From Sienna's Journal:
January 30, 2008
"INFA starts at 10," said Mommy this morning. So then we went downstairs for breakfast. After I was halfway through breakfast Meghan told me, "I'm going to Punta Sol. Would you like to come?" I asked Mommy if we could go but guess what? That lady said we couldn't. Because she says we have come to work. But the stupid plane got delayed so we couldn't go on the baot ride the first day. But this is what I don't get. She said this trip was all about me. Then I started crying. And then I went in to the computer room and we typed an email.
We got our bathing suits on and Mommy got her sarong thing. When we went downstairs we saw a braider. She asked me if I wanted my hair braided. I said yes. Mama said no for her. We were looking for a braider so we thought it would be just perfect before we swam.
The girl only pulled my hair just about three times. How 'bout this. I'll send you a picture of my hair braided. Then we went swimming for about 25 minutes. Then we went to INFA.
We walked there. We saw bulk dog food. We saw green bananas.
When we got to INFA a girl nammed Hannah led me to a classroom that was very noisy with screaming toddlers. It was too loud. I siad to Hannah, "I think I'm going to help set up the paints now."
We finished all the INFA animals. I was in charge of butterflies.
We saw elastics. We saw kids selling vegetables on their own.
We got home and swam for about 15 minutes before we were "gonna" walk with Meghan and her mom. But we told them, "You guys, you know what we're having so much fun in the water." Then Marleen and Sarah and Liz and Will and Brittany and her grandparents came in the water with us.
There was a party tonight for Sam. It was his birthday Friday but we celebrated it today. He is 78.
We saw Garifina dances. They were neat. I got carried away taking pictures and mama said Sienna why don't you take a break so their eyes don't hurt.
The Garifinas got caught as slaves and their boat got shipwrecked and they used to fight to get not slaved.
---Sienna
Today was the first time I had left the group and done something other than walk from the hotel to the van to the worksite and then back to the van and to the hotel.
The walk to INFA (a day care center for kids of single moms) was only a few blocks away. We passed all of these vendors. There were women and men sitting inside or outside thier shops selling everything from shirts to rice to platic baskets to bulk dog food. It was as though the people from the Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/) pictures came alive. On the way back we went through this large indoor vegetable market. We got a lot of stares. Sienna was surprised that it was mostly kids her age selling the produce.
I wanted to take pictures of everything and everyone, but it feels so rude. I remember that feeling when Jim and I traveled, but now everything is so different with digital cameras. Now I can just snap away and not have to wait for the perfect picture and be concerned that I am using up all my film. Anyhow I did get some good pictures but felt funny about it.
Sienna and I had so much fun in the ocean. We were swimming in the waves for nearly two hours this afternoon. She is so joyful when she is in the water!
The dances tonight were fascinating, and yet again there was this tension I felt. Here we were this bunch of white folks watching the minority black ethnic group perform for us. I would have liked to have learned something about the Garifuna's history and current situation.
January 30, 2008
"INFA starts at 10," said Mommy this morning. So then we went downstairs for breakfast. After I was halfway through breakfast Meghan told me, "I'm going to Punta Sol. Would you like to come?" I asked Mommy if we could go but guess what? That lady said we couldn't. Because she says we have come to work. But the stupid plane got delayed so we couldn't go on the baot ride the first day. But this is what I don't get. She said this trip was all about me. Then I started crying. And then I went in to the computer room and we typed an email.
We got our bathing suits on and Mommy got her sarong thing. When we went downstairs we saw a braider. She asked me if I wanted my hair braided. I said yes. Mama said no for her. We were looking for a braider so we thought it would be just perfect before we swam.
The girl only pulled my hair just about three times. How 'bout this. I'll send you a picture of my hair braided. Then we went swimming for about 25 minutes. Then we went to INFA.
We walked there. We saw bulk dog food. We saw green bananas.
When we got to INFA a girl nammed Hannah led me to a classroom that was very noisy with screaming toddlers. It was too loud. I siad to Hannah, "I think I'm going to help set up the paints now."
We finished all the INFA animals. I was in charge of butterflies.
We saw elastics. We saw kids selling vegetables on their own.
We got home and swam for about 15 minutes before we were "gonna" walk with Meghan and her mom. But we told them, "You guys, you know what we're having so much fun in the water." Then Marleen and Sarah and Liz and Will and Brittany and her grandparents came in the water with us.
There was a party tonight for Sam. It was his birthday Friday but we celebrated it today. He is 78.
We saw Garifina dances. They were neat. I got carried away taking pictures and mama said Sienna why don't you take a break so their eyes don't hurt.
The Garifinas got caught as slaves and their boat got shipwrecked and they used to fight to get not slaved.
---Sienna
Today was the first time I had left the group and done something other than walk from the hotel to the van to the worksite and then back to the van and to the hotel.
The walk to INFA (a day care center for kids of single moms) was only a few blocks away. We passed all of these vendors. There were women and men sitting inside or outside thier shops selling everything from shirts to rice to platic baskets to bulk dog food. It was as though the people from the Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/) pictures came alive. On the way back we went through this large indoor vegetable market. We got a lot of stares. Sienna was surprised that it was mostly kids her age selling the produce.
I wanted to take pictures of everything and everyone, but it feels so rude. I remember that feeling when Jim and I traveled, but now everything is so different with digital cameras. Now I can just snap away and not have to wait for the perfect picture and be concerned that I am using up all my film. Anyhow I did get some good pictures but felt funny about it.
Sienna and I had so much fun in the ocean. We were swimming in the waves for nearly two hours this afternoon. She is so joyful when she is in the water!
The dances tonight were fascinating, and yet again there was this tension I felt. Here we were this bunch of white folks watching the minority black ethnic group perform for us. I would have liked to have learned something about the Garifuna's history and current situation.
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