Commercialism

It's funny that when you live in Haiti you almost forget about Christmas and all the comercialism that surrounds it. I don't go shopping much and even when I do you can't really tell that a major commercial holiday is just around the corner. Of course there's a few Christmas decorations up and a few more for sale, but other than that you hardly notice a change. The weather also really throws you off. When you are experiencing balmy temperatures and you're still wearing tank tops and sandals, Christmas and major shopping sprees don't even enter the mind.
This year my family decided to bypass present giving and instead buy presents for everyone at Coram Deo. I was thrilled by this idea and have already written their 'wish lists' for them. (with a little help from Cadeau) It's kind of funny that everyone who knows that I'm going to Canada for 2 weeks is expecting a present when I return. I don't know where they get the idea that I have enough money to buy EVERYONE a present but they are quite confident that I will be returning with a gift for them. Even people I barely know ask me what I am planning to bring back for them when I return:)
We already had a small taste of present giving around here. When John came he came with an entire box full of brand new running shoes. I think shoes are a big deal to teenage guys around the world but they were especially appreciated here. Everyone who needed a pair received a brand new pair of Addidas running shoes. Needless to say there were a lot of smiles that night.
I have a great pictures of everyone posing with their shoes. Speaking of pictures, I have tried several times to upload new pictures onto my yahoo photo album but it's experiencing problems at the moment so I apologize for the lack of new pictures.
Fifteen days until I'm home and I'm really excited. Of course it will be a whirlwind of a visit but that's okay. Who needs to relax anyway???