How I Met the First Lady

   Okay, so technically, I didn't exactly meet her, but she waved at me and said "hi", which is basically the same thing, right?
   It happened yesterday. Megan and I took a group of visitors to House of Hope (an orphanage housed in the La Point hospital) in the afternoon, and when we arrived, there was a huge crowd across the street at the gas station/restaurant, which is pretty unusual. Curious, Megan asked one of the street vendors what was going on. The lady pointed across the street and simply said "Martelly." Martelly, for those of you who don't know, is the President of Haiti. We asked her if she meant the President, to which she simply replied "Oui", and returned to her shop.
   Although Megan and I wished we could go see for ourselves, we had the visitors with us, and fifteen white people is about as conspicuous as you can get in Haiti. So, we continued down the street and through the hospital to House of Hope. I quickly forgot about the crowd outside when I found Sorlanda, one of the little girls at House of Hope, who I've become extremely fond of.
    After about thirty minutes, a group of people with cameras and videocameras (real, professional, cameras) come in, followed by a rather large entourage. First came a tall, somewhat scary security guy, then a short, but also intimidating woman with a gun. Then, several men in suits carrying large, official-looking folders, and a woman in the middle of everyone else. She stopped and talked to a couple of the visitors, smiled at the kids, and walked back to House of Hope's office. Megan asked one of the nurses who it was, and they told her that it was Sofia Martelly, the First Lady. A few minutes later, the group emerged, and walked back, still filming and taking pictures. As she walked toward the exit, she smiled at me, waved and said "hi", and continued on, out the door. I was still holding Sorlanda, so all I could manage was a small wave and "hello" back to her. And then she was gone, just as quickly as she'd come.
   Apparently, they didn't have any official buisness at House of Hope, they were just in the neighborhood, and stopped by to take some photos for publicity. Whatever the reason, I now get to say that I've met (okay, I've seen) the First Lady of Haiti. Which, if I do say so myself, is pretty cool.