Books, books and more books

So I've been EXTREMELY busy these days. We bought all the textbooks for next year and they all need to be covered in plastic to protect them and their corners need to be reinforced with tape. There seems to be hundreds of books and everyday we work on them. We are making progress but it's slow work. Cadeau works very hard everyday and won't even let me take a break. The other guys help out sometimes but aren't very dedicated.
Another development is that the mice are rapidly reproducing and have travelled down the hallway to my room. One night I was sitting on my bed reading my book when I saw a mouse travel right by my bed. I ran out of the room very quickly. Everyone was already in bed but Cadeau heard me run out of my room and came to see if I was okay. I told him there was mice in my room. I stood on my bed while Cadeau chased them around my room. One ran right out the door back into the rest of the house. The other one escaped out my other door to the outside. I couldn't sleep all night. It doesn't make any sense. Mice are so small and really, what are they going to do to me? My fear is so irrational but for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about them. This morning we found a baby mouse dead in the food depot. It keeps getting better and better:)
Well, enough about mice. Other than that things are going well. School starts next week and I'm sort of looking forward to it. I'm really sad that I'll be missing the start of LHMS. I love the beginning of school. I love setting up my classroom etc. I will miss all the teachers and all the good chats.
Every night we watch TV and have seen all the distruction in Southern USA. Unbelievable! There is a storm heading towards Haiti, hopefully it won't be as bad. We live in an area where the storms rarely hit so I'm not too worried.
That's all the news from here.

Little Canada

Yesterday I went for lunch with Jenny and Ysmaille (Cadeau couldn't come). We went to Epidor a popular restaurant in Petionville. When I walked in I felt like I was at home. North American food, air conditioning and nice tables and chairs. It was great!!! There was even some Canadian police officers from the Canadian Embassy eating there.
So Jenny is really nice and it was great to meet her. After we finished eating we went to her house. She is house sitting for a missionary family who have gone back to the USA until January. The house is HUGE and it has a POOL! Jenny invited me to come over for a swim anytime. I was very excited. I told her I'll bring some of my many teenage brothers with me and she said that would be okay. The only difficulty is that I can't get there by myself. Ysmaille said he'd come with me but I can't always count on him going with me everytime I want to go somewhere. Jenny said that I should come for a weekend some time and sleep over. She can pick me up and bring me back. I said I would love that!
The house that Jenny is staying in comes with the biggest dog I have ever seen. He is absolutely massive and he drools a lot. I did not like him too much and Ysmaille kept putting a pillow over his head so the dog wouldn't drool all over him:)
Afterwards, Jenny came to Coram Deo with us so she would know how to get there when she comes to visit or to pick me up. All the guys were very excited to meet my American friend and asked me many questions after she left (how old is she? does she have a boyfriend?)
So, I'm excited to have a new friend especially because she's a girl and she speaks English and Creole.
About the language situation. I've decided a need a tutor and Karen is trying her best to get me one. I'm not learning fast enough by myself and I can't always expect others to teach me when they have lots to do of their own. Hopefully we can find a tutor soon since school starts on September 5.

Life In Haiti

Today I am going to meet Jenny, the girl who Tricia put me in contact with. She returned my call this week and today we are going for lunch. I am taking Ysmaille and Cadeau with me for safety:) I'm looking forward to finally meeting her. She was very friendly on the phone and it will be nice to talk English very quickly and be understood.
My newest project is helping Manu to read. He is having difficulty sounding out words and he's already in Grade 2. I told him that he needs to read with me every day for 20 minutes. He HATES it. He loves when I read to him but he hates reading to me, so we take turns. Everynight when I mention reading he hides somewhere in the house and I have to find him and drag him to the living room. I told him that when I was in Grade 1 I hated to read because it was hard for me. Every night my parents MADE me read with my brother Scott and I cried and cried and cried (so unlike me, I know). I told him that now I am a very good reader and love to read everyday. He wasn't impressed and still doesn't like to read but he will if I make him:)
Jacob and Manu love to get attention from me and would stay by my side 24/7 if I let them. They are very sweet boys and I rarely need to discipline them. I have to admit I love Manu the most and love to spend time with him although I love all the kids very much.
The workshops are finished and now I am focussing on getting the textbooks organized and sorted for the school year. It's quite the job but I think I'm up for the challenge. It's good to be busy.

