As you may know, Sunday was election day here in Haiti. I don't know the complete story, just bits and pieces, but many of the candidates are calling for any results to be voided and promoting demonstrations. Widespread fraud was suspected, etc., etc. With that, there is a lot happening here, especially in Port-au-Prince. Yes, we did come upon a roadblock of burning tires in Fond Parisien this morning, but everything is fine and we are safe.
I don't know what they are showing on the news, but I can assure you that it isn't as bad as whatever is being said.
We, here, are all safe and well.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Week 2: November 23-27
As the days lump together, so do my posts.
After hours and hours of grading, placing, creating excel spreadsheets, etc., Liz and I planned for our first day of class on Monday. But...in Haiti you have to expect the unexpected and I forgot that for a moment on the car ride there when I had a near panic attack. Almost everything seemed extraordinarily unorganized for being the first day of class and the stress got to me for a moment. That, along with the fact that we were nearly an hour late. But everything worked out well, considering. We got most people in the appropriate classes and accommodated time preferences as best we could (a week in and people still continue to come at varying times though.) I spent a few minutes trying to explain a few rules to each of the classes and then we planned to push our lesson to the next day.
Tuesday was the first official day of class. In the morning, we went out to deliver water purifying tabs to a community with a single water source and many cholera related deaths. We went around with a small group of guys working for Luke and the University of Chicago, which included my buddies Thomas and Lamy. Liz and I entertained ourselves for a good amount of time narrating a horse's thoughts. I was designated photographer of the mission so I did my best to keep up with the long-legged distributors. When we arrived at shool, I had my lesson plan to teach commands and identifying objects. I have students that don't speak a word of English and some who are able to ask me questions. My first class is very small (around 12,) the second around 15-20, and the third about 25. The last class, though crammed into the little room, is the most fun and the most eager to learn. One student told me that I shouldn't speak Creole at all in the class, so the class turned on him and told him he spoke too much English to be there. I was all too eager to send him to Liz's intermediate class. By the end of the class, my voice was squeaking and my hands raw from the chalk. We are in tiny classrooms with a cork-board like chalkboard, Peptobismal pink cement walls with holes for windows, shaky wooden benches for the students, and an unfinished rocky, dirt floor.
Wednesday morning Valentin wasn't able to pick us up for school, so Dessalines showed up with a Tap-Tap that took us in to camp. School was similar to the day before. We delivered our lessons plans and called it a day. By the end of those three hours, though, nou fatige. We picked up ice cream on our way home, so that made everything better. We still spend a couple hours on the roof every night. I'm not used to seeing so many stars. And I saw a meteor thing. It was awesome.
Thursday morning plans took a little longer than usual, so what was going to be lunch out turned into lunch from the side of the road in cardboard boxes with Tampico. Chicken, rice, and beans on Thanksgiving is another good alternative. We had to cut class a little short, which stressed me out, but things happen. One class is farther behind than my other two now, so I need to figure out how I am going to handle that. On the roof though, Liz and I saw 4 shooting stars combined, so that was cool. We're still working on identifying constellations.
Grading homework I see lots of basics like capitalization and periods missing that I need to work on. My first assignment was to write a conversation between two people. I got one back that was between me and the student where I asked for his name, he anwered with "did you forget me" and, obviously, I responded with "come in and kiss me." I wrote "Please be respectful" on the paper with my oh-so authoritative red pen.
On Friday, Wendy flew in. We were waiting for her for a couple hours at the airport, but we had a lot of fun trying to speak Creole with a policeman. The running joke here is that they are going to sell me for 1900 US dollars so that the house can have satellite. We got a picture of the transaction going down.
We got an internet stick at the house, but it is super slow. I have pictures, but I can't upload them from here. When I go home in December, I will be sure to add them.
