No more homework, no more books...

School is done for the year!!! The last day of school was Thursday and we had our last big event on Sunday afternoon. The teachers were amazing both these days. The last day of school they organized a little program to say goodbye to me and to remember the year. We had a small party for the kids and one of the teachers brought his "sound equipment" and so we listened to music for a while as we ate. Unfortunately, I foolishly planned the last day of school to be 2 days before we passed out report cards, so I was crazy busy proofreading and photocopying all the report cards. Sunday was the last parent-teacher meeting and we had a good turn out. We also had a sort of graduation ceremony for the students who passed Grade 5 and will therefore be attending a different school in the fall. Overall it was a great day and I was really proud of the teachers and was reminded of how far we've come this year.
So, what am I doing now?? Well, funny enough I'm busier than I was before. We have 3 teachers visiting on Thursday for 2 weeks. They will be doing a week long seminar with the teachers of Coram Deo. So I've tried to organize and arrange all the stuff from this year so I can show them what we've done this year. Also, I want to finish a lot of the end of year stuff before they come so that when they are here I can be of service to them and also be able to enjoy their company.
Other than that. All is going well. I am going to be moving back to Coram Deo on Thursday as it's becoming a bit complicated to get a ride back and forth to work every day and I would like to spend as much time with the visitors as possible. I will be sad to leave Jenny and the quiet of our house. I, however, will not be sad to say goodbye to Max!!!
I'm sorry this is so factual and not very entertaining to read but I'm feeling uninspired and I have to get back to packing up my stuff. Who knew I could accumulate so much stuff in only one year!!! I may have to leave some stuff behind!!!! I'm sure I will find someone who wants it:)

Medical clinic

Yesterday was a holiday so I was able to tag along with a doctor to a medical clinic in a small village near the Dominican border. I had heard that it was sooo beautiful, with a natural spring feeding the lake nearby. It was an interesting day. I witnessed a minor surgery. A young lady (17 years old?) came in with a growth on her neck just below her ear. Dr. Ed was a bit apprehensive because he was worried that it had grown into other parts of her neck, most importantly a main artery. But he agreed to open it up, take a look around and then if necessary sew it up again. Thankfully, he was able to remove it and the girl was very happy. I tried to watch the surgery but have to admit that I felt a bit weak and had to sit down on the other side of the room. After that I sat right beside her but where I couldn't see the operation and tried to encourage her. The rest of the day was pretty quiet with colds, fevers and sore stomaches. But then this guy walked in with his foot all wrapped in a bloody cloth and said he has just cut his foot with a machete. Because of the amount of blood I was worried that he had cut a chunk off his foot, but actually when all the blood was cleaned up it was just a little cut (only needing 3 stitches). It had so much blood because of where the cut was. So that was my exciting day out of PAP. We went to see the spring and I could see the potential for beauty but was saddened by the garbage and the evidence of human beings everywhere. Ah... the story of Haiti.

Argentina or Brazil???

I already mentioned that Haiti is a little football crazy right now but I forgot to mention that their loyalties are divided between Argentina and Brazil. There are more fans for Brazil than Argentina but regardless the streets and stores are decorated with the colours of both teams and when either team is playing the streets are EMPTY!!! which is very rare in PAP. I of course am loyal to my home country Canada, just kidding, I know they don't have a team, I just thought I'd throw that in there for all those friends of mine who have endless fun with my lack of sports knowledge:) Go Orville!!!
We have a visitor staying with Jenny and I right now. She is a Calvin student who is volunteering at the CRWRC office right now. It's fun to have another person around and we have been going out more to try and make it fun for her, which is also good for us. I tagged along when she received an "official" tour of the city and went to a few places I'd never been before.
Tomorrow there's no school since it's "The Birthday of God" (I didn't know He had a birthday!) and so I will be leaving the city for the day. I've been invited to tag along with Dr. Ed to some small town (whose name escapes me right now) to help out with a clinic. I'm excited to leave the city and see a place I've never been before. Apparently it has amazing natural springs so that will be interesting.
The mouse situation has taken a turn for the worse and they seem to be getting bigger and mutliplying like crazy. We have found several mouse nests in the last little while. I remove myself from the situation until it's been "taken care of".
Other than that, things are well and I'm still staying busy and staying out of trouble.

World Cup Craze

So, Haiti is crazy for football(soccer) these days. Things seem to have come to a halt as people are more interested in watching the games than anything else. It is not uncommon to see a television set up outside an office or church with a large gathering of people (or shall I say guys) sitting around watching the game. The good news is that we have much more electricity than normal, which of course is always welcome. We've had so much some days, we sit around and wonder what possible appliance we can use before they take it again.
So I have some news to share, the good news is that Coram Deo has found a couple to fill the School Director role as well as a new position of Development Director. The bad news is that they can not start until March due to previous commitments. So I am very busy finishing off the school year as well as starting to prepare for the following school year. Needless to say I'm very busy.
The first week of July there are 3 teachers coming from Canada to teach a week of seminars for the teachers of Coram Deo. I am very excited about this and believe it will be beneficial for all involved. So I am preparing for that as well. The good news is that I'm too busy to get into any trouble!!!
So that's all the news from here. Oh, I almost forgot. I bought my ticket to return home. I will be returning to home sweet home on July 18th and I'm counting down the days until I see my family and friends again!!!

Random pics of PAP