Beach Day!

I will start out by saying that I really do love Port-au-Prince and love living here, but boy was it good to get out of the city this weekend! This Saturday several of the teachers and some family members loaded up into the vans and went to Kaliko Beach Club. There were about 17 of us that went. At 8 am we crammed into two large vehicles and began the slow, bumpy ride out of the city. To not make this long, and because I’m feeling lazy, I will write a post about driving in the city at another time. An hour later we were still within the city limits, bumping along.

When you are leaving the city limits and entering the countryside, the first thing you notice are the big, open, building-free hills. But, really, the hills aren’t all building free. Just outside the city you drive by an area littered with tents and ramshackle buildings. These aren’t all crammed together like some of the pictures of tent cities you see. They are a little bit more spread out, but they stretch on for miles. Over 100,000 people live out here. No sewage system, no electricity, no regular water source.  I will pause here for a serious moment. As we drove by I began to feel a pang of guilt. I came here to serve the people, and now I’m driving by all these huts on my way to pay $30 for a day at the beach with fresh water to drink and more food than I could need at lunch? What’s up with that?  I don’t know what the appropriate response in those moments is. I really don’t. I don’t think God wants those of us who live here in this country to drive by the tents, and immediately turn our gaze to the beach on the other side of the road. I also don’t think he wants us to beat ourselves up over going out to the beach with our community and relaxing. God does bless us, but with those blessings come responsibility. I don’t know what a good balance is or what a good response is, but I do know that I never want to be okay with how things are here right now. I never want to just shrug my shoulders and think “Welp, that’s just the way it is” and then look out at the beach on the other side of the car. Anyway, back to beach day…

We arrived at Kaliko, found us some chairs and began to soak up the sun. We played Frisbee in the water for a bit until one of the men got a bit of a jellyfish sting. That kind of put the damper on the water-fun. We had a delicious buffet lunch and after that spent the afternoon laying out, snorkeling, swimming in the pool, and ended the day with a sand volleyball game.

It was great to relax with friends, do nothing, swim and play, and breathe air that didn’t smell of car fumes/trash/farm animals/urine. This isn’t an every weekend thing, and for that I am actually thankful. I want to enjoy the sweet, rare delight of beach day when it comes around!

Tiff and Jill relaxing

The beautiful beach

Paradise? maybe?

Blessed

I don’t know if you ever feel this way, but I am sitting at home, about to go to bed (don’t judge, bedtimes are early here!), and I just feel content. Things are great on every front. Teaching is going well. I feel prepared in all classes, ahead in a couple. I have a wonderful community around me here and another wonderful community praying for me back home. I have a fabulous family that I get to talk to often. I am blessed. In the past when I’ve had these contented, satisfied times in life, I’ve cheated myself out of enjoying them by, in essence, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have had that feeling that says things are going well so they must be getting ready to take a bad turn, a real bad turn. Now, part of that feeling comes from the fact that, at some point, things will get worse. It’s just a fact. The weather will not hold sunny days with no rain from now until forevermore. And, if we’re honest, we don’t want that. If it did, the grass and trees wouldn’t grow, rivers would dry up and lakes would be no more. Eventually, it is going to rain. Fact.  Same with life. Things won’t be full and fun and happy forever and ever with no exception, that’s not the way life is. But, instead of cheating myself by constantly looking up and waiting for the storm cloud, I want to rest in these times; soak in these times. Lay my head down and feel the sunshine wash over me. Sure, rain is coming at some point in the future, but for now, I’m soaking in the rays.  Bondye Bon (God is good)

Child Hope International

This past Friday we had parent-teacher conferences. This happens once or twice a semester and, when it does, it goes a bit like this. Students don’t have school. Secondary teachers have three chairs set up them in an area of the chapel, and parents come in throughout the morning and you talk with them. It was my first experience with this and I wasn’t sure what to expect. All in all it went well. I got to see a lot of parents and most of those visits were very pleasant. I got to see some parents I was excited to see but several parents who I hoped would come were not able to make it…

After the morning of conferences we had a couple of things to do, but were done by around 2:00. We took the opportunity this short-day afforded us to visit an organization I had been wanting to see for a while. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, an organization called Child Hope International has a feeding program where they feed anywhere from 100-200 orphans. This starts about 3pm and is about a half-hour walk away so most of us on campus are not able to attend regularly because school ends at 3 and there is the usual clean-up and re-organization at the end of the day.  But, with the early work day, we were able to attend on Friday.