After hours and hours of grading, placing, creating excel spreadsheets, etc., Liz and I planned for our first day of class on Monday. But...in Haiti you have to expect the unexpected and I forgot that for a moment on the car ride there when I had a near panic attack. Almost everything seemed extraordinarily unorganized for being the first day of class and the stress got to me for a moment. That, along with the fact that we were nearly an hour late. But everything worked out well, considering. We got most people in the appropriate classes and accommodated time preferences as best we could (a week in and people still continue to come at varying times though.) I spent a few minutes trying to explain a few rules to each of the classes and then we planned to push our lesson to the next day.
Tuesday was the first official day of class. In the morning, we went out to deliver water purifying tabs to a community with a single water source and many cholera related deaths. We went around with a small group of guys working for Luke and the University of Chicago, which included my buddies Thomas and Lamy. Liz and I entertained ourselves for a good amount of time narrating a horse's thoughts. I was designated photographer of the mission so I did my best to keep up with the long-legged distributors. When we arrived at shool, I had my lesson plan to teach commands and identifying objects. I have students that don't speak a word of English and some who are able to ask me questions. My first class is very small (around 12,) the second around 15-20, and the third about 25. The last class, though crammed into the little room, is the most fun and the most eager to learn. One student told me that I shouldn't speak Creole at all in the class, so the class turned on him and told him he spoke too much English to be there. I was all too eager to send him to Liz's intermediate class. By the end of the class, my voice was squeaking and my hands raw from the chalk. We are in tiny classrooms with a cork-board like chalkboard, Peptobismal pink cement walls with holes for windows, shaky wooden benches for the students, and an unfinished rocky, dirt floor.
Wednesday morning Valentin wasn't able to pick us up for school, so Dessalines showed up with a Tap-Tap that took us in to camp. School was similar to the day before. We delivered our lessons plans and called it a day. By the end of those three hours, though, nou fatige. We picked up ice cream on our way home, so that made everything better. We still spend a couple hours on the roof every night. I'm not used to seeing so many stars. And I saw a meteor thing. It was awesome.
Thursday morning plans took a little longer than usual, so what was going to be lunch out turned into lunch from the side of the road in cardboard boxes with Tampico. Chicken, rice, and beans on Thanksgiving is another good alternative. We had to cut class a little short, which stressed me out, but things happen. One class is farther behind than my other two now, so I need to figure out how I am going to handle that. On the roof though, Liz and I saw 4 shooting stars combined, so that was cool. We're still working on identifying constellations.
Grading homework I see lots of basics like capitalization and periods missing that I need to work on. My first assignment was to write a conversation between two people. I got one back that was between me and the student where I asked for his name, he anwered with "did you forget me" and, obviously, I responded with "come in and kiss me." I wrote "Please be respectful" on the paper with my oh-so authoritative red pen.
On Friday, Wendy flew in. We were waiting for her for a couple hours at the airport, but we had a lot of fun trying to speak Creole with a policeman. The running joke here is that they are going to sell me for 1900 US dollars so that the house can have satellite. We got a picture of the transaction going down.
We got an internet stick at the house, but it is super slow. I have pictures, but I can't upload them from here. When I go home in December, I will be sure to add them.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: November 15, 16, 17, 19
Oh where to begin.
This weekend Liz and I made up 4 versions of English placement tests for the language school at Camp Hope. Come to find out, they were probably too difficult. We had an interesting time trying to come up with culturally and situationally sensitive questions for the writing assessment portion.
MONDAY: NOVEMBER 15 (first day of language school)
Today, we went into Port-au-Prince to make copies of the tests. After waiting for a while, Liz and I went to market down the street and hung out in the air conditioning while Valentin did all the work. Here, the electricity is unpredictable, so it took longer than expected because the electricity went out and all the machines had to be restarted. Liz and I, however, had time to come up with many wise things to share about different foods and their packaging. To give you a taste (pun intended,) anything with body builders on it is good for you, but anything with chickens that look like drug dealers is not.
