed wire separating
plots was cleverly disguised at a decent pace. And the animal waste was voluminous.
I returned with two barbed wire cuts, a health covering of mud on my legs and a
great sweat. A memorable run, but I may try a different trail next time. We
left our shoes outside so we didn’t track mud everywhere and our amazing
housekeeper thought we wanted them cleaned. She magically made them look nicer
than when I bought them.
Yesterday,
Mike and Alliance needed to get haircuts and I decided to accompany them to
market mostly to enjoy the air conditioning at the barber. But, when we got
there, we realized they did pedicures and I decided to give my mosquito bite
covered feet a treat. The Haitian women that were getting pedicures alongside
me made fun my shoes. Keens, though practical for rocky, uneven terrain, are
truly troubling on the eye. They also asked me how much a pedicure in the
states costs. They were shocked that we pay $20, since the grand total for mine
yesterday was $2.50. Besides this conversation, the experience was very similar
to a pedicure back home. Due to the language barrier, either silent or the
workers talking among themselves, perhaps about you.
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