Urine works on Sea Urchin stings too

It's been a great first week back. School was a bit rough, just getting back into the swing of things, but by Wednesday we had our routine again. This semester will be exciting just to see the students progress. Most of my class is almost finished with the year so I can start them on next year.

In celebration of our great week, we went to the beach today. Okay, I kind of suckered everyone into going to the beach. But really, who doesn't love the beach?! We had to take the small nissan truck because the bigger ones had their batteries stolen. It was amazing how many kids we got in though. The first trip we had 14 adults and kids just in the bed! I think we had a total 22 people in there, cab and bed. If Canaan ever felt the need to hold a circus we have the clown car thing covered.

We went to the beach right off of route 1. It's smaller, but it is just outside Montrouis, which made trips back and forth shorter. I was in the first group and we all climbed down to the beach and jumped in. I kept my chacos on because the beach is rocky. About twenty minute after being there, Sarah crawled out on the beach and was looking at her foot. She had been stung by a sea urchin. She said it didn't hurt and you could see it so she just pulled it out. At this point, I was throwing Joseph into the water a few yards out where you couldn't see the bottom. I felt my foot brush against something that felt like a thorn bush, so I climbed to the shore to check it out. My big two and my foot had two spots that where bloody and had something black in them.

At first, it didn't hurt at all. However, after about five minutes my foot was aching. It wasn't overwhelming or anything, but I couldn't walk on it. I couldn't even see the stingers they were so deep. So Kim tells me if I want to stop it stinging someone has to pee on it. Now I've seen that episode of Friends where Monica is stung by a jelly fish and Chandler pees on it for her, but really? I just assumed that was a really bad old wives tale. But no, the Haitians really believe in it too. They kept shouting at the boys to come over and help me. Sweet Kawen even brought me a bottle full of his urine. I held out.

Then Pastor Joel showed up with the second group and a pair of Asian UN members stopped too. The UN guys just wanted to take pictures with the kids...it was odd. Pastor Joel wanted me to go back to Canaan and get the stingers pulled. I tried to convince him I was fine and I could stay, but he insisted. So the next thirty minutes were spent painfully having my foot dug at with a needle while Caridad and Roselande starred at my face waiting for me to cry. It didn't work because they were too deep. So now I'm just waiting for them to come out of their own accord. Plus side to this? I get to wear flip flops to school tomorrow!