Workshops

So, yesterday I gave my first workshop for the teachers. To be completely honest, they didn't seem all that excited about the workshop. When we gave the same workshop in Sierra Leone, we had to turn teachers away but here they came late and one teacher didn't show up at all. Oh well, the workshop itself went well. I was simply trying to share some ideas on how to teach language in a new way. I have taken several courses since graduating from teacher's college on how to teach literacy effectively. I took several of the ideas I learned from these courses and tried to teach them to the teachers. Yesterday we focussed on oral language today we'll focus on reading and word activities. I'm trying to explain that games are an excellent way to teach and students often remember more from a game than from formal excercises.
Today was the first day of school for Manu and Jacob. They were very excited and were ready to go at 6:30 this morning. (School starts at 8:00.) They attend an English school very close to where we live. Karen and I walked them there this morning and waited outside with all the parents as they took attendance. I took a picture of the boys in their school uniforms, they are so cute. I hope to meet with the Director of this school some time next week. It will be interesting to observe several different schools here in Haiti to discover ways to improve Coram Deo's school.

Information

Okay, so most of you have looked at my pics by now (if you haven't there's a link on the right) and I thought maybe I should explain who everyone is. It took me a while to figure it all out. There are 4 kids who live at Coram Deo. Manice is 9 and she lives here with her Aunt Marie who cooks for us. Manu is 7 and his parents died, Karen hopes to find a family to adopt him. Jacob is 11 (but is very small because of malnutrition when he was young) and he lives here because his parents can't afford to feed him. Sammy is 15 (but mentally he's about 5) and I don't really know his story but he doesn't go to school because he has extreme difficulty learning and there is no school for him to go to. Cadeau and Wisley are the two teenage guys who live here. T hey both have family but they live at Coram Deo to help out and in return they are given an allowance and Coram Deo pays for their school. Jean Eddy, Vladimir and Samuel don't live here but they come everyday to do their chores and Coram Deo also pays for their schooling. Ysmaille owns the welding shop right outside of Coram Deo and he comes over everyday to hang out and help me with my Creole. These are the core people. MANY other people come everyday but there are too many to mention and I don't even know all their names yet. It sort of feels like a family here, I feel like I have 8 brothers and 1 sister. The guys love to tease me and I try to be a good big sister to them all.
Several people asked me about the taptap. A taptap is basically the bus system around here. There is no such thing as a taxi. You take the taptap, you walk or you drive yourself. A taptap is a pickup truck with the cab raised up and benches in the back. You sit in the back of the pickup truck and when you get to your stop you yell "meci" or tap on the window and they stop to let you off. The taptaps have regular routes just like a bus and sometimes you have to take several taptaps to get where you want to go.
If you have any other questions about Haiti or people I write about please ask me and I'll answer.

Canadian killed...

Let me put you at ease, I know that a Canadian was killed in Haiti yesterday but I am fine. The person who was killed was in an area where he should not have been. He took a short cut through a slum, which is always a bad idea here. They tried to take him hostage, but he tried to run away and they shot him. Karen and I are being very cautious. We never leave the house without taking someone with us. We also avoid any areas that we have heard are unsafe.
Things are pretty quiet a Coram Deo today. We worked hard in the morning, cleaning up the place and it looks pretty good right now. I have to admit I'm feeling a bit claustrophobic these days because I can't go out alone. I must have someone with me and there's not always someone around to go with. I'm also getting tired of only having guys around to talk to. As much as I love hanging out with the guys:) I really miss girl companionship. Sarah's sister Trish put me in touch with a girl who lives in Haiti. She e-mailed me a few times when I was still in Canada. I was shy about calling her but today I tried to call her. She wasn't home but I left a message. Hopefully I can connect with her sometime soon.
Other than that there's not too much exciting happening. I think I'm ready for the workshops that I will teach next week. The teachers seem excited so that is encouraging.
I might have an opportunity today to have a lesson on driving standard. Should be interesting:)

