Mwen Pa Pale Kreyol.

After Eric and I arrived in Haiti, we traveled with AMURT staff from the airport in Port au Prince to the project site in Source Chaudes. It was a long, dusty, bumpy trip – as the dirt/gravel roads began, even before we'd left the capital. We left the airport just after 9:30am, and arrived in Source Chaudes after 10pm that night. The trip was a good introduction to Haiti – complete with 8 people in a truck, a flat tire, a stop to swim in the ocean, and visits to friends of AMURT along the way.

Haiti is beautiful – both the land and the people who live here. We drove along beautiful beaches for much of our journey, over and around mountains, through little towns and villages. The town of Source Chaudes is absolutely beautiful. It is a tree covered area, in the middle of a desert, an oasis of sorts – with lovely hot springs and mineral pools.

But life is hard here. There is no electricity in town, except in the AMURT office. Access to clean water is also a struggle for many. Thanks to the work of AMURT, more and more families have sand water filtration systems in their homes – providing clean water for drinking, washing and bathing. People travel by foot, with donkeys, or (for the fortunate) with dirtbikes.

I am anxious to learn the stories of these people. To meet and talk with them. But – first – it has become very evident that I want and need to learn to speak Creole. I'm starting with the basics. Hello, my name is Molly. I don't speak Creole. (Bonjour, muen rele Molly. Mwen pa pale le Kreyol.) Smiles and kindness go along way – but I am anxious to learn. Eric and I have been studying as much as we can, writing down phrases we learn in our notebooks, talking to children (willing teachers) and attempting to order food at the town's restaurant. Today, we are beginning a Creole – English exchange for interested town members – people with an interest in learning English. We will talk and play games together three times a week, to teach one another our languages. I am hopeful that it will be good for everyone.

As Eric and I were walking down the street yesterday, a community member stopped us - talking excitedly in Creole. Thanks to his hand gestures and patience, we figured out that he was asking about our “English class”. Could he come? How much did he have to pay? Tomorrow at 12?

Needless to say, word had gotten around.

The class starts today, and I am hopeful that before long I'll be able to say: Mwen piti parle le Kreyol. (I speak a little Creole).

PS. When writing in English, Haitians use the word Creole to describe the language. When writing in Creole, they spell it Kreyol. Creole and Kreyol are the same.

PPS. When writing phrases in Creole, I am typing phonetically. So, for all you fluent Creole speakers out there, be kind to me and my spelling errors!