8 months in Haiti....really...it's not a joke!

So today marks my 8th month here in Lamardelle, Haiti. In a sense, time has flew by, but at the same time, it has crawled. Everyday is a new adventure and I've learned a lot over the past months, about myself, different organizations, people, and life in general. It has been a huge self-cultivating experience. I have watched all the children transform and all grown so big now. It is really a magical feeling to be able to be here to witness their on-going growth in life. I feel very privileged and honored to be able to be a part of life's miracles. I was walking around the orphanage today with all smiles. Looking and playing with all the children and at the same time, thinking how funny it is that no one here has an idea that today is also April Fool's Day. Normally, back in the States, friends and family would be pulling pranks left and right today, but here in Haiti, it was just another Sunday. We always have good food on Sundays because it is a day of rest and a day for you to spend it with your family. I celebrated my 8th month with some good old potato salad! Yummers.

On Thursday, the 29th, it was one of the adolescent's 19th birthday. I gave her a big present, filled with clothing and goodies on Thursday, but she wanted to have her cake this weekend. So today was the day that she wanted to make her cake. A huge thanks to Jody for supplying the cake mix and all the wonderful cake decorations. We made a vanilla cake with pink frosting and heart-shaped pink marshmallows. It was a hoot! We had to scounter the whole creche to find the appropriate cooking tools to bake the cake. We took turns in stirring the cake batter, since our hand blender was half broken, it was quite hard to get it mixed properly. We were lucky that there was enough gas to use the small oven to bake the cake. It turned out to be a huge success and everyone had a great time eating the cake and sharing laughs.

Step 1: All supplies and materials checked. For the three eggs, we had to search high and low for them.  Great thanks to our chickens at the orphanage for their on-going support and efforts of laying them. 

Step 2: Mixing the cake mix and all other ingredients together. Taking turns mixing. It was hard work trying to get all the air bubbles out of the batter! 

Step 3: Baking and final product with all the decorations! Ta-da! Isn't it beautiful????

Happy 19th birthday girly! Love you very much!