Day in the Life

Several people have asked what I do on a daily basis. I wish I had a good answer, but it is never the same. Here is a rundown on how I spent my Monday.

Woke up at 6:30 to go down and do devotions with some of the younger boys. They are somewhat attentive, but generally end up chit-chatting with each other while we talk, which is completely normal for kids their age. After devotions we had breakfast, which was bread and eggs. After breakfast Bobi decided that she needed to go to St. Marc to buy supplies for making Medika Mamba. Usually she gets shipments of the mamba from a factory in the northern part of the country, but they have been late for the last month or so which has forced us to make the mamba ourselves.

At 9:00 Bobi and I went with Jean Wesseley (one of the older guys here at Canaan) to Saint Marc. It takes about 30 minutes by tap-tap. A tap-tap is a pickup truck loaded down with people traveling to and fro. It can occasionally be an uncomfortable ride, depending on how many people are jammed together. On this trip I set up shop on the back bumper, so it was a good ride.

We arrived in Saint Marc and jumped on a motorcycle taxi which took us further into town. We went to the local cell phone store and then to the grocery store. At the store we cleaned out their supplies of peanut butter and vegetable oil. We threw it all in a couple bags and jumped back on a motorcycle. The motorcycle I was on had the driver, Bobi, me, and our huge bag of peanut butter weaving through city traffic back to the tap-tap station. We jumped off the motorcycle and climbed back into the first tap-tap we could find heading back home. We were the first ones on so we had a little sugarcane while we waited.

When we got back to Canaan we mixed the peanut butter and the oil with sugar and milk to make the medika mamba which gets passed out to malnourished kids. We had that done by dinner. After dinner I put in a movie for the kids, which happened to be Little Giants. A fine choice. I sat with the kids and watched the movie for awhile before heading up to Bobi's house with Josh (an Ohio native) to get on the internet for a bit. Two hours and three sent emails later it was time for bed.

So that is a somewhat typical day. Admittedly not the most exciting thing I've ever written, but hopefully it gives everyone a bit of an idea of what happens around here. If I'm not hitting on the interesting stuff please let me know.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Hot Seat......Special Edition

Today we will not be introducing you to one of the kids here at Canaan, but instead you will meet one my fellow workers here in Canaan. Bobi has many roles here, including girlfriend (of me if you hadn't guessed), so she obviously needs a lot of prayer. Let's begin.

Me: Hey Bobi.
Bobi: (giggles) Hi.

Me: How long have you been in Haiti?
Bobi: 11.5 months.

Me: And what have you been doing here in that time?
Bobi: Working with a malnutrition program that currently helps around 60 families...........and meeting the man of my dreams.

Me: Tell me more about that...... so when did you know I was Mr. Right?
Bobi: When I picked you up from the airport. (laughs)

Me: When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Bobi: Several things.....a teacher, an actress, and a fashion designer.

Me: What are three words I should use when describing you to people?
Bobi: Outgoing, content (her choices), and magnificent (my choice)

(at this point in the interview we almost accidentally kissed in front of around 30 impressionable children)

Me: What is the biggest challenge to dating here in Haiti/Canaan?
Bobi: There are always people around and you feel a little bit like you are in a fish bowl, or a zoo cage.

(at this point in the interview a little boy named Winchel came and sat on Bobi's lap)

Me: How do you feel about baseball?
Bobi: I happened to play some t-ball and was even good enough to be put in the outfield. (she's cute when she's delusional) I like going to games to watch other people watch the game. I also like the chocolate frosties.

Me: You often refer to yourself as an otter, tell us about that.
Bobi: There are different animals for different personality types. The lion, the otter, the owl, and the golden retriever. The otter is the one that likes to be the center of attention, likes to make people laugh, and likes to be the life of the party. They are usually extroverts and aren't always as funny as they think they are. I happen to like you because you aren't an otter, but are still genuinely funny. (good point)

Me: What has been your biggest struggle living here in Haiti?
Bobi: The constant emotional stress, which comes from always trying to handle situations that are beyond what I feel comfortable handling. (she does a great job helping in the clinic and fearlessly handles those situations.....and always with a great attitude......in other words, she doesn't let the stress affect her demeanor when working with the local people)

Me: What's your favorite color? (We haven't covered this yet)
Bobi: Green........color combo is brown and pink

Me: You have beautiful eyes.
Bobi: (looks away....giggles) (I'm good)

Me: Last one, and thanks for coming on..........how excited are you to meet all of the strange people that read this blog?
Bobi: (opens arms wide) I'm really excited!! Really!!


So there is a little about Bobi. She is special in a thousand different ways, and I look forward to many of you getting to see that first-hand.

A.C.E.

The school here at Canaan will be occupying most of my time over the next few months so I suppose I should give a quick rundown on how it operates. As I mentioned in my last post, we had a week-long training session here last week, so I have a decent grasp on how things work........I think.

The Canaan Christian School uses a program called Accelerated Christian Education, or A.C.E.. This program uses small segments of curriculum called Paces which allows students to work at their own......well, pace. The students come into the classroom and report to their own "office" where they work on their Paces for the rest of the day. When they have questions or want to check their work they raise a little flag and the supervisor or assistant goes and helps them. Given the environment that we're working in here in Haiti I think this program works fairly well. I'll report back after working in the classroom for awhile.

During the week of training I got to work with some of the older guys here at Canaan while we served as supervisors. I was glad to finally get a chance to bond with them a little bit. One thing I have found in my few weeks here is that my mood is strongly affected by my interactions with the kids on a day to day basis. I can have a craptacular day and have it salvaged by a brief bonding moment with one of the kids. On the other hand, I can have a great day by most standards, but if I feel like one of the kids is upset with me I can get really down. Hopefully I will learn to handle those sorts of things better as I am here longer.

