picaso photo album to go with previous post
Click on the link above to view album.
eventually I will learn how to use this!
Click on the link above to view album.
eventually I will learn how to use this!
My Year in Haiti
It's All About the Children
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Checking In
Well, It's been an exciting first 10 days. I could not possibly talk about everything I have experienced but here are some of the highlights:
If you think you cannot possibly take the oppressive 96* heat with 80% humidity for even one more minute, just wait. The children do the chicken dance and all is well in the world.
I taught the kids to do the hokey pokey. Without saying anything about it, they all giggle wildly when we "put your bottom in and shake it all about".
Maybe the rest of you make hay while the sun shines, but in Haiti you tend to move a little slower when the sun shines. However, when it rains you better bet your bottom dollar this girl runs out and dances in the sweet wetness as it washes the dust from my face and arms and feet!
It's funny, the Haitians are very superstitious about the rain. I was letting some of the children put their hands in the rain and one of the ladies told me that they had always heard it was bad to go in the rain, that it will make you ill. I told her that when I was a child I remember that dancing in summer rain was one of my favorite things to do.
We celebrated birthdays for two of the children: Samanza turned 9; and Lowinsky turned 22.We ordered a cake from Epi D'oh. The young lady in the cake place seemed confused when I asked what flavor the cake was. The first cake was mocha raisin. I said no way because I remembered the children don't like raisins in their oatmeal. When I mentioned this to one of the older girls she laughed and said they would like raisins in cake, it's just they don't like it in the oatmeal. Funny kids! The second choice was weygan with marshmallow. Mr. Alain, the director, was with us and helping with interpretation. He wasn't familiar with this flavor so it was a gamble. Turns out it was coconut in a type of yellow cake. It was VERY heavy, but very yummy!
At dinner time I presented Samanza with the birthday crown generously donated by Melanie Spranger of Let 'Em Be Little in Madison Heights www.letembelittle.com . She makes custom decorated crowns. She can be contacted at letembelittle@gmail.com If I discover her website I will add it here. I met her during a craft fair in Mt. Clemens, MI and when I mentioned that I was going to Haiti for the year and what I planned to do with the birthday crown tradition started by my BFF, she offered to provide a birthday crown gratis.
The children love story time and DVD movies and singing. They cannot get enough. Some of the stories keep them in rapt attention and some fall on dead ears. It just depends. They have such limited exposure that some things don't make sense to them. But don't despair too much. You would be amazed at the things they pick up! One of the boys loves to break out in these gangsta rapper hip-hop poses. It's enough to crack you right up! But the stories are their favorite. The older girls, and some of the boys, help me interpret them so the little ones can understand. Some of them are very good at acting out the stories.
The other day, I read Tap-Tap to the children. It is a story about a Haitian girl and her mother taking fresh oranges to the market. The girl is excited because she is finally old enough to go with her mother but she is disappointed because she wanted to ride in a tap-tap, which is a type of mini-bus used as a share-cab in Haiti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_tap . This book was purchased by my dear friend, Pat Hill, owner of Bodhi Seed Yoga and Wellness http://www.bodhiseedyoga.com/ The children really enjoyed this story. The older girls liked it so much they borrowed the book to read again and have been passing it around ever since.
So, I hear former prezo Cigar Smoker is in town. I think that must be why we have electricity. That is fine with me. I hope he stays until November!
That is all for now...stay tuned for more!
If you think you cannot possibly take the oppressive 96* heat with 80% humidity for even one more minute, just wait. The children do the chicken dance and all is well in the world.
I taught the kids to do the hokey pokey. Without saying anything about it, they all giggle wildly when we "put your bottom in and shake it all about".
Maybe the rest of you make hay while the sun shines, but in Haiti you tend to move a little slower when the sun shines. However, when it rains you better bet your bottom dollar this girl runs out and dances in the sweet wetness as it washes the dust from my face and arms and feet!
It's funny, the Haitians are very superstitious about the rain. I was letting some of the children put their hands in the rain and one of the ladies told me that they had always heard it was bad to go in the rain, that it will make you ill. I told her that when I was a child I remember that dancing in summer rain was one of my favorite things to do.
We celebrated birthdays for two of the children: Samanza turned 9; and Lowinsky turned 22.We ordered a cake from Epi D'oh. The young lady in the cake place seemed confused when I asked what flavor the cake was. The first cake was mocha raisin. I said no way because I remembered the children don't like raisins in their oatmeal. When I mentioned this to one of the older girls she laughed and said they would like raisins in cake, it's just they don't like it in the oatmeal. Funny kids! The second choice was weygan with marshmallow. Mr. Alain, the director, was with us and helping with interpretation. He wasn't familiar with this flavor so it was a gamble. Turns out it was coconut in a type of yellow cake. It was VERY heavy, but very yummy!
At dinner time I presented Samanza with the birthday crown generously donated by Melanie Spranger of Let 'Em Be Little in Madison Heights www.letembelittle.com . She makes custom decorated crowns. She can be contacted at letembelittle@gmail.com If I discover her website I will add it here. I met her during a craft fair in Mt. Clemens, MI and when I mentioned that I was going to Haiti for the year and what I planned to do with the birthday crown tradition started by my BFF, she offered to provide a birthday crown gratis.
The children love story time and DVD movies and singing. They cannot get enough. Some of the stories keep them in rapt attention and some fall on dead ears. It just depends. They have such limited exposure that some things don't make sense to them. But don't despair too much. You would be amazed at the things they pick up! One of the boys loves to break out in these gangsta rapper hip-hop poses. It's enough to crack you right up! But the stories are their favorite. The older girls, and some of the boys, help me interpret them so the little ones can understand. Some of them are very good at acting out the stories.
The other day, I read Tap-Tap to the children. It is a story about a Haitian girl and her mother taking fresh oranges to the market. The girl is excited because she is finally old enough to go with her mother but she is disappointed because she wanted to ride in a tap-tap, which is a type of mini-bus used as a share-cab in Haiti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_tap . This book was purchased by my dear friend, Pat Hill, owner of Bodhi Seed Yoga and Wellness http://www.bodhiseedyoga.com/ The children really enjoyed this story. The older girls liked it so much they borrowed the book to read again and have been passing it around ever since.
So, I hear former prezo Cigar Smoker is in town. I think that must be why we have electricity. That is fine with me. I hope he stays until November!
That is all for now...stay tuned for more!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Mwen yo te rive ( I have arrived)
Oy! What was it that guy Murphy was wont to say from time to time? Something about things going wrong, blah, blah, blah...I think Murphy may have spent time in Haiti!
So, here's what I've learned so far: You can never drink too much water; you can never wear too much bug spray, and wicking fabrics are a chubby girls best friend.
Take care and keep checking back. My access to the computer is limited so I'll catch you later!
Day four and I'm still gettnig my bearings. The kids are enjoying the many gifts that were provided by so many of you that I will need to run a seperate post for the thank yous...suffice it to say, the toe shaped flip flops were a huge success, so if any of you Chamber ladies are reading this, we need several more pairs of the size M and L and XL of the toe shaped ones, and several more pairs of the adult sizes of each size. I was suprized to realize how large the older girls feet were. It didn't seem so when I was here last, but then again I'm not sure I was really pauying particular attention to that.
So, here's what I've learned so far: You can never drink too much water; you can never wear too much bug spray, and wicking fabrics are a chubby girls best friend.
Take care and keep checking back. My access to the computer is limited so I'll catch you later!
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