It's Finally Here!

"Madam Jason, Madam Jason!" I turn from my spot by the window where I'm watching the ever darkening sky and make my way to the door. "Lapli, lapli!" (Rain, rain) Hearing the urgency in Anoud voice, I slip on my crocks and head out the door. Jayden, my ever present shadow, follows close behind.

Sure enough it's raining. The splattering drops get steadily bigger until the sky opens and torrential rains pour down. As quick as we can we pull down all the laundry. "Get under the overhang!" I tell a whimpering Jayden, as he begins to cry. "Water falling on my head! Waaaaa!!" I can feel the rain penetrating my T-shirt as it pours down my face.

A few minutes later we have the laundry piled up in a basket and Anoud and I run for cover. "Come on Jayden!" I yell through the noise as millions of rain drops dance on tin. I run to the overhang where he's hiding, grab his hand and then together we make a dash for the door. It's hard to believe that 20 minutes ago the sun was shining brightly. What's also strange is that it's only 10:00 a.m. It hardly ever rains in the morning and we haven't had rain for awhile now. Strange.

I take Jayden to the the bathroom where we quickly towel off. Once we're relatively dry I head back to the kitchen to examine the laundry. Fairly damp, but not too bad. Thanks to Anoud we got it down just in time.

Denise had left for the market an hour earlier and I hope that she's found somewhere undercover to hide.

Inside the bouncing rain on our tin roof is almost deafening. Rain has a whole new definition here in the Caribbean. When it rains like this you run and hide. I focus my attention back to the laundry and wonder for a moment if I should try to hang it up inside or just wait till it stops raining. Looking at the fresh, clean clothes my thoughts drift back to the previous afternoon.

I'm just skyping with Sherilyn, when my cellphone rings. It's Jason asking if there's any groceries I need from Eagle Market. "I'm waiting in the parking lot here to meet up with the truck that's bringing your new wash machine, so if there's anything you need I can run in and buy it quickly!" A tiny thrill of expectation rushes through me. Really? Could it be?

"Don't get too excited," I tell myself. They were supposed to deliver it yesterday too, and the week before and that didn't happen either. Still, I can't help but get a little excited! It's been three months now that I've done laundry by hand and a wash machine sounds like a dream come true!

I give Jason instructions to buy bread and a phone card, and then resume my conversation with Sherilyn. Once we hang up, I help Jayden clean up some of his toys and then we wait.

10 minutes later my cellphone rings again and this time Jason asks if I can let Anoud know that they are coming with the truck! Yes, now I can really get excited! I rush outside to tell Anoud the news and he gets to work pushing open the gate. Jayden and I meanwhile stand on the front balcony to get a look at the truck.

Once we see the truck we head down the steps and out the gate.

And there it is! It kind of feels like my birthday all over again!

At least the "Trans Haiti Experience" truck comes with more then enough workers to carry the machine and it doesn't take long before it's parked in front of my laundry room.


Unlike Canadian or American laundry rooms, my laundry room is separate from our house and can only be accessed from the outside.

Since I have to make a run to the Apparent Project to pick up jewelry and I want to be home before dark, I leave as soon as the truck leaves. Jason promises to move the old wash machine out and install the new one while I'm away.

It's after 4:00 p.m. now and Delmas is experiencing rush hour traffic or in Creole "blokies," which I interpret as being blocked or stuck in traffic, a very accurate description. Knowing this, I decide to take the back roads, which are very rugged but at least have a lot less traffic. With only one wrong turn, since I don't normally take the back roads, I arrive at the Apparent Project 20 minutes later.

Shelley is working hard getting my order together and while she works I tell her about the contact I made in Fond des Blancs. "When Joy Thomas heard about the Apparent Project jewelry, she thought it would be great to sell to all the teams they have coming in. She emailed me today saying that MAF hopes to fly in tomorrow and asked if I can send the jewelry along. It's so exciting how everyone can help each other!" Shelley agrees.

Once the order is ready, I tell Shelley goodbye and head back home. Thinking traffic should be better on Delmas now I take my normal route home. It's still slow moving though, and I sigh as I breath in the polluted air. While I'm waiting, my cellphone rings again. When I answer it I hear Jayden's tiny voice. "Hi Mommy, where are you? You coming home now? I miss you!" He's such a mommy's boy! I rarely go anywhere without him.

"I'm almost home Jayden!" I tell him. "Can I talk to Dad?" He hands the phone to Jason and I quickly explain where I am. "I should be home soon." I tell him. "Okay." He replies. "And oh, by the way, there was a little surprise in your wash machine." "What was it?" I ask curiously. "A dead rat!" "No way!" "Yes, and it stinks!" "Nasty!" I laugh. "Seems like we just can't get away from them!"

By the time I get home, the rat's been removed, and all that is left is a shredded manual and a horrible dead rat smell.

I guess I'd better run my first load with just water, soap and bleach I decide.

How did it get in there anyway?

Once the machine has been purified, I put in my first load of clothes. I turn the knobs to the right temperature and cycle and then turn the machine on. 45 seconds is all it takes. Wow!