Mice, mice, mice

Coram Deo has a small mice epidemic and if you know me at all, you know that I HATE mice very much. Last night I was talking on the phone in Karen's room and I saw two mice come from under a bookshelf and run across the room. I had nightmares all night long about huge rats crawling all over me. I have convinced myself that they are only in Karen's room and would never travel down the hall to my room. As long as I can convince myself I'll be okay.
Yesterday was very nice. I went to see a hotel that my parents could possibly stay at. I went with Johnny, a guy who used to work for Coram Deo. Johnny's friend works at the hotel so we brought our bathing suits and swam for about an hour and then ate lunch at the hotel. I had goat meat for the first time and fried bananas. The food was good. Overall, it was a nice little holiday.
Today we hope to buy some more textbooks for the school and check out the office supply store. I just want to know what they have for sale.

Same old, same old

My days are becoming quite routine. Every morning I either prepare for the workshops I am teaching next week or I practise my Creole and in the afternoon I do the same. Sounds boring but I'm really enjoying it. My Creole is slowly improving. I can string sentences together and people can understand what I am saying but my grammar is horrible. But understanding what they say is a whole other story. The guys talk so fast it all sounds like one word to me. If they slow down and only say words I know, I understand them. They love that they can talk about me when I'm sitting right there and I can't understand them. I told them that will change very soon. They told me that they'll switch to French or Spanish:)
This week I went to watch the guys play soccer. It was quite interesting. They played in the middle of a road so they had to keep stopping to allow cars to drive through. Also, they played right beside a large dump so everytime the ball went flying into the dump someone had to climb all over the garbage to get it back. Overall a very interesting time. I created a small scene by coming and quite a few people were standing on the "field" staring at me until the ref yelled at them to get off the field.
Today I'm going to visit a hotel not too far from here to see if my parents can stay there when they come. I was told to bring my bathing suit. Maybe I'll go swimming today!!! That would be nice.
The last two days it's rained at night and it cools off soooooo much. I now LOVE the rain. I even put a blanket on last night, a first for me.

Drama

It appears that Drama follows me wherever I go. Apparently there are a few cultural unexceptable things to do here that I didn't know about. I won't go into details, mostly to keep you in suspense, but I've upset quite a few people in the last few days. I'm getting tired of saying sorry and trying to explain in my limited Creole that I didn't know it was not acceptable. Sometimes the problems come from misunderstandings because I think I'm saying one thing in Creole and it is interpretted very differently. I'm discovering that Haitians are a very sensitive group. Hopefully I can learn from my mistakes and stop upsetting others.
Other than that things are going well. I've spent the last two days preparing for workshops that I will be giving next week for the teachers of Coram Deo. It' s all very overwhelming being in charge of a school. There is much to do before school begins. Coram Deo's jeep has seen better days and is in the garage almost daily. Karen is very frustrated and is concerned that mechanics are lying to her. I think it's just getting old and that's normal. So anyway, it's difficult to go out and get things done. All in good time I'm sure.
This afternoon I promised the boys, Manu and Jacob (who live at the house) that we'd go watch a soccer game. Samuel, JeanEddy and Cadeau (all from the house) are part of a soccer team and their team plays tonight. I'm looking forward to it.

