Twenty Weeks Ago

Twenty weeks ago today, this very minute, I was repacking my bags trying to get those 3-4 pounds of extra weight out of my bags, the two bags I had packed to move to Haiti. I can’t believe that it has been twenty weeks. That sounds like such a short amount of time, but in some paradoxical way, also a long time.

Twenty weeks ago I was unsure of what awaited me in this country. Would I like my job? Would I like my coworkers, my roommate? Would I get sick, eaten alive by mosquitoes, kidnapped, it by a motorcycle? Would I ever learn more than a few random words in Creole? Would I have a panic attack a couple of weeks into the school year and hop the first flight back to Texas? I had no idea what God had in store for me here, even in this short time.

I love my job. I love my coworkers. I love my roommate. I love my church. I love my neighbors. I have been sick, but not severely. I have been eaten by mosquitoes, but they didn’t get the best of me. I have been neither kidnapped nor hit by a motorcycle. I have learned quite a bit of Creole and not once have I wanted to hope on the next flight out of here.

I have fallen in love with this country: the people, the culture, the sights, and yes, even the smells. But even more, I have fallen in love with the rich community here. I am loved, supported, encouraged, amused, and taught daily. I admire these fabulous people I get to call friends because of their strength, faith, love, and for being exactly who God made them to be. The intertwinedness (spell check says that isn’t a word; I disagree) of our lives here has created a sweetness of friendship that would be hard to develop unless you lived in something similar to a commune. Sure, we get on each other’s nerves sometimes and need a break, but at the end of the day we know that a listening ear, a hug, and a laugh are not far away.

Twenty weeks have passed since I hopped on a plane to move here; twenty short weeks. I am excited to go home and be assaulted by American culture, to see my family, and to hug my friends, but I will miss my friends and family here. Yes, even in two short weeks I will miss them. I am thankful that my trip back to the states is not on a one-way ticket.

Look out Texas, here I come! N a wè Ayiti! (See, I learned some Creole)

Running in Haiti

Aside from family, friends, and fast food, one of the things I have missed most here in Haiti is running. I’m not a crazy awesome runner, but ever since college running has become one of my favorite hobbies and is my go-to way to relax. When I was preparing to move here I didn’t know if there would be any areas where I would be able to run. I assumed running on the streets was out (due to safety and cultural insensitivity). I had resigned myself to workout videos and playing soccer. However, upon arrival I found two avenues to satisfy my running urge. Our school takes up a large block and is surrounded by a wall. There are sidewalks all around campus and 4 to 5 laps around equals a mile. Not ideal for distance running, but much better than nothing. Also, over the summer someone had donated a treadmill to our school! I have made do with these two running options the last five months but at times I have felt trapped inside the walls wanting to get on the road and stretch my legs. I wanted to run more than three miles at a time (that’s about as much as I can take running in laps around the school or on the treadmill). I wanted to go up hills and down hills, see the neighborhoods and more of the city that I live in.

Well, this last week I got that chance. A friend of mine who grew up as an MK in Haiti, and who also likes to run, let me join him for a run outside the walls. If you aren’t a distance runner you may not understand the crazy feeling of freedom I felt as we meandered around the streets, stretching our legs, exploring our neighborhood. I discovered what I already knew but hadn’t fully experienced while riding in a car: Haiti is hilly. We (ok, maybe just me) huffed and puffed up hills and then ran as fast as we could down them. I figured out the lay of the streets a little better; they seem clearer when you see them on foot than in a car. I returned to the school exhausted but feeling satisfied and a little more independent.

Then, on Sunday, I went with another friend on a run in another part of the neighborhood. This time it was just us two females running together and I didn’t know what to expect. Anytime there is not a male in your group (and sometimes when there is) you will attract a lot of attention (more than you normally do just being white). I’ll admit, I was a little nervous. Honestly, I was afraid of getting negative attention. Not the negative attention that we normally get (the stares, “hey blan”, “give me a dollar”, the kissey noises), but negative in the sense of “I don’t have enough food to feed my family and you are out here burning calories? Seriously?” Surprisingly though, we didn’t get that at all…ok, one lady said something but she seemed more mad at the world than at us specifically.

As we were running, my friend told me that Haitians are a very encouraging people and I got to experience that firsthand. As we are huffing up a hill we get shouts of “w ap kenbe?” (Are you holding on?) and “kouri, kouri, kouri!” (run, run, run!). Smiles and greetings and encouragement, not at all what I expected.

This country continues to surprise me at every turn. It’s different, it’s got its problems, but it’s got its charms too.

Going back to Texas the day after tomorrow. So excited!!

Need vs. Want

In chapel the last couple of weeks we have talked a little bit about what Christmas is and what isn’t. This topic as discussed in conjunction with a food drive we were holding for our national workers and a toy-drive for TeacHaiti. We showed a couple of videos from the Advent Conspiracy which really make the point. Here is one of those videos.

Then you see photos like this one popping up on facebook. How true is this? What do we “need”?

This year and last year I’ve really been thinking about that. What would it look like if we gave instead of got? That sounds so pithy, but it’s true. Please don’t hear any self-righteousness in this post. I am one of the worst at this. I constantly have to define for myself what is a “need” and what is a “want,” and often I fail at rightly distinguishing between the two, but I'm trying. This year I want to give more, not just at Christmas, but all year long.