When we arrived, we were greeted by dozens and dozens of kids, several of whom climbed up our legs like little squirrels and hugged our necks like we were long lost family members instead of the strangers we were. I had seen this building once before on a walk around, but it was empty. Now it was crawling with children of all ages playing basketball, soccer, jumping around and generally having a great time being kids.

Around 3:30, the children started to congregate around the plastic tables set up in the shade. A man got up and began speaking in Creole. My Creole is not very good at all, but I got a general idea of what was going on. They began with some lively, bouncy songs sung in Creole and continued with a memory verse and went step by step through the verse with certain kids being called out to say a couple lines. The leader then grabbed a small white board and told a story, but I honestly have no idea what story it was or what he was saying. The kids seemed to understand and shouted out responses when questions were asked. He closed in prayer and then the food time began.

A few of the older children were up and in position before the prayer was over. They formed a line and began passing plates loaded with rice, beans, and some sort of meat & vegetable concoction down the line and to the tables where the children were eagerly awaiting their dinner. Large buckets filled with cups of water were brought out from the kitchen and passed out until each child had a plate of food and a cup of water. The children voraciously cleaned their plated and stacked the bowls and cups in the middle of the table for the older children to come by and pick up. This program operated with efficiency that I haven’t seen in Haiti! It was wildly impressive.

After the plates and cups were gathered the children headed back to the court to play or out the gate to return home, while volunteers and older children helped wipe down and put away the tables and clean up the dishes.

A couple of high school students from QCS joined us for this even though they didn’t want the service hours. It was refreshing to see these students so excited to serve on a Friday afternoon. If you want to check out more about this fabulous organization, visit their website at http://www.childhope.org

This little girl was kissing her face off! Love hurts...

Family Fun at QCS

This Saturday we had our Family BBQ at Quisqueya. Families came up to campus on a Saturday to eat, talk, and play. It was good to meet some of the families I hadn’t gotten the chance to meet yet. It was a great day with beautiful weather filled with hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, basketball and volleyball.

Some staff members solving all of the world's problems.

Tetherball: the second-most popular game at QCS.

Jill & Tiffany: elementary teachers extraordinaire!

The field was a little too wet at the edges for a soccer game, but volleyball in the dry, middle of the field was a big hit.

A couple of elementary students playing near the basketball court.

Watchin' the game, having a Coke.

There were also very talented face painters. They made this cute boy look crazy scary!

Sweet high school girls!

Random thoughts from one month in Haiti

Yep, the one month mark passed me by. I am a few days over my one month in Haiti mark. For my obligatory one-month-in-Haiti post I have a grab bag of thoughts for you:

Thought 1: having a house-keeper is awesome. I’m not sure what the correct title here is, but we have a lady who comes twice a week to clean our apartment and she does our laundry. I know what you’re thinking, “What a lazy slug! You really are suffering for the Lord there in Haiti what with a maid and all…”Now, before you think that (and I’m now judging you for judging me J) let me explain. In Haiti it is pretty common for people to have several people who work around there house. Cook, clean, do laundry, guard the house, etc. It gives local people a steady job and a chance to provide for their families. But, I would not be completely honest if I didn’t say that it was a great help to me. See, as with everything in Haiti, laundry is not as simple as it is in the states. You have to fill in the washer with a bucket full of water from the faucet. You can put your clothes in the dryer, but it doesn’t get hot. Or you can put your clothes on the line. But, you share the washers with everyone on campus so you have your specific time to do it once per week. You can’t exactly run to the Laundromat whenever you would like…because there really aren’t any. See, not so simple.

