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!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
New Move Date
So I finally have a confirmed move date, for now. Sigh. This assignment will surely be a life changing opportunity in more ways than I can count. Any body that knows me knows that I thrive on being on top of things. I am a do-er, not a watcher. If you give me a job to do, you generally don't need to come back to see if I am a) doing the job or 2) doing it correctly because I generally 1) do it ASAP and b) get it done better and more efficiently than you expected.
Maybe this is a side-effect of all of my military training, or perhaps related to my OCD and Type A personality combined, who knows. The point is, all of this "not being in charge" "not being in control" "waiting for the stars to align" will be a growth opportunity for me to learn to be more patient and accomodating of the way the rest of the world operates!
Anyhoo, my move date is August 8th. Between now and then I will be spending as much time doing the things I enjoy with the people I enjoy spending time with. Hopefully I will make it to the 8th with all of my hair still attached!
Stay tuned for a message from our sponsors:
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
Learning to be patient
Still waiting to hear about my departure date. Things have been a little slow going with the final plans. The best I can say is that this is good preparation for when I finally get there. It will help me to learn to deal with the incredibly slow pace.
Meantime, I've been doing a LOT of meditation, so it can't be all bad. Although, it is starting to effect my level of excitement.
Pray for me! :)
Meantime, I've been doing a LOT of meditation, so it can't be all bad. Although, it is starting to effect my level of excitement.
Pray for me! :)
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Day Two continued
The long awaited final leg of the trip. My apologies for the delay, but you know how it can get when you have a million and one things to do. Sometimes you just sit and look at the list and say to yourself, where do I even start? Well, here, I guess:
So when I left off I was begging off the end of the church "sermon" Oy Vey! I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that subject as the year unfolds. If you know me at all you know I don't like to put God in a box, or to tell others what I think God is thinking. It is such a personal relationship each one of us has with the Creator. Sigh.
So as I drift back to the staff area in search of some cold water I also go check on the young lady in charge of the cooking for the day.
Now we are preparing to go on a tour of the city. Alain, our daytime director, will take us for a drive through the city and surrounding area. Dona will come along for the ride. Chad and I hop in the van and off we go. As we meander through the Delmas settlement it just amazes me how little these people have. Some live in tarp tents, some in boxes, some in steel or wooden huts. Entire families share spaces smaller than my bathroom. Many of them are merchants of a sort. There are so many stores and carts and stalls. They carry loads upon their heads, on the backs of motor bikes, in wheel barrels. The fences are strewn with items hanging from the links. Every THING is for sale in Haiti.
As we make our way into the city, the worst of the earthquake's damage is becoming more clear. Great structures lay in piles of rubble. The presidential palace still lays to waste. Their symbol of their nation, laying there, literally untouched in the 18 months since the quake. The cathedral is now home to many of the cities homeless. I saw a report that said 750,000 remain without homes since the quake.
After viewing the devastation in the city we turn and head up into the mountains. I guess living near the Grosse Pointe/Detroit border has taught me that it isn't all that odd to see wealth juxtaposed along side poverty, but I was utterly unprepared to see the extremes of this. As we wandered the winding roads up, up, up, we passed through some of the most affluent areas of Port Au Prince. Beautiful mansions sitting among the beauty of the mountains within yards of cardboard or tarp towns. Citizens driving Mercedes SUVs passing babies with no clothes, no shoes, no food, no medical care.
It is incredible to me that these people are living in what should be a tropical paradise, yet through circumstances are living in a waking hell.
When we realized how much time had passed since we left the mission, we decided it was time to head back. Down the mountain we went. As we headed back into the heavily populated areas we could smell that the brakes were nearly fried. Fortunately when they finally gave out, we were on a nearly level street going quite slowly and Alain was able to glide us sideways into a concrete wall. It did considerable damage to the front right fender of the van and we had to borrow water from a local citizen to cool off the brakes and a pipe and two by four to bump out the quarter panel in order to continue driving. Alain was pretty nervous so Chad offered to drive. Having grown up in Lebanon, driving the streets of Port Au Prince was a cinch for him. I will need to remember my combat driving lessons before I attempt to do the same.
