Creole

Before returning to Haiti I was worried that I might have forgotten all the Creole that I learned before. Thankfully I haven't forgotten it! At first I was so thankful but I'm quickly becoming frustrated that I don't understand everything! I'm not a very patient person, I wish I knew it all yesterday. Lately I've been having a lot of meetings with the teachers to help them make a personal education plan. I understand most of what they say to me but there's always a phrase or two that I don't understand and they have to try using different words until I understand them. Some teachers are much more patient than others, and some throw in a lot of french words to further confuse me:) I'm trying to learn a few more words each day but it's difficult to find time to review them. I will learn a new word and then not have an opportunity to use it again for several days and by then I've forgotten it. The students in the school are even harder for me to understand sometimes, especially the really little ones because they talk so softly that I have to put my ear right up to their mouth in order to hear them and they seem to think I'm pretty strange for doing that. Despite my occasional frustrations, I enjoy the challenge of learning a new language. When I've perfected my Creole I'm going to tackle French. And I don't allow my frustrations to stop me from making jokes with the kids at school. There are a few students in Grade 5 who really find my jokes funny so of course I visit that class a lot and share a joke or two with them. They really boost my self-esteem when they laugh!!