Week 2

"Plus ye pa leve san van."

- Dust doesn't rise without the wind.

Another week on this journey and life so different from what I’ve ever experience in my life, I find that I am learning so many things every day. Here are some things I’ve learned:

Rule # 1: DON’T buy dairy products unless you’re eating them the same day. Power cuts out regularly throughout the day so some milk I bought last week is definitely not good now. I finally understand why we go to the market every day, so my days of one grocery trip per week are no more.

Rule # 2: Buy Diesel WHENEVER you can. Power cuts out all of the time and we run the diesel generators all the time. Only problem now? There is a major Diesel shortage in Haiti right now so sometimes we have to drive to several stations to get our Diesel fix.

Rule # 3: If mosquitos like you, accept you will essentially become raw meat in Haiti. Just hit bug bite number 30!

Rule # 4: If someone says we’re leaving now, you probably aren’t leaving for another hour.

I’ve learned these and a million other things but I’ll save them for later. This week, as always, has been filled with a lot of work and adventures. I helped out with a sanitary napkin project for the Clean Water Project in Haiti at CESAH, you can read more about it here! Mooly (pictured modeling a very fashionable feminine product kit) and I sewed and constructed the kits side by side while I worked on my Kreyol. I’ve begun featuring various students on our Instagram (@haitisolidarity) – and the kids love getting “interviewed”. Dana and I did laundry, so much laundry. Which was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!

We have started doing English classes every night from 9-10 pm at Rea’s house with Daniel, Dana, Franz, Bissy, and Kenny. We’re trying to get a format and schedule down so that in about a week Daniel and I will start teaching a class at CESAH for the adults that work there. Right now, the classes have been super fun and relaxed, with everyone writing about their day and sharing in English while I do the same in Kreyol. I got to sit in on one of the cooking classes offered at CESAH as part of their vocational program, and they made a beautiful fruit platter (which was even more delicious than it looked).

I had the chance to go to SOPUDEP (the old site) and help them prepare lunch for the following week. They provide one hot meal a day for 750 students and I had no idea what an undertaking and amount of food was needed to feed that many kids 5 days a week. I also got my dog fix spending some time at the orphanage with their new pup, still miss my doggies beyond belief though. I also was finally reunited with the loves of my life: Padu and Ricardo. They have been living at the orphanage during the week because it is closer to their school so I rarely get to see them. So, we spent the weekend coloring, watching Spiderman 2, and I even got Ricardo to do some yoga with me.

As always it always remains a challenge to adjust to a culture and lifestyle so different from my own. But as my Kreyol and understanding grows, I’m starting to find my feet a little more every day. The biggest adjustment has been my loss of independence, as I can’t travel anywhere alone and have no means of transportation. Anyone who knows me knows how fiercely independent of a person I am, so adjusting to this has been by far the hardest part for me. But I am adapting and a firm believer that anything worthwhile won’t come easy. So, one foot forward at a time!