In Haiti, education for children is essential. It’s easy to read that and think “yeah, education for all children is essential.” And while I agree with that, I look outside my window at any point in the day and count half a dozen kids in a single glance selling random crap on the street because they don’t have the money to go to school. Education is essential, vital, necessary, (insert other synonym here), not only because it opens up more opportunities than the child would have without it, but also because most kids get at least one meal a day when they go to school that they might not get at home.

Here are the links to two amazing organizations that are feeding and educating children in Haiti. They are doing incredible work and providing hope to families here.

TeacHaiti - Miquette's organization. They are doing amazing things and always accepting donations. Check out the awesomeness that is TeacHaiti.

Mission of Hope - Mission of Hope has started an initiative to get 1,200 students' education sponsored by 2012. They are 30% of the way there.

Yes, it’s an investment, and yes, it’s not something you can wrap in shiny paper and see someone open on Christmas morning.

It's so much more.

10-Day Forecast

I measure the amount of anticipation I should feel for a trip by where my arrival date lands on the current day’s 10-day forecast.  Today is “Day 9” on the forecast and I am pumped! Before each trip I take I always mark the days on weather.com’s forecast. Not really to plan what to wear or pack, but more of a way to mark time. I am so excited to be returning back to Texas in a few days (10). Like I said before, I’m not excited because I don’t like it here…I love it here! A few of us were talking the other night about how much we are all going to miss each other over the short break. The community is so rich here that it will be missed during the vacation. But, despite that, I really am ready to go back, and not only to see family and friends I haven’t seen in a while, but also to just soak in some of the comforts I’ve missed: consistent internet & electricity, toilets that flush, a gas stove that isn’t determined to kill us, mice free sidewalks, and no blood-sucking vermin (mosquitoes). Oh simple pleasures….

A Photo Diary of Recent Happenings

Visiting the TeacHaiti school over Thanksgiving.

There is an orphanage next to the TeacHaiti school so we went over and played with these fabulous children that afternoon. Sweet girls.

 

This is how I spent my Black Friday.

Our trusty old friend the Jin Bei van. This old guy needs a little help sometimes.

Thursday during Spirit Week was "Twin Day." Here are two of my fantastic 7th graders.

We had our Christmas Bazaar last weekend. Many local vendors came out and displayed their wares. This is a great organization!

Our soccer team (in Black uniforms) playing against our rival school, Union (white uniforms) at Union School.

  

Teacher vs. Students Flag Football game.



Christians Can't Rap

I know as much about rap as any freakishly white, curly haired, freckled girl from a small town in Texas that can best be described as “po-dunk” should. That sentence, despite its, I’m sure grammatical incorrectness, should be read: “I don’t know anything about rap.” I don’t know what makes some “good” and some “bad.” I also think it depends on how you define “bad.” Maybe you think the “artist” should have cursed more and talked less about drugs, or vice versa. Maybe you measure the quality of a rap song by how many times the word “booty” is used. I don’t know. I know that I don’t really like listening to rap, but it sure is good to work out too. If you find a good beat it can make the difference in a long, boring run, especially if you are on a treadmill. However, to enjoy the beat you usually have to fill your mind with useless crap. As my dad always said, “You can’t spell CRAP without RAP.”

That is why I love Tedashii. If you have never heard of Tedashii you tube him now. He performed at our church a year or two ago and in the middle of thinking “some of these old people are going to fall over dead from shock” I fell in love with what he was doing. Like I said, I don’t know much about rap, but this seemed good…and it was Christian! And he didn’t just give God a random shout out here and there. It was as if he took a few sermon series and put them to music.

Last week I was taking a couple of the PE classes into our fitness room for class. While it is nice to have a fitness room, it feels kind of like a dungeon in there. Fluorescent lights, white walls, cold tile, you get the picture. We tried to make the room seem less prison-like by having music, but if I had to listen to Adele sing about how she is going to find “someone like you” again, I was going to pull my hair out. So, knowing that the majority of the girls enjoy rap music but knew better than to suggest listening to it in class, I bought Tedashii’s CD off of iTunes. When I turned on Tedashii’s jams,  the girls looked like they liked it but also looked a bit confused.

“Miss, who is this?” I told her his name and that he is a Christian rapper.

“Miss, Christians can’t rap.”

I think I had a sarcastic response that was something like “sounds like they can” but it sounded less mean than that. We listened to the music and I translated some of the lyrics (no one understands a rap song the first time they hear it), and they really enjoyed it.

I learned two lessons that day. 1) Tedashii does what he does with excellence (again, excellence from my opinion).  You can be a rapper, teacher, lawyer, student, baker, painter, construction worker, doctor, janitor, assistant, CEO, anything and do it with excellence, as you should. Colossians 3:23 baby, and Tedashii gets it. He has a great beat and music matched with lyrics that are truth all the way around.

2) I want my students to learn that, yes, there are certain things that Christians don’t do (or at least, shouldn’t do), but more than that I want them to learn that Christians should be more about what we do do.  That Christ is glorified when we abstain from the things he told us to stay away from (for our own good) and when we use the talents he gave us to glorify him.

Now go and youtube Tedashii ( I like the songs “Thank You” and “Make War”)