I just want to put them in my pocket…

They always look so cheerful in their brightly color shirts and brightly colored bottoms. Some of them are so small. They probably couldn’t get any cuter. They look like little pieces of candy and I just want to put them in my pocket and take them all home. I call them little tic-tacs.

These are the kids enrolled in Pre-K. I think they’re generally between the age of 3 and 5. I’ve seen them in every color in the rainbow- but these kids, the one’s enrolled at the school at Picot Church, happened to have uniforms of bright pink shirts and bright green shorts.

On Tuesday, Madam Pas took me on a tour of a the school, which also shares grounds with the church, The primary grades were in the middle of their lessons but she took me to the Pre-K class and presented me and she also had me say a short greeting to them. She had them greet me as Mademwazel Amy.

“Bonjou Maadd-mwaa-zelll Eey-meee.”

If you say it exactly like that, using your cutest 3 year old voice, you might be able to imagine kind of what it was like. Only you’d have to imagine it like 30 times at once. And add the voice of one little girl within ear shot that said it more like this, “malmwalezl aymeane” And then maybe, you’d come close.

Most of the kids pass through the yard to get to the street that runs in front of the church. If I happen to be out in the yard at the time they dismiss there are always a few that linger. Most of the time when teams come (at least to Picot) they bring balloons for the kids and take about a million pictures. Because I am blan (white) they keep asking me for balloons, and they' want their picture taken. I don’t have any balloons but I do have my camera. And I do like to take pictures.

Its usually a few of the older kids (the 4-5 yr olds) that ask and the little guys just happen to be with them. One in particular has taken it upon herself to remember my name and remind me and the others often, that she knows my name. She seems to kind of be the ringleader and a bit motherly. Thursday, I had gone into my room and when I came out there were about 6 of them standing staring up at me. She was with them. She had a banana and she was sharing it with all of them, giving them each a bite and instructing them how much to take. And she made sure that everyone had a bite. She told me her brother had been sick the day before and asked if I could take some pictures of him. When I had taken pictures the day before we had searched for good spot in the shade and when I said I would take a few pictures, she herded the clan directly to that same spot and got them lined up.

I asked the kids why blans like to take so many pictures of the kids and she responded with every assurance in her being, “Paske yo rememn (re-meh) nou anpil!”

“Because they love us a lot!”

Its kind of hard not too.