Haiti Restored Pt.1

Today I attended a Haitian Creole class (at the Iroquois Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.) The class was a part of a 6 week course being facilitated by a local French teacher and Haiti native. She decided to teach the course as a means of catharsis and spreading compassion for the Haitian people through increasing cultural awareness in the wake of Haiti's devestating earthquake. (Was that a run-on?)

This woman's spirit and enthusiasim were infectuous. She flawlessly weaved grammar structures with tales of perril and suffering, all while teaching us to maintain "the music of the language." Witnessing her instruction was inspirational and transformative. She forced me to ask myself a few important questions: How many times have things crumbled around me? How many times have I dotted every "i" and crossed every "t", only to find such meticulous attention to detail yield failure? Not failure that is earned through carelessness- failure that is predictable, but failure that is unmerritted and entirely unexpected. In response to this, how many times have I given up? Wollowed in self-pity? Blamed God?

Madame's decision to pick up her heart's pieces and mold them into a tool for rebuilding challenged me to do the same. Instead of petrifying in the place of emotional despair, I must find a way-any way to move on. Forge ahead. Keep going.

Merci, Madame!

To be continued...