By the time we made it to Camp Hope, we were 45 minutes late for class. We separated all the students into different classrooms and handed out the exams. Liz and I kept watch over our pupils. It is very strange for me, especially, because I am supposed to be their teacher, but I am so much younger than almost all of them. We were able to pick out the troublemakers very quickly. After a few hours of testing, we were wiped out and hungry. We did, however, discover that the 75 students we thought we had had morphed into over 100. We also have no idea to go about teaching a beginner class with a book completely in English and without adequate Creole skills. Yikes! When we got back, we ate dinner and then fell asleep on the beds for a quick cat nap. It was an early night.
TUESDAY: NOVEMBER 16
Today, we woke up early to the live chickens in the backyard being made into lunch...they didn’t sound happy. The mosquitoes must have mated and multiplied during the night too, because the air was thick with them. I got bit on the butt a couple times at some point…just lovely! Liz and I spent the morning grading tests and in near tears every time we came across one with an actual answer on the writing assessment portion. Letters written to family and friends, words of hope for a job to be able to help their families….
I rode Kellcy’s bike around the house which, to say the least, is a little too small for me. But it made for a pretty funny camera video. The car broke down, so Valentin wasn’t able to take us to Camp Hope. So, Liz, Dessalines, and I took a Tap-Tap. That was quite the experience. Both the dust caked to my face and upper body and the feeling of a prolonged near death experience make for a good time. We did make it to Camp, however, but 45 minutes late again. Today, we did “oral exams.” We took one student at a time and asked them a few questions. Almost all of my students spoke basically no English at all, so it was very quick. A couple did okay and a couple were very proficient. When I asked one guy to explain what was in the room, he said “Well, there is a blackboard. It’s not really a blackboard, more like cement…..” Ok, you speak English. This went on for about 45 students each.
And I saw Thomas, Serge, Ritha, and Lamy today. Yes mom, Thomas asked about how you were doing.
Liz and I hung out on the roof for a little while. It is gorgeous up there at night. I gazed at the stars for a little while and then brought up my iPod and we danced like goofballs. We’re trying to come up with a way to string a sheet so we can project movies up there.
As I write, Stellcy is roaming around our room cracking up at her self in the mirror and walking around removing various items of clothing as she gets hot. I wish it was still socially acceptable for me to do that, since I am so temperature challenged!
WEDNESDAY: NOVEMBER 17
Today we woke up really late, had our usual carbo loaded breakfast, and got to work inputting results of the written and oral English tests into excel. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered about how we are going to organize the classes and execute the lessons.
It took me around an hour and a half to do my laundry by hand today. Three buckets: wash, rinse, fabric softener. My hands were so cramped up by the end. Then the line was too high for me to reach to hang my clothes so it took me, Dessalines, and Marceline to complete the job. Come to find out, my hand washing skills aren't up to par...I need lessons.
When Liz and I tried to take a quick walk down the road by ourselves, Dessalines came running up to us after about 20 paces. We weren’t scared until he startled us. So, apparently unsupervised walking is a no-no...unsupervised anything for that matter.
A “One Love” each on the roof and some fuzzy cell phone radio tunes and it was time to call it a night. Apparently, the sun here didn’t get the memo on when to rise and set. Up at 5:00am and down at 4:30-5:00pm. It makes the night hours pass a whole lot slower.
FRIDAY: NOVEMBER 19
We spent the morning in Petion-ville trying to find a way to get internet here, but that didn't work out too well. Super expensive. So for now we will be getting online only when we can make it to the internet cafe.
I don’t usually say this kind of cheesy thing, so I think that I’ll take this opportunity to do so. When I was in the Dominican Republic, Julian said something to me that really made me think. He asked how I could be friends with Fernelis, who speaks only Spanish. He said: “you do not even understand each other. You do not speak the same language.” And then I came to Haiti, and I am living with and among more people with whom I cannot really communicate in the normal, easy way. For example, Stellcy and I are buddies and I cannot figure out a word that comes out of her mouth. But then I realized that this is the beauty of it all. Human connection doesn’t require verbal comprehension. Friends don’t require words to form bonds. We have the capacity to understand, to love one another with no more than a friendly demeanor, a smile, and a little effort. It really is an interesting and amazing thing to consider.
