Teacher Workshops Part II

I'm sitting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, very thankful for the free internet they provide.  The eight hour stop-over may not be so bad after all!
I want to go back in time just slightly, back to the week of Teacher workshops, I really didn't do the week justice with the short entry I made.  The week was amazing, everyone involved was challenged and enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship.  The Haitian Teachers eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Canadian teachers, as they had already had the privilege of working together the summer before.   Despite a much changed Port-au-Prince,  the Canadian teachers were quickly put at ease as they saw familiar faces and smiles and received familiar hugs.  Friendships begun 12 months ago were deepened and many more memories were accumulated.   Ruth, Al and Keith (the Canadian teachers) came with some great resources and some even greater ideas to share with the teachers.  Al challenged the teachers to make Math fun and shared a variety of ways to do so.  The last day of the workshops he encouraged them to demonstrate what they had learned and the result was encouraging to us all.  Ruth, came with boxes of fun art treats and the teachers showed off their creative sides with paintings, shapes made with clay and beautiful decorations for their classrooms.  Keith made us sweat, literally.  He had us running, jumping, and having a lot of fun.  It was really neat to see the teachers getting involved in the games and showing their oh so competitive sides.  My favourite moment from the entire week was when the teachers finally understood how to play kickball (aka soccer baseball) and the team in outfield stopped trying to get a homerun:) 
The last day was filled with laughter, a goodbye solo, tearful thank you speeches and lots of words of blessing and love.  It truly is amazing that after only two short weeks together a very strong bond was established between the teachers.
Friday we were quite the subdued group as we reminised about the good times we had and we looked at all the pictures that were taken over the week.
The few short days after the team left were a whirlwind of activity as I tried to tie up loose ends before heading out myself.  And now... I'm really looking forward to a rest, and time with family and friends.

More Teacher Workshop Pictures

Teacher Workshops

As always, when there is a lot to write about, there is no time to write! 

The Canadian Teachers arrived Friday and we spent a nice weekend together.  Saturday we drove out to the metal smith village to check out the iron-work and then up to Petionville to buy a few souvenirs.  Sunday we worshipped at First Presbyterian Church and drove around downtown.  Having been to Haiti before the earthquake, they are able to discern the difference between pre- and post-quake sights. Despite a heavy rainfall all afternoon, there was a group of guys who were very eager to play some basketball with the teachers and therefore played for two hours in the rain.  It was a bit more like water polo than basketball but they had fun. 

The workshops are going very well.  The teachers came with more ideas than could possibly fit into four days so they are whittling down their ideas and cramming as much as possible into each lesson.  The teachers have learned a lot about math manipulatives , played a lot of great fitness games and even got a chance to work with clay.  The time has flown by so far and it’s hard to believe there is only one day left!

Games Day

Games day was a hit!  Despite a last minute change... thirty minutes before we started the ministry of health stopped by to give all the students free vaccinations.  I begged for them to come back another day but this was apparently the last possible day.  So we put the games on hold for a bit, but still manged to have enough time for  all the groups to visit each game station.  The kids had a blast and so did the teachers!
Monday we start the teacher seminars so the students also get a week vacation, not a bad deal for them!

No News = Good News

Has it really been 10 whole days since I last blogged?  tsk, tsk, tsk what a bad blogger I have been.  If you are at all interested in my excuses they are lame... no internet at my house still (time to switch companies right?), being super busy these days (I'm all by myself) and a general lack of interesting things to share.
I have been "manning the fort" for the last few weeks by myself.  Randy and Karen and Maia are enjoying a well deserved break in Canada and therefore I'm flying solo.  So far so good, but then the time's not up yet so I shouldn't get too cocky, and to be completely fair, I'm not totally on my own, I've got a great staff helping me out.
Tomorrow afternoon we also have a team flying in so I've been busy getting ready for them.  They are three repeat visitors, teachers who will be facilitating teacher seminars with the teachers here.  It's somewhat rare to get repeat visitors so the teachers are excited to see "old" friends as opposed to getting to know new ones. 
Friday the visitors are in for a big trip, we are having a "Games day" at school.  They have no idea what a day of somewhat organized chaos awaits them! 
I am also getting ready to leave soon.  July 27th I fly back to Canada for some rest and relaxation, a wedding, some doctor visits and hopefully lots of time with family and friends.  I may even squeeze in some shopping...
So that's the news around here.  School is going well, the students don't seem all that upset about going to school during the summer months, and although it's been HOT the heat broke slightly yesterday with a very brief rain shower.  I'll upload some pictures of Games Day and the teacher seminars soon I promise!

Caught between two worlds

When I tell people from North America that I live in Haiti I usually receive one of two reactions:  1) Wow that's so amazing, what's it like?  or 2) Wow that must be so difficult?  How do you like it?
To be honest it's a bit of both, amazing and difficult.  But what's even more true is that living between two worlds is also amazing and difficult.  When I'm in Haiti, I often wish I was in Canada.  I miss my family and friends, I crave certain foods that are not available here, I dream about having the freedom to walk outside by myself the list goes on and on.  When I'm in Canada I miss the warm temperatures of Haiti, I miss my friends here, I miss the chaos and energy of life in PAP, I miss rice and beans, and fried plantain (I really, really do!), but mostly I miss being able to buy a cold drink from my car window without ever having to leave my car!
Its truly amazing to be able to be apart of two very different, very wonderful cultures.  I get the best of two worlds.  I find the best part of traveling is the anticipation leading up to the trip.  Right now, for example, I'm counting down the 3 1/2 weeks until I leave for Canada.  I daydream about all the great things I will be able to do when I'm 'home'.  I get excited about seeing my family and friends.  What would normally be mundane and boring in Canada is fresh and exciting again because it's been so long since I did it.  Then at the end of my time in Canada I start to look forward to coming back to Haiti, seeing friends and settling into my routine here once again.  So you see, it's not so bad, you don't need to feel sorry for me, in fact you should really be jealous of me!  Of course not everyone can live between two cultures, and not everyone would even enjoy it, but for me, for right now, it's a good fit.