Haiti Christmas 2011

Day 1

Feels like home. After a 3 am wake-up call, a few hours of rearranging gifts in our checked luggage at the ticket counter to dodge weight limit fines at the Nashville airport, a 5 hour layover at the Miami airport where Theresa and I rode the sky train for fun, and a fairly uneventful flight over the Atlantic, all 24 people on the Christmas 2011 team finally touched down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It has been almost a year and a half since I had been there and while life has done a complete 180 degrees since that time for me, nothing had changed there. There was still the same smell of earth and diesel permeating the air. The same digicel reggae band was playing outside the door to the as they welcomed visitors into the terminal. The customs agents still couldn’t care less who you are or what you are bringing into their country, the baggage claim area is still a dingy make-shift warehouse where they pretty much dump your bags and you are forced to make your way through the jungle of luggage to find your bags...it is still chaotic and the claim men will still use every line in the book and do just about anything to help you and get your money.

I was the first to make my way through customs with Tiffany (a coworker of Theresa’s) following close behind. She has been to Haiti before and knew the routine. After dodging a few inappropriate comments by baggage handlers I singled out a nice-looking mild-mannered, older Haitian gentleman with the official red airport shirt on, handed him a $20, showed him the restore Haiti tags, and he immediately got to work finding our bags. This guy was good. He had almost all of them piled up for us before everyone had gotten through customs. Philip had gotten some carts once he got through customs and once we had our bags all piled up, our new Haitian baggage friend even got us through the bag claim check line to the outside without much hassle to where Jean Marie was waiting for us. I immediately ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. At that moment, some of my creole came back too as I found myself telling him I was very happy to see him in his language. Another quarter mile walk out of the airport where men were fighting to help us wither our bags...one even grabbed me and asked if I was the leader of the group at which I proceeded to tell him in Creole that I was not, but we didn’t have any money to give him, we didn’t need any help, and our friend (pointing to Jean Marie) was taking us to our ride. He let go and gave me a look as if to say, who is this little white girl speaking my language. We finally made it to the vans where Julie, Garret, and Keisha (they flew in from New York an hour earlier) were waiting for us.

The drive through Port-au-Prince is much the same...still dirty, still many many tent cities almost 2 years after the earthquake, lots of rubble, still chaotic (we even saw a body that had been hit by a car), but for the first time I’ve seen some progress. There are a few new buildings that look like they were plucked from the streets of the USA and transplanted to PaP...5+ stories, covered in glass windows. Glass is not something found in Haiti. Additionally, it looks as if commerce is picking up. People are working as builders, plumbers, mechanics and market venders. There was a noticeable difference is the hustle and bustle of the marketplaces. But perhaps the most noticeable and heartwarming difference was the lack of tents and make-shift shacks in the medians of the streets. They had all been replaced by planters with trees and flowers in them. Little victories...

An hour and a half through PaP and another hour and a half over the mountain, we finally arrived at the new hotel, Leviya. It it much nicer than the hotel we used to stay at and the owner, Bernard, is quite the character. We unloaded our stuff, and hopped in a tap-tap and went over the Pastor’s house for a quick meal and welcome. Pastor LaFleur, Fedony, Pastor Rodrigue and a few others were there waiting for us. Hugs were given all around. Many people told me that I had stayed away too long. Philip called me into the back room to where Jackson and Vio sleep. I got very attached to Jackson my last summer in Jacmel. His mother died in the earthquake, his father left for PaP and never came back, and the grandmother who was supposed to be taking care of him abandoned him. Now 4 years old, the little guy just couldn’t stay away until we arrived. We found him still soaking wet, wrapped in a towel after his bath, and fast asleep on top of a suitcase in his room. Philip left him and Vio (Philip’s sponsor kid) little beanie babies on their beds as a surprise for when they woke up in the morning. All I could do was just smile. After our dinner of stew and rice, we headed back to the hotel to settle in and get ready for the next day...