Getting Comfortable

I have been at Coram Deo for just over one week now and it's starting to feel like home. And the inhabitants are starting to feel like family. One BIG family mind you.
I'm getting used to the sounds and smells and confusion that is Haiti. I'm sure it all makes sense at some point.
Sunday was relaxing. I went to church with Ysmaille to a pentacostal church that is mostly Creole but the sermon was preached in English and translated into Creole. The church was packed and it has three morning services and an afternoon service. In fact, there are Christian churches everywhere here. I was quite surprised. After church I had lunch at Ysmaille's house with his friend. In the evening Sarah called and made my day. It was great to talk to her despite the bad phone connection.
This morning we will have our first staff meeting with the staff of Coram Deo. Nothing too formal just to talk about the plans and expectations for the year. Samuel will be my translator as my Creole is still very basic.
There are a few areas of concern that I would like to mention for prayer. First, that I will learn the language quickly as I get very frustrated at times and I occasionally create friction with other people because of misunderstandings due to the language barrier. Secondly, for safety for the people of Haiti. There have been a lot of murders lately. In four days, 35 gang members where killed in one slum because the people are sick of living in fear of them. We are safe where we are but every night on the news we see the chaos that exists in the slums. Also, a priest that Karen knows was kidnapped and held for ransom. The organization that he works for paid the ransom money and now they have to close their hospital because they gave all their money for the ransom. I still feel safe but we are being extra cautious.
That's all for now. My days are becoming quite routine. I spend several hours learning the language and preparing for the workshops that I will be giving for the teachers in late August.

"Happy Birthday to me..."

Well, today I got the best birthday present ever. My computer is hooked up to the internet so I can e-mail to my heart's content, well sort of. When I opened my e-mail today I had 34 messages waiting. Not a bad way to spend my birthday:) Thank you to all the people who remembered and sent me a Birthday message. Unfortunately I wasn't able to read all the e-cards because of complications however I appreciate the thought. I also talked to my parents which was great. They said the connection wasn't very good and that I kept cutting out. I did ALL the talking so I don't know if I could hear them or not:)
Well, believe it or not yesterday I joined a gym. Yes, even in Haiti people are concerned about being in good shape. I go with Cadeau who works out everyday for 3 hours!!! I tried to convince him that this was too long to work out but he told me to stop complaining or go by myself:) I guess I will either become really buff this year or learn how to wait patiently without complaining. Both would be a plus I think! The gym is quite interesting. All of the equipment looks like its about 20 years old and about to fall apart. Hopefuly the machines don't fall apart when I'm using them and injure me:) But the good part is that there is a large track at the back so I can run or walk to my hearts content. There's even a tennis court. Too bad Anita never got a chance to teach me:)
Yesterday one of the guys at the house (who speaks perfect English because he lived in the States) told me that I'm not trying hard enough to learn Creole. He said that I need to stop reading books and start speaking. He said that other people who had come and visited learned much quicker than I am. I almost cried. I'm trying hard but I don't know that many words and when they talk they talk very very fast and it all sounds like one word to me. After I finished defending myself I decided I would try to take his advice and try to speak only Creole. (which means I won't be talking much!!) However, when I announced this to the rest of the guys they were not happy! They want me to talk English so they can learn. I told them I have to learn Creole first. Some of them won't talk to me right now, they are so mad. I'm sure they'll get over it.
I'm trying to think of any other info. that would be interesting. Haiti is very difficult to explain. There are people EVERYWHERE! People definately look at me with curiousity but they don't openly stare like they did in S/L. The food is good. They eat a warm meal 3 times a day. I eat everything served to me and I think it tastes good. It's very Haitian. Lots of rice and beans just like promised!! We rarely eat meat, only on Sundays. It's very hot but it's not a humid hot like this past July in Canada. I sweat ALOT but I have lots of energy. I'm trying to remember to drink enough.
Well, some of you may know more about me now then when I was still in Canada. I'm trying not to bore you with too many details. The e-mails I receive encourage me to write more so I must not be boring you yet.

It sure is hot here...