This weekend marked the first time I had been somewhat homesick. Obviously I have missed family and friends throughout the past few weeks, but this was the first time I had an urge to be home and live a typical American day. I suspect those days will pop up from time to time and that's ok. Overall it has been a good month here in Haiti and I feel good about where things are headed.

I promised a special Hot Seat appearance and it is forthcoming. For a preview of the participant you are welcome to follow the link to Bobi's blog which is directly to your right.

The Frat House comes to Haiti

Last week cousin Jason and five of his buddies from the U of I were here in Canaan. They fit in very easily here and made some pretty strong connections with the kids. The guys left on Sunday morning and by Sunday night some of the kids told me they already missed them. While they were here the guys did some concrete work and helped make some furniture for a new classroom. It was great to have them here and I look forward to seeing some of them back here next year.

Back to the classroom.......the bane of my existence. We have a group of 30 teachers/administrators with us this week learning about the ACE School of Tomorrow. We had three days to completely redo a room that could be used as a "model classroom". Sunday night we ended up working until 2:30am and then woke up early to finish things off before the group began their training. It was a borderline miracle to get it done, although that miracle will need to have some carpentry adjustments made tomorrow night.

More importantly than the previous paragraphs.....................I had a 20oz Mountain Dew on Sunday night. Mountain Dew does not exist in Haiti, but one of the lovely young women here at Canaan had a visiting medical team stow one away for me. Much happiness.

Tune in later in the week for a special guest (by request) in the Hot Seat.

The Haitian Hot Seat Part I......Part II (The Return of Wesh)

Wesh has requested that he be put back on the Hot Seat, and since I believe him to be a fairly entertaining participant I've accepted his request. Our conversation continues..........

Me: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Wesh: I have eight sisters. One, Jennyflore, is also at Canaan.

Me: You have said several times in the last couple days that I am not the coolest American you know.........would you like to change your answer to that question?
Wesh: Definitely. My new answer is John-Marc (a guy from a group that visited last week)

(We will now take a brief break while I mop up my tears)

Me: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Wesh: I would like to go to Israel (the Jesus factor), Egypt (see the pyramids), Italy (see the Coliseum), Greece (see the artifacts), and Turkey (see Mount Ararat.....where the Ark landed).

Me: Which animal are you........lion, otter, golden retriever, or owl?
Wesh: I'm a lion because I am a hard worker.

Me: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would you meet?
Wesh: I would like to meet King David because he was a good solider and a good king.

Me: Do you like my goatee?
Wesh: No. I think you should only have a mustache.

Me: Do you like playing Settler of Catan?
Wesh: No way, you guys cheated.

Me: Do you think you will make a third appearance on the Hot Seat?
Wesh: If it's possible, I'd like to.

Haitian Hot Seat Part II

Today we will talk with Jeanise. Jeanise is 11 years old and has a somewhat spunky demeanor.

Me: Jeanise, what is your favorite movie?
J: Ever After (Drew Barrymore.........I just don't get it)

Me: What is your favorite thing to do at Canaan?
J: Play soccer, especially beating the boys

Me: Who is your favorite singer?
J: Rihanna (the kids are constantly humming "Disturbia")

Me: What is your favorite book of the Bible?
J: Job (interesting choice from Jeanise)

Me: Are you a good dancer?
J: (emphatically shakes head no)

Me: How about singing?
J: MHM

Me: Do you like wearing make-up?
J: No

Me: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
J: One brother named Sonson

Me: What is your favorite food?
J: Rice (which is good since she gets plenty of it)

Me: Favorite drink?
J: Sprite (the caffeine free route)

Me: Jeanise, are you a hugger?
J: No.

Me: Kisser?
J: Yes (she's very forward)

Me: What would you like to be when you grow up?
J: Pilot, with American Airlines

Me: Jeanise, do you harass me about my IPOD?
J: NO. (She does)

Me: Do you like my music?
J: Sometimes.

Nuts & Bolts

This is the obligatory post dealing with the day to day conditions here in Haiti. First let me say that the conditions here in Canaan are far superior to what you would see in the typical Haitian village.

I sleep on a bunk bed in a mosquito net. I spend most of the night sweating and wondering what herd of animals are playing rugby in my ceiling. Visuals of the local wildlife have been fairly limited so that's a good thing. Most days are filled with trying to be somewhat productive while still trying to play with the kids. Very rarely is there power here during the day so everyone is pretty happy when 6:00pm rolls around and the generators get cranked up.

The food here is really good actually. My very attractive Mountain Dew gut is shrinking, but not because there isn't enough good food to go around. Sweating 24 hours a day might have more to do with it.

Saturday was my first real day out and about. A few of us went to Saint Marc to run a few errands and check on a baby that we had taken to the hospital a couple days before. To get to Saint Marc you have to walk down to the main road and find a tap-tap that will take you where you need to go. I learned that you definitely want to be sitting on top of the cab. It is by far the most comfortable place to be. Once you get to town you have to find a motorcycle that takes you further into the city. The key thing at this point seems to be getting the local rate as opposed to the anglo-American rate. We had to make some photo-copies for the clinic so we went to a place that turned on their generator and took 1.5 hours to make 500 copies. All in all it was a good day, and I was glad to get a few firsts out of the way.

Saturday was also the first time I had to say good-bye to visitors who left to go back home. Tyler, Melanie, and Katie had been here since May working with the Medika Mamba program. They made my first couple weeks very easy so I was sad to see them go. That is something I will have to get used to here.

That's all for now. Another edition of the Hot Seat coming soon.......featuring Jeanise I think.