lemon shake-ups..haiti style!

(Photos taken by: Shelby Lamb)

All summer long I've seen facebook posts about how amazing the food has been at each and every county/state fair.  Some people are even kind enough to include pictures of the elephant ears, potato rings, fried veggies, and the list is nearly endless.  I try to be happy for each of you and excited that you are enjoying all these amazing treats but there is always this little part of me that is secretly drooling and wanting just one bite!  It wasn't until I was walking home from the village the other day that I realized I had a "county fair" experience right here in Haiti.  A older woman in the village gave the children a pile of sour orange halves.  The kiddos didn't care that these little orange bowls were already juiced or that they were really sour.  They were simply excited about their treat and that each of them had two!  They are all about sharing with me so I "got to" try each and every orange and oh were they tart.  After awhile I teased that they should put water in the little orange bowls.  The children immediately thought that I was brilliant (pays to have friends that are all 5 years old and younger!) and ran off in search of a house that had a full water bucket.  Even though the oranges made the water taste a little tart the children were literally gleaming with pride.  These Haitian style lemon shake-ups weren't quite as cold and sweet as they are at the fair but the fun I had in watching my little friends prepare them truly made them taste far better than any of the others I've ever had.  And they weren't nearly as expensive=)