Week 6 (ish?)

"Moun yo pa achte libete ak demokrasi nan mache a."

- The people do not buy liberty and freedom at the market.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide

I am back! After just three weeks I am back in Haiti and getting back into my routine. It is strange because I expected so much to be different after the protests but from my point of view these changes remain hidden. I know from my friends here that everything is much more expensive since the protests started: water, fuel, food, and everything in between. We do only have electricity for anywhere from 5-30 minutes a day, the rest of the time we have to run the generator and utilize solar panels so for families and shops that don't have such luxuries electricity is fairly non-existent. In English class I asked my students what they thought about the protests and all had the same response: it has made life so much harder. It is a question I do not even know how to answer: if not through protest, how will things ever change? I spoke with Rea about this and she told me she wants to conduct a protest with all students in school uniforms, nurses and doctors in scrubs, lawyers in suits, and preachers in suits with collars. Just talking to her about it I started to imagine what an undeniably powerful image that would create, to see that on international news and have people start to understand that everyone wants change in Haiti. To see images of strong, professionals demanding a much needed change in a corrupt system. One can dream, and while things haven't been violent and chaotic lately, there has been no improvement, no follow through of the promises made by the Prime Minister during the protests and certainly no action from the president.

As to what I have been up to, I have been getting back into the swing of things. We had one English class this week and I was so excited to see all of my students again, especially as they had been texting me over the past few weeks asking when we could start class again! I also had the pleasure of giving my students at CESAH the responses from their pen pals at Covington Elementary in the USA. The students were so excited to get their letters and learn the names of their pen pals. While back in the states I had the chance to meet with the Covington students and give a little presentation on Haiti and what was currently going on and I was blown away by how interested these kids actually were in this country and students lives. I cannot wait to send back the CESAH student's response.

Additionally, I spent some much missed R&R at the orphanage (well their version of R&R, which means games 24/7). It was so great to see all of the girls again and get to spend time with them, I feel like over the past two months I have had the opportunity to really get to know each and everyone of them. I also had the joy of giving them some gifts from my incredible mother. Each girl got a little bag with some pens, notebooks, stickers, chocolates, and their favorite: nou-nou's (that is their word for stuffed animal and I will never say it any other way again)! When I explained to them the gifts were from my mother and not me, they were so confused and asked how she knew who they were. When I told them I talk about them all the time when I called her, they then asked how she knew their names, to which I responded because I knew their names. I can't even explain how shocked they were and we played a "game" where I named all of them about a million times. So to my momma while she's reading this -- thank you a million, you really brightened these girls' day and made them feel so appreciated, just like you make me feel every day.

Finally I got to do some watercolors with some of the kids at CESAH, which you can read all about here. I also met up with one of my Haitian friends I have made down here, Nandi, and go to one of the most delicious breakfast spots in Petion-Ville. Beyond thankful for everyday and new experience I have, and all of the friends and family who give me the support to take this adventure. Love you all always!