Lala does several apartments here on campus and she is the most incredible lady! She is saving up for her daughter to be able to go to school. So that is kind of what I see my money going to….the long term investment in a child’s education. And coming home to clean, folded, laundry is also great too.

Thought 2: I love buying from the street. I am getting way more confident getting food and other items from the street. Yesterday I left the house and came back with laundry detergent and avocados. You can get almost everything you need from the street. Eggs, veggies, mops, movies, toothpaste, soap, meat, clothes, etc, etc. It is cheap and extremely convenient.

Thought 3: I love the team of teachers and staff that god has assembled here. Each person has their own unique personality and skills. You really get to see 1 Corinthians 12 lived out. We all live, eat, work, and play together and I’m loving life with these unique and amazing people

Thought 4: Middle School kids are funny. Some of them are so lost with their schedule and lockers and books that they don't even know what to do. Their personalities are so fun and I love the moments where you can almost cut the awkwardness in the room with a knife. It's a good change.

Thought 5: I hate bugs. All bugs. Not only do I have dozens of mosquito bites, but the other day I wrapped up in a towel after showering and felt multiple stings on my back. Yep, ants. All over the towel. Hundreds of them. Ick.

Thought 6: There really isn’t anywhere else I would rather be right now.

A Cure for FOMO

I woke this morning with a slight case of FOMO. Yes, FOMO. For those who don’t know, FOMO is Fear Of Missing Out. Another girl on campus told me about this and I honestly hadn’t felt it in the last few weeks until today. FOMO is when something is happening and you are afraid of missing out. Maybe something happening back home that you don’t get to be a part of because you are here or even something as simple as having to stay home and work when others are having fun. The cause of my FOMO is the Watermark Young Adults Annual LAUNCH retreat happening this weekend. Launch retreat has a very near and dear place in my heart. When I moved to Dallas, I went on this retreat knowing about 3 people and walked away with the most amazing of friends. God used that one weekend in 2009 to really change some stuff in me and to put some amazingly wonderful friends in my life.  Last year, I was a leader at Launch, meaning I had a group of people that I led discussions with and help them get connected at Launch and at Watermark after Labor Day weekend. I love Launch.

This morning as I was looking at everyone’s Facebook statuses about heading out to Sky Ranch for the retreat I got the FOMO. But, loving God that we serve, he cured my FOMO with a day full of Haitian fun!

First stop: Robbie & Irene’s apartment

Irene is a fabulous cook and both her and her husband Robbie are two of the most hospitable people I think I will ever have the pleasure of meeting. They made French Toast this morning and warmly welcomed their neighbors in.

Second stop: Child Hope Orphanage

Josiah, Robbie, Irene and I walked a couple of miles down to the Child Hope orphanage run by a family here in Haiti. They have students that go to our school and several staff have helped out down there at various times. I hadn’t been yet, so I was glad for the opportunity to visit. We stopped by the boys’ home, but no one was there. We then went to the girls’ home and spent about an hour holding and playing with some kiddos and talking with a couple of ladies who work there.

After that we headed home to re-hydrate and rest up a bit before heading out on another adventure.

Third Stop: Petionville

The plan was this: change some money at the grocery store, Eagle, then hop on a taptap and go up to a large market in Petionville (another area of Port-au-Prince). After changing money at Eagle we walked across the street to catch a taptap. I’ll stop here…a taptap is a small single cab truck (think Ford Ranger) with a cage over the bed with benches on it. Paint the cage in bright colors and then cram as many people as you can into it and you get a taptap. I was pumped for this. But, as we waited, each one that drove by was full, or at least too full to take 5 more people. So, we decided to walk with the hope of finding a taptap along the way that was less full. A few minutes into our walk we see a city bus. Irene asks the driver if he is going to Petionville, he says yes, so we hop on. It cost us each about $.25 for the ride, well worth it when it’s about a mile and a half uphill and its beginning to rain.