Well I am adapting to the heat. It's a good thing it was so hot in Canada before I left. You never stop sweating here. You sort of get used to it after a while. Strangely as the night goes on it gets hotter and hotter. Maybe it's all in my head.
Well today was a very sad day. Max, a boy who has been living at Coram Deo since he was very young, left today for Canada. His new parents were here for one week and today they are taking him home for good. They have been waiting to adopt him for 2 years and have come here often to be with him. It is so exciting that they are finally taking him home but the boys here are very sad because they will miss him. Manu, who also lives here, is very jealous because he wants to be adopted also. He told Karen that he wants me to be his mom. (Don't worry Mom it didn't give me any ideas:) He has been acting up lately and not listening. He will be fine in a few days I think.
Last night we had a going away party for Max. We went to out for pizza. The pizza place was very nice. The pizza was delicious and the place was even air conditioned.
Today I went for my first walk. I was starting to feel clastrophobic at the house. Even though there are always a lot of people over I needed to get out. I went with Cadeau. He said he likes to walk but on the way home he kept asking if we could take a tap tap. I said that I love to walk and that we should walk together everyday for one hour. He was a bit skeptical but maybe I can convince him. Everytime Karen goes out she takes him with her because she trusts him and it is much safer to always have a Haitian with you.
It is crazy how many people come to Coram Deo during the day and in the evening. Sometimes they come just to visit and other times they do some work around the house. It seems chaotic but somehow everything gets done and everyone has food to eat. It's a bit of a mystery to me but I'm sure it will make sense in time.

Life in Haiti

Saturday night I was able to talk to my parents which was very nice. I missed out on family day:( but thankfully they missed me:)
Sunday was a quiet day but we did stay quite busy. In the morning we got the boys dressed in their Sunday best which took quite a while. Karen brought some new clothes for them from Canada and they were excited about their new look! We went to the Creole church across the street. It was VERY hot in the church and of course I didn't understand what they were saying but the singing was beautiful and the boys behaved very well.
After church we went for a drive in the country. Karen had to inform a family that their daughter was coming back from the USA on Tuesday after her heart surgery. The countryside looked very dry to me. It is the rainy season right now but it's only rained once since I've come and it still feel very dry here.
When we got back we went to watch Cadeau (a guy from the house) take his Karate lesson. I might take lessons with him. Since I can't go for walks it will be a good way to stay in shape:)
In the evening the whole Karate class came over to visit. I spent some time practising my Creole with them. I have many willing teachers, unfortunately they don't know English that well so it's a bit difficult. They keep telling me that Creole is easy and they get frustrated when I don't pick it up quickly. Hopefully I will get an official tutor next week.
Well, my emotions have been on a bit of a roller coaster but God is good. He's given me much peace. Also the e-mails I receive from home are a great encouragement. So far computer access has been limited but hopefully when my computer is hooked up to the internet I will be able to check e-mail more frequently.
Please continue to pray that I will learn the language quickly and that Haiti and especially Coram Deo will feel like home very soon.

Settling In

Day 2
I didn't sleep too well last night. I kept waking up, I think it's just the unfamiliar sounds. I kept thinking about how long 12 months really is! I reminded myself that this is a dream come true and I should be thankful for this opportunity. It is actually quite quiet around here in the evening but during the day it is a buzz of activity. There always seems to be someone new coming through the door. They all seem to know each other.
Apparently it's even hotter than usual these days, but the fan in my room makes it very bearable. I woke up feeling pretty good. Today we are going to visit the Baptist Mission.
There is a Canadian couple here right now who are adopting a boy from Coram Deo. They will be taking him back to Canada on Tuesday. They have been really helpful to me, explaining how things work and translating for me. Karen is very busy and I haven't seen too much of her. She definately has her hands full. I'm glad that I will be albe to take some of the load very soon.

Safe Arrival

This is my 3rd attempt to write this entry. Either the internet or the hydro is not working:)
Well, my love affair with Haiti has begun. I think I will love it here. My flights were sadly uneventful and everything went as smoothly as possible. I didn't even receive one marriage proprosal at the airport:)
My arrival at Coram Deo was met by much enthusiasm. I had at least 7 wonderful helpers help me unpack my suitcases and decide where to put my stuff. My room is huge and beautiful. Karen has worked very hard preparing for my coming. My computer is here but it is not yet on the internet.
I won't write too much because I'm afraid the internet will stop working again. I will hopefully write more this weekend.