Until next time...<3>
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: November 11, 12, 13 (Ayiti)
Thursday: November 11
(Happy Birthday Dad!)
Woke up at 5:00 am for the drive to Haiti. After loading the car and saying our goodbyes, we hit the road around 6:00 am. Kristin is in Seminary School, so Liz spent a while reading about "rhetorical criticism" out loud. It was extraordinarily dry, but there is nothing you can't make entertaining. When one sentence read "Go in my Torah," I commented, "That sounds dirty!" Many future jokes revolved around that. The DR/Haiti border was crazy because it was Market Day. Absolutely insane! And I had to pee so it felt like we were stuck there that much longer. We were stopped about 5 times on our way through, but eventually we crossed into Haiti. About two minutes after that I had to admit that I could not wait any longer and we pulled over to the side of the road. I returned to announce that I felt better, but I now had nature in my pants: new joke for the trip. We then stopped at Love A Child to wait for Valentin. (After hearing about things that have been said and done, I have lost just about all respect for the organization.) We saw Luke, Dr. Scotty, Kirstin, Junior, and Lamy. We all went back to Valentin's house and were surprised with a big sign that said "Byen Vini A Liz e Andrea!" and a cake as well. We got situated in our room where Liz and I each have a bunk bed. We'll still need to get some furniture. Valentin and his family are great, and their daughter, Stellcy, is absolutely adorable with ample amounts of energy. We had a little incident opening a bottle of wine and my clothes smelled like white wine for the rest of the night. And the mosquitoes still love me!
Friday: November 12
Woke up to the EARLY rising Haitian sun and Stellcy's singing. We had a delicious breakfast and then left to escort Kirstin to the border. We make a quick stop at Camp Hope on the way to see the school. On our way back, we stopped again to pick up the registration forms for the English classes Liz and I will be teaching starting on Monday (there are over 50.) I feel sorry for them having to have class with me. We'll see how that goes...cross your fingers. We were exhausted when we got home, so we took a little nap. After dinner, I practiced Kreyol on my computer for a little bit and then Valentin gave me a Kreyol test which I was told I passed. He joked that he is going to cancel translators for February. I will not let that happen. Valentin is absolutely hilarious! Full of what Liz calls "bad Haitian jokes." I'm getting better at contributing. Never a dull moment.
Saturday: November 13
At breakfast Valentin helped us a little bit with some of our Kreyol questions. I feel confident that we will pick it up relatively quickly. However, understanding is another story entirely. They speak so fast and with so many contractions that learning to understand seems impossible. Time will tell. Valentin is amazing with how many languages he speaks and how he can switch between them so seamlessly and without hesitation. Wish I could do that! Now Liz and I are at the internet cafe where we are working hard blogging, facebooking, emailing, etc., but mostly I'm just scratching my mosquito bites relentlessly. I think we are supposed to be working on making English placement tests. I'll get on that.
All in all, we made it here safely and everything is going really well.
Take care all! <3
(Happy Birthday Dad!)
