Well, they say new year, new start. So far it's just more of the same. I know we are all battle weary from having all the kids off of school and trying to direct meaningful activities for them is getting tiresome. Also, it seems that the holiday break has stirred up a lot of discontent amongst our young adults. Hopefully some of this will abate when our little ones return to regular English lessons tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to the start of the new term. Hopefully our teachers will get on board with the idea of showing up on time and being prepared for the day's lessons. It is my heartfelt prayer that some of these people start to be a little more conscientious about their work ethic. I try to lead by example, but when you are the only one trying to improve these things, it is an uphill battle with no oars! (sorry for the mixed metaphor, but it succinctly describes my sitch!)
I celebrated the new year with a new friend, he's a friend of the president of our organization. We went to a small house party thrown by a UN nurse. She is a black Cuban. There were only about 10 people there. I was the only American, I was with two Haitians, and the rest of the party were all Cubans, and all of them were black. It was an interesting diversity. I ate a Senegalese dish made with vermicelli and raisins. There were a bunch of other things in there too, but that was the part I could see in the dark!
After a champagne toast, we headed out to go find another party. We ended up sitting on the side of the road with a bunch of English speaking Haitians. They offered me a taste of "white rum" moonshine, prefacing it by telling me it has a garlicky/cinnamon flavor. Apparently that is what they soak it in. I was a little trepidatious as that didn't sound like a likely combination, but I've got to say, it wasn't awful!
After that we drove around for a bit to see the celebrations. I was amazed at the amount of foot traffic - and the automobile traffic was a little strange as most people weren't driving "Haitian" as usual. It was like everything was copacetic. It was a late night and I slept in a bit on Sunday.
So, now it's a new year, and a new start. My only resolution is to start tracking my workouts so I can see just what yields the best results for me. I've lost over 40 pounds since I've been down here. I've still got quite a bit of excess weight I can ditch so I plan to keep at it. If nothing else, I'll at least be ripped by the time my year is over.
Oh, one other plan for the year is to try to find my replacement. It would be nice to get a roster of volunteers that could regularly rotate in and out to manage the school. It's not a difficult job, but it does require someone with a higher level of responsibility than is common for your average Haitians. There are some things that I see down here that I just scratch my head and say, well, they are getting the job done, but man! They sure go about it the hard way!
Anyhoo, that is all for now. I really do hope that this new year I will be inspired to do more creative work. I really hope to find the motivation to do more writing and possibly more painting or sketching. Maybe I will be able to do more crafts this year and tap in to my inner Martha Stewart.
All for now, come back again, y'hear?
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