We finally returned to the mission in time to supervise the final preparations of the dinner meal. The chicken and rice where well received and nobody got sick this day. After showers the children do devotions. They were quite thankful for not getting sick. This was a big improvement for them. We got them tucked in and I headed over to my room. All I wanted was a shower and to get to bed.
All for now. Stay tuned, there's more to come...
So when I left off I was begging off the end of the church "sermon" Oy Vey! I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that subject as the year unfolds. If you know me at all you know I don't like to put God in a box, or to tell others what I think God is thinking. It is such a personal relationship each one of us has with the Creator. Sigh.
So as I drift back to the staff area in search of some cold water I also go check on the young lady in charge of the cooking for the day.
Now we are preparing to go on a tour of the city. Alain, our daytime director, will take us for a drive through the city and surrounding area. Dona will come along for the ride. Chad and I hop in the van and off we go. As we meander through the Delmas settlement it just amazes me how little these people have. Some live in tarp tents, some in boxes, some in steel or wooden huts. Entire families share spaces smaller than my bathroom. Many of them are merchants of a sort. There are so many stores and carts and stalls. They carry loads upon their heads, on the backs of motor bikes, in wheel barrels. The fences are strewn with items hanging from the links. Every THING is for sale in Haiti.
As we make our way into the city, the worst of the earthquake's damage is becoming more clear. Great structures lay in piles of rubble. The presidential palace still lays to waste. Their symbol of their nation, laying there, literally untouched in the 18 months since the quake. The cathedral is now home to many of the cities homeless. I saw a report that said 750,000 remain without homes since the quake.
After viewing the devastation in the city we turn and head up into the mountains. I guess living near the Grosse Pointe/Detroit border has taught me that it isn't all that odd to see wealth juxtaposed along side poverty, but I was utterly unprepared to see the extremes of this. As we wandered the winding roads up, up, up, we passed through some of the most affluent areas of Port Au Prince. Beautiful mansions sitting among the beauty of the mountains within yards of cardboard or tarp towns. Citizens driving Mercedes SUVs passing babies with no clothes, no shoes, no food, no medical care.
It is incredible to me that these people are living in what should be a tropical paradise, yet through circumstances are living in a waking hell.
When we realized how much time had passed since we left the mission, we decided it was time to head back. Down the mountain we went. As we headed back into the heavily populated areas we could smell that the brakes were nearly fried. Fortunately when they finally gave out, we were on a nearly level street going quite slowly and Alain was able to glide us sideways into a concrete wall. It did considerable damage to the front right fender of the van and we had to borrow water from a local citizen to cool off the brakes and a pipe and two by four to bump out the quarter panel in order to continue driving. Alain was pretty nervous so Chad offered to drive. Having grown up in Lebanon, driving the streets of Port Au Prince was a cinch for him. I will need to remember my combat driving lessons before I attempt to do the same.
We finally returned to the mission in time to supervise the final preparations of the dinner meal. The chicken and rice where well received and nobody got sick this day. After showers the children do devotions. They were quite thankful for not getting sick. This was a big improvement for them. We got them tucked in and I headed over to my room. All I wanted was a shower and to get to bed.
All for now. Stay tuned, there's more to come...
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
For Future Use
<a href="http://www.expat-blog.com/en/destination/central-america/haiti/" title="living in Haiti"><img src="http://www.expat-blog.com/logo/logoExpatBlogOrange.gif" border="0" alt="living in Haiti" /></a>
pardon the odd HTML - this is for my web builder's use at a later date, just didn't know a better way to save the code.
pardon the odd HTML - this is for my web builder's use at a later date, just didn't know a better way to save the code.
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