Woke up at 5:00 am for the drive to Haiti. After loading the car and saying our goodbyes, we hit the road around 6:00 am. Kristin is in Seminary School, so Liz spent a while reading about "rhetorical criticism" out loud. It was extraordinarily dry, but there is nothing you can't make entertaining. When one sentence read "Go in my Torah," I commented, "That sounds dirty!" Many future jokes revolved around that. The DR/Haiti border was crazy because it was Market Day. Absolutely insane! And I had to pee so it felt like we were stuck there that much longer. We were stopped about 5 times on our way through, but eventually we crossed into Haiti. About two minutes after that I had to admit that I could not wait any longer and we pulled over to the side of the road. I returned to announce that I felt better, but I now had nature in my pants: new joke for the trip. We then stopped at Love A Child to wait for Valentin. (After hearing about things that have been said and done, I have lost just about all respect for the organization.) We saw Luke, Dr. Scotty, Kirstin, Junior, and Lamy. We all went back to Valentin's house and were surprised with a big sign that said "Byen Vini A Liz e Andrea!" and a cake as well. We got situated in our room where Liz and I each have a bunk bed. We'll still need to get some furniture. Valentin and his family are great, and their daughter, Stellcy, is absolutely adorable with ample amounts of energy. We had a little incident opening a bottle of wine and my clothes smelled like white wine for the rest of the night. And the mosquitoes still love me!
Friday: November 12
Woke up to the EARLY rising Haitian sun and Stellcy's singing. We had a delicious breakfast and then left to escort Kirstin to the border. We make a quick stop at Camp Hope on the way to see the school. On our way back, we stopped again to pick up the registration forms for the English classes Liz and I will be teaching starting on Monday (there are over 50.) I feel sorry for them having to have class with me. We'll see how that goes...cross your fingers. We were exhausted when we got home, so we took a little nap. After dinner, I practiced Kreyol on my computer for a little bit and then Valentin gave me a Kreyol test which I was told I passed. He joked that he is going to cancel translators for February. I will not let that happen. Valentin is absolutely hilarious! Full of what Liz calls "bad Haitian jokes." I'm getting better at contributing. Never a dull moment.
Saturday: November 13
At breakfast Valentin helped us a little bit with some of our Kreyol questions. I feel confident that we will pick it up relatively quickly. However, understanding is another story entirely. They speak so fast and with so many contractions that learning to understand seems impossible. Time will tell. Valentin is amazing with how many languages he speaks and how he can switch between them so seamlessly and without hesitation. Wish I could do that! Now Liz and I are at the internet cafe where we are working hard blogging, facebooking, emailing, etc., but mostly I'm just scratching my mosquito bites relentlessly. I think we are supposed to be working on making English placement tests. I'll get on that.
All in all, we made it here safely and everything is going really well.
Take care all! <3
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Haiti Date Change #2
Liz and I will now be leaving for Haiti tomorrow: Thursday, November 11 (also someone's birthday...who is it again? My father...no, that doesn't sound right.)
Here you have to expect the unexpected and expect plans to change.
Tambien, we found out that there is currently no internet connection at the house, so we will need to either go to an internet cafe or Love A Child. Correspondence and posts may be less frequent.
Lo siento.
Here you have to expect the unexpected and expect plans to change.
Tambien, we found out that there is currently no internet connection at the house, so we will need to either go to an internet cafe or Love A Child. Correspondence and posts may be less frequent.
Lo siento.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Cholera Update: November 9
I suppose posting these articles may only serve to cause more worry, (especially among the parentals) but it is important to be informed about what is going on. Personally, I am not worried or "scared" at all.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/11/2010118225019323724.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/world/americas/09haiti.html?ref=world
If things go according as planned today, we should be leaving around 6/6:30 am tomorrow morning for Haiti.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/11/2010118225019323724.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/world/americas/09haiti.html?ref=world
If things go according as planned today, we should be leaving around 6/6:30 am tomorrow morning for Haiti.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Fotografías
I have added photos from this weekend at the Don Juan. Livin' in paradise. Check them out!
http://picasaweb.google.com/107031682907817075033/RepublicaDominicana2010
http://picasaweb.google.com/107031682907817075033/RepublicaDominicana2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday: November 7 (Republica Dominicana)
It was a very eventful weekend, so I finally have something to share with you all.
