Lougenson—which he is never called, age 10. Everyone calls him GiGi. (not jee jee, but really gee gee, back of your throat sound). This kid has a laugh unlike anything I have ever heard. If there was ever a day when I was upset or sad, GiGi could brighten that day just by smiling. Something happens when he smiles and his smile turns into a laugh—every single time.
Not only does he have a wonderful laugh, but he is honestly just hilarious. Aaron and John back me up on this one. I don’t know what it is about him, but he is funny. And I can confidently say that he is funny not just to Americans but also to the Haitians.
He’s a boy in every single sense of the word. He burps and he’s competitive. One time he and one of the neighborhood boys were playing and he knocked the other kid down (on accident) and knocked his two front teeth out. Unlike most of the kids at the orphanage, GiGi is a hardcore Argentina fan (everybody else likes Brazil and they said USA but somehow I don’t believe them).
Gigi was sick with a fever the last week we were in Ft. Liberte and you could tell every single person in the orphanage was feeling the pain of not having his laugh fill the air. But by the last day he was feeling a lot better. This picture above is of him and Aaron, who became his half sponsor while we were there. that’s another story for another time, but it was a beautiful sight to see Gigi light up knowing Aaron was going to be sponsoring him. You can tell in this picture how his smile becomes a laugh, I can hear that sound echoing in my ears right now. One of the most beautiful sounds ever.
Despite, loving Gigi so much and (sh…him being a favorite of mine) I couldn’t remember him from past trips. But this picture is from May 2009 and there he is, on the left behind Mackendy’s elbow. There is proof he was around. So basically, if you do go to Ft. Liberte, look for this kid. He is one of a kind and you might not know you came in contact with him till later, but you’ll remember that laugh.
P.S. I’ve done a few boys lately, but I’m just going in age. We’ll get to another girl soon, I promise! 
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“Getting To Know…” is part of a blog series by Abby Lilly. To read more from Abby check out her personal blog: http://abbyquinn.blogspot.com/
