Karate and Elections

On Sunday Cadeau had a karate exam for his black belt. It was a full day event starting at 9:30 in the morning and finishing at 3:00. The students being examined can't eat anything that whole time and they can't even drink!!!! ( I personally don't get that...) I went to church first and then went over the watch the exam after that. It was interesting to watch and the examiners really made us feel welcome. They put out an extra bench for Karen and I and even wanted us to be in the final picture with all the teachers and students. I declined but they managed to convince Karen:) Cadeau passed his test and although he had a few injuries thoughout the day he wasn't seriously injured. (They fight on cement with absolutley no padding)
Everyone's talking about the election these days. Some predict utter choas after the election and others say everything will be fine. I overheard someone say that if "Preval" is not elected all "hell" will break lose. Preval is the candidate from the same party as Aristide (the president that fled the country in 2004). Preval is currently the most popular condidate and many say that if he doesn't win the election then it was obviously fixed. On the other hand, many people are afraid to vote so anyway you look at it the election will not show the actual sentiments of the people.
Oh what a mess. The UN is receiving all sorts of slander in the papers these days and no one seems to have anything positive to say about them. Some people think they should never have come and others say they are doing nothing here but partying. I am of the opinion that I would like them to stay at least for a while after the election. It may appear that they're not doing much but who knows what will happen if they leave?
On a personal note. I'm feeling pretty good about being back in Haiti. I'm looking forward to my change of location and I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in general. My Creole is improving quite nicely and I'm understanding more and more of the conversations that float around me. The school is running quite smoothly and we've accomplished more than I had originally hoped. My next goal is to work on having some workshops for the teachers that really focuss on more hands-on learning.