Thursday: Ken and Wendy arrived and it was nice to finally be able to put faces to the voices. 20 of us went out for some very, very salty "Chinese" food (word used rather loosely.) Of course hurricane Tomas was just beginning to show his face and we experienced a good deal of rain. I discovered that Liz keeps track of funny things people say in a notebook and that I have made it in there with a ridiculous comment I made during an episode of Law & Order...I must say that I am stoked and honored! (Trying to hang on to some of my SoCal lingo there)
Friday: More rain and wind. We visited a school for disabled children and, wow, you can't walk out the doors unaffected. Kristin, Ken, Wendy, Liz, Julian, CiCi, Fernelis, and I checked into the Don Juan resort and begun our time in the Conference Room. There were puddles everywhere you could look, shoes/socks soaked through immediately, and the staff worked diligently to keep water out of the dining hall. We had meetings until late that night and then Liz, Fernelis, and I walked on the beach. Night water kind of scares me...don't know why. Lovely room. Water shower water. Lumpy pillows. Air Conditioning. "Murder blankets" (according to Liz, that is.) It was a very nice place.
Saturday: More rain and wind. Up early for breakfast and then meetings all day. I learned a great deal about our work here and about the Foundation. Liz, Ken, Wendy, and I took a little walk on the beach in the afternoon and Liz and I got a little shopping fix. After dinner we went out for gelato, but left rather quickly when the prostitute situation and some horrifying sights scared us off.
Sunday: No rain. Sun. We had a brief meeting in the morning where I learned of my new project-renovating Foundation for Peace's facebook page. The meeting ended at around 11 and we didn't have to leave until 5...so Liz, Fernelis, and I hit the beach. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and the water was absolutely terrific. Carribean water: teal and clear and so salty you can float without any effort. Let's just say that I am deep fried (like much Dominican food.) I continue to redden as time passes, cooking from within. Oh yes, and I got my most interesting "compliment?" today. Apparently I have a "boca grande" or big mouth and, supposedly, this is a good thing. I think it was meant to have something to do with smiles, but something was lost in translation. With buffet style meals (all with dessert) and open bars, I came back to the house in Santo Domingo with a desperate need to get some exercise. Liz and I went down to the park and I ran laps while she walked Luna. I was definitely a spectacle. It felt really good to get my lungs burning again. I'm guessing that I may have sacrificed my body to the mosquitoes, however. We returned home to an unexpected (to everyone) group. They showed up without any notice and expected to stay here for three nights. We're all a little peeved about the whole situation.
And the new plan is to head to Haiti on Wednesday. The storm pushed everything back a little bit...
I have to say this, though: despite the long hours spent in the conference room talking about projects I currently know nothing about, this weekend was invaluable. I learned so much about this organization, the people that I am working with, and am more sure now that I am in the right place and with the right people. The cynic in me was tested this weekend as I observed and listened to incredible people devote themselves entirely to serving others. Never was the conversation "I" centered. FFP says: "We can't do everything, but we'll do anything" and this is very true. We spent hours calculating how many people benefit from FFP's services in communities all around the Dominican Republic, and the numbers speak for themselves. Schools, water systems, clinics, economic develop...they really do whatever it is the people need. We went through every single project and discussed what had been done, what still needs to be done, and how it should be done. Unlike many NGOs, all the money donated goes to serving the people. They don't put any aside for "just in case" situations, because there are needs that need to be met now. They are willing to put egos aside and work with others as long as the job gets done, and is done right. I could go on and on about what amazing work is being done, but the last thing I'll say is this: I am honored to be a part of Foundation for Peace and I look forward to the upcoming months. I know that I am exactly where I need to be.
