Kim’s Adventures in Haiti: May 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Cars and Computers

Cars and computers are the two things in life that I always want to work and yet I want to spend zero time, energy or money keeping them in working order. When they are working I love them but when they are not I HATE them!!
Funny enough, both my car and computer have been on the fritz lately and I've had to do without them both for a week!
The plus of being without my car is that I am forced to exercise more, seeing as I have to walk a bit to get to some form of public transportation and if that cannot be found, I have to walk the whole way. Thankfully in the entire week I didn't have a car I only had to walk from the school to my house once (about a one hour walk), unfortunately it was after church, it was really hot and I was hungry and I think I may have suffered from a minor case of heat/sun stroke; a lot of liquids and a nap helped and I was as good as new in no time. The rest of the trips back and forth to work were on the back of a motor taxi which is a pretty nice way to go except that it's rainy season right now which means two things, 1) driving through LARGE puddles causes your shoes/skirt/pants to get splashed with mud and 2) the road are pretty washed out by all the rain and therefore are in pretty rough shape, I almost fell off a bike twice as the driver tried to negotiate his way out of a pretty large pot hole. I received my car back on Tuesday morning, exactly a week after bringing it to the mechanic and I must admit I was pretty happy to see it!
The computer is turning out to be a bit more dramatic. Despite having paid for 3 years of Norton Anitvirus it just decided to stop working a few weeks ago and of course shortly after I got a virus and the computer would randomly shut down on me and then refuse to reboot. I had to bring it in to be "cleaned" up. Of course this also took a week (which is really quite fast for Haiti). Thankfully when I was in Canada I purchased a personal computer for myself so I was able to transfer my information (after several hours of frustration) onto my personal computer and use it in the meantime. Now if I could only figure out how to transfer all the information back onto the old computer...
Ahhh... life has become so complicated with all the things that we NEED! Sometimes I wonder if we would be better off without them....

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

May 18th - Haitian Flag Day

Today, May 18th, is flag day in Haiti!
The Haitian flag was created in Archaaie on May 18th, 1803 and has been celebrated on this day ever since. Since schools are closed today, we celebrated yesterday!

Alix and the teachers organized a short program to commemorate the flag. They started out by singing the special flag song. Then they marched around the front yard, waving their flags and singing another song. At the end they played a game that involved some fancy steps and if you messed up a step you were eliminated. It was really neat to watch and I even participated a bit!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Teacher Appreciation Day

May 17th is Teacher Appreciation Day in Haiti and to honour our wonderful teachers we had a little celebration. We closed school a bit early, ordered pizza, had some ice cold drinks and lots of cupcakes! Alix prayed for our teachers and we enjoyed a time of sitting, relaxing and spending time together. We chatted about the awesome responsibility of being a teacher, how difficult it can be sometimes but also what an honour it is to shape the lives of so many little ones.
Today we praise God for teachers all over the world, teachers in Haiti and more specifically the wonderful teachers at Adoration Christian School.

Home?

I count myself blessed to have two homes. I love that every time I've traveled during the past two years I'm always headed home.
Friends and family often ask if I find it hard to adjust to two such different places. To be honest, I don't. My two homes are very different and yet I know what to expect in each one. If I was at my parents house in Canada and we ran out of water or the electricity went out, I would find that really strange, and yet when this happens in Haiti I barely notice or react. If I was in my home in Haiti and I needed to sleep with three blankets and thick socks in order to keep warm, I would be very unsettled.
There are different realities in each place, both places have their pros and cons and as much as I miss one when I am in the other, I find the transition to be fairly smooth.
Having said all that, I know that MOVING back to Canada will take more of an adjustment than simply visiting Canada for a week or two. I will miss my friends and colleagues here SOOOOO much and I dread not seeing them every day and being a part of their daily lives. I will miss the beautiful weather and ever sunny skies. I will miss speaking Creole and learning new expressions. I will miss students greeting me with a kiss on the cheek every morning. Of course there is lots I will not miss; huge potholes, people I don't know staring at me and touching me, no electricity, dust, dust and more dust!

Canada

Haiti

I have just returned to Haiti after a few days in Canada. During this time I was able to participate in my mom's 60th b-day party, I attended a church service at my church in Toronto, I visited my former and future school, and I visited a community that I hope to became a part of when I return. All of these opportunities affirmed my decision to return to Canada next year. It will be hard to leave Haiti but I am so thankful that I am blessed with four great and supportive communities to return to!