Now this bus is similar to busses in cities in America, but there were some distinct differences. Instead of putting your money in a little machine, you give it to a guy holding a bucket. You can sit on the floor. Instead of pulling a cord to stop, you just yell “mesi” (thank you) when you need to stop. There are chickens on the bus. Yes, chickens. A couple in a cage, one on a big plate thing. Chickens. Live chickens.

We hopped off the bus at the general area of where we thought the market was. We all had certain items we were hoping to find, and a couple people wanted a Creole bible and a Creole hymnal. Well, right as we stepped off the bus, there was a stand selling both! I decided to go ahead and get a Creole bible as well (New Testament & Psalms). People learn English using the bible, why can’t it help me with Creole?

We kept walking and at one point, a man and woman holding chickens (live chickens again) were trying to convince Robbie & Irene that they needed to buy them. Irene promised to come back when they had enough courage to tackle the task of taking a live chicken and turning it into dinner. I don’t think I will ever have enough courage for that.

We entered the market about 15 minutes after a gentle rain had started falling. The market runs down this hill and the street is paved with very slippery stones. Of course, right as we get deep into the market I fall. The only thing hurt was my pride as dozens of Haitian vendors and shoppers laugh and smile. It was all in good humor and I’m glad I was able to brighten their day a little.

The next hour or so was spent wandering down aisles and aisles of stands set up with any kind of produce you can want, clothes, shoes, rice, beans, meat, corn starch, pots, pans, bowls, utensils, more chickens, everything!

Everywhere we went people shouted out “blan, blan!” hoping we would stop by their stand. We meandered through the market getting our goods until it was time to go. We headed back to the street and caught the bus like pros back to our neighborhood.



Flip-flops, Haitian Bible, and Plantain Smasher: my purchases of the day!



Exploring the city and getting a little Haitian culture = the cure for FOMO.

I'm ok with "un-girly"

(I wasn't sure how to spell "girly" so this is the spelling I went with. Feel free to critique)

All my life I’ve erred more on the sporty side. I can’t remember any facts or players names. I don’t know every rule for football and I can’t name one soccer position, but I enjoy sports. I grew up in a fairly sporty family and went to a college with a big sports program. I even majored in Sport Management. But, somewhere along the way, or maybe just in the last few years, I’ve felt like it’s not “ladylike” to go out and get sweaty and dirty. That playing sports, especially co-ed team sports, makes you “one of the guys.” I honestly have no idea where I got that from. Not my family, not friends that I can remember. Maybe, since this has developed in the last few years, it came from the dainty, Dallas scene; where a girl is more likely to get a pedicure than kick a soccer ball (BIG generalization there, I know, but work with me).

This afternoon we got a bit of a rain storm and our soccer field was muddy, but there were a few teachers playing soccer against some older students after school. I walked by and was invited to join. In my head that fear of “being one of the guys” and not being able to participate in something so “un-girly” cropped up. There was another girl out there on the teacher team and I thought, why not, it’s Haiti right? So, I took off my shoes and ran out to play. Now, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve played soccer (outside of a kid-team when I was little). I’m not very good at all, but I can run around the field faking like I know what I’m doing.

This was absolutely one of the most fun things I’ve done here. Teachers versus students is always fun. I had 3 or 4 of my students playing and I love that they get to see a side of you they don’t see in the classroom.  I had mud from head to toe….literally. I headed the ball, which was not a wise idea when it is caked in mud. We ran, we slipped, we fell, we laughed, it was amazing. I love building relationships with these kids and with the other teachers as well, and if you can bring some mud into it too, the better!

Maybe this whole “un-girly” thing is more in my head than I think, because in the last year I’ve picked up rock climbing, gone on a 4-day hike up a mountain, and moved to a third-world country, all kind of “un-girly” things. But, what it really comes down to is this: I like these things. I like running as fast I can through the mud to kick a soccer ball. I like throwing a football. I like getting messy sometimes. So, from now on, I’m just going to kick off my shoes and get a little muddy…

…and then give myself a mini-pedicure when I get home. Which I totally did today J