Thursday: Ken and Wendy arrived and it was nice to finally be able to put faces to the voices. 20 of us went out for some very, very salty "Chinese" food (word used rather loosely.) Of course hurricane Tomas was just beginning to show his face and we experienced a good deal of rain. I discovered that Liz keeps track of funny things people say in a notebook and that I have made it in there with a ridiculous comment I made during an episode of Law & Order...I must say that I am stoked and honored! (Trying to hang on to some of my SoCal lingo there)
Friday: More rain and wind. We visited a school for disabled children and, wow, you can't walk out the doors unaffected. Kristin, Ken, Wendy, Liz, Julian, CiCi, Fernelis, and I checked into the Don Juan resort and begun our time in the Conference Room. There were puddles everywhere you could look, shoes/socks soaked through immediately, and the staff worked diligently to keep water out of the dining hall. We had meetings until late that night and then Liz, Fernelis, and I walked on the beach. Night water kind of scares me...don't know why. Lovely room. Water shower water. Lumpy pillows. Air Conditioning. "Murder blankets" (according to Liz, that is.) It was a very nice place.
Saturday: More rain and wind. Up early for breakfast and then meetings all day. I learned a great deal about our work here and about the Foundation. Liz, Ken, Wendy, and I took a little walk on the beach in the afternoon and Liz and I got a little shopping fix. After dinner we went out for gelato, but left rather quickly when the prostitute situation and some horrifying sights scared us off.
Sunday: No rain. Sun. We had a brief meeting in the morning where I learned of my new project-renovating Foundation for Peace's facebook page. The meeting ended at around 11 and we didn't have to leave until 5...so Liz, Fernelis, and I hit the beach. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and the water was absolutely terrific. Carribean water: teal and clear and so salty you can float without any effort. Let's just say that I am deep fried (like much Dominican food.) I continue to redden as time passes, cooking from within. Oh yes, and I got my most interesting "compliment?" today. Apparently I have a "boca grande" or big mouth and, supposedly, this is a good thing. I think it was meant to have something to do with smiles, but something was lost in translation. With buffet style meals (all with dessert) and open bars, I came back to the house in Santo Domingo with a desperate need to get some exercise. Liz and I went down to the park and I ran laps while she walked Luna. I was definitely a spectacle. It felt really good to get my lungs burning again. I'm guessing that I may have sacrificed my body to the mosquitoes, however. We returned home to an unexpected (to everyone) group. They showed up without any notice and expected to stay here for three nights. We're all a little peeved about the whole situation.
And the new plan is to head to Haiti on Wednesday. The storm pushed everything back a little bit...
I have to say this, though: despite the long hours spent in the conference room talking about projects I currently know nothing about, this weekend was invaluable. I learned so much about this organization, the people that I am working with, and am more sure now that I am in the right place and with the right people. The cynic in me was tested this weekend as I observed and listened to incredible people devote themselves entirely to serving others. Never was the conversation "I" centered. FFP says: "We can't do everything, but we'll do anything" and this is very true. We spent hours calculating how many people benefit from FFP's services in communities all around the Dominican Republic, and the numbers speak for themselves. Schools, water systems, clinics, economic develop...they really do whatever it is the people need. We went through every single project and discussed what had been done, what still needs to be done, and how it should be done. Unlike many NGOs, all the money donated goes to serving the people. They don't put any aside for "just in case" situations, because there are needs that need to be met now. They are willing to put egos aside and work with others as long as the job gets done, and is done right. I could go on and on about what amazing work is being done, but the last thing I'll say is this: I am honored to be a part of Foundation for Peace and I look forward to the upcoming months. I know that I am exactly where I need to be.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tomas Update
Well, Tomas is rolling through...We're seeing a little of him here with continuous rainfall, but, of course, Haiti will be hit harder.
All residents at Camp Hope have been evacuated to either the school, Love A Child, or gone to stay with family. The tents have been dismantled as well. There is concern about the spread of cholera, once the storm passes, with excess and stagnant water.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/05/world/main7025062.shtml
Check of "Hands of Light in Action"'s facebook page for more details.
All residents at Camp Hope have been evacuated to either the school, Love A Child, or gone to stay with family. The tents have been dismantled as well. There is concern about the spread of cholera, once the storm passes, with excess and stagnant water.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/05/world/main7025062.shtml
Check of "Hands of Light in Action"'s facebook page for more details.
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