Day 2

Day 2 was perhaps the most fun day I’ve ever had in Haiti. We got up early and headed to Pastor’s house for a quick breakfast. As soon as I arrived and jumped out of the back of the tap-tap, Estalancia came running full speed screaming and laughing out of her house and jumped into my arms. What a wake-up call! I was so overjoyed to see her. She has grown so much (now 4 years old) and she is so much more verbal that the last time I saw her. After breakfast, she and her older sister Daline (both my sponsor kids) walked with me down to the church to start sorting gifts. It was a long process, but Theresa being the super organized and efficient lady she is had a solid plan worked out. Sponsor gifts were labeled and place in one area, a few of us sorted the generic gifts by gender and age, and before long we were ready to go. When the children arrived, we called them up one by one and sent them to stations where we gave them a gift, took their photo, and took there shoe size. I got to hand out the non-sponsored gifts. To see the kids get a present sent warm fuzzies through my heart and soul. It took a few hours but at the end of the day, we had given out over 400 gifts and with more than 100 left over to give out the next day.

Were were able to go back to the hotel for some R&R before the evening’s events. It was then that we found out that even though our bathroom was the size of a small house, the shower did not follow suit. My roommate April and I had noticed a large bucket and water scoop in the shower the night before but thought nothing of it. Now we knew why. The water spout was only at bathtub height. To take a shower, we had to fill up the bucket and use the scoop to pour water over our head and bodies. It actually felt good...the cold water was refreshing after a long days work in the heat. We just found it interesting and amusing at the same time.

That night the community put on a concert for us at the church. A few of the teens prepared solo acts and the choir prepared some songs for us. It was a great time of community and fun. I sat in the back most of the night with Jackson on my lap and Estalancia and Daline next to me. I gave Vio my camera and lets just say he is a great little photographer. Jackson, of course, fell sound asleep in my lap. I was tossing and turning him in a million different ways to give my arms a break from his dead weight and he never once woke up. In fact, when I walked him back to Pastor’s house after the concert, I tried to maneuver him in to the bottom bunk of his bunk bed and when I first laid him down, his arms and legs were straight up in the air and over the railing like a dead beetle. It was too cute. I was finally able to get him undressed and nestled into a comfortable position before heading out for dinner. Dinner was my favorite. They call it porridge but it is more like a cinnamon, rice pudding stew.

Finally, it was back to the hotel for a good nights’ sleep. Joanne, Theresa’s mom, and I met briefly to plan for the teachers’ conference the next day. She focused on the Biblical aspects of teaching while I focused on practical ways to put those teaching into practice in the classroom with a focus on behavior management.

Day 3

Day 3 started out much the same as the day before. We all hopped in to the back of a few tap-taps and made our way to Pastor’s house for breakfast. Estalancia and Daline greeted me on my arrival and we made our way in to have breakfast. It was spaghetti for breakfast day! My favorite!!! After breakfast, some went to the clinic to set up for seeing patients, some went to sand a house we were building, some went to the church to finish handing out gifts, and Joanne, G and I made our way to the preschool to prepare for the teachers’ conference.

We had almost 20 teachers show up ranging from preschool-aged teachers to teaching middle grades. We even had a principal show up. Pastor translated for us and it went off great! Joanne and I worked incredible well together. Our teaching styles and material completely flowed. G was a great helper in recording our ideas on the blackboard! The teachers asked a lot of good questions and I think they took away a lot of information they will be able to put into practice in their classrooms. I actually challenged them to do so and told them I would check in with them when I go back in July. I gave a few of them my email and they said they plan on keeping in contact with me for future help and information. During the conference, I had a major brain child for a future research project dealing with behaviors in post-conflict situations. I shared it with one of the teachers at the conference and he promised to help me gather information and whatnot. I’m really excited to get started investigating and building up this new idea (seeing as how the mean LUC grinch who stole Christmas stole my other project...but he won’t get his hands on this one!!!) :)

After the conference, it was a special Christmas chicken leg day for the feeding program. Usually, the kids only get rice and vegetables, but for $100 people can sponsor a day where the kids can all get a chicken leg with their meal. We ate with the kids which was fun. I got to eat with another one of my sponsor kids, Rosenievette. I think she has ADD. She was the last one sitting at the table with food still in front of her because something would catch her attention and she’d be looking off here and there. She is still one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met there though and I’m glad I got to share a meal with her.

That afternoon it was back to the hotel again for some R&R. Some people played on the internet. Some just hung out. Julie and Garret hung out with Bernard the owner of the hotel and got some great information on shipping large items from the states without much hassle. I took a nap. We made a quick trip back to Pastor’s house for dinner before returning to the hotel. Pastor shared with mission of Restore Haiti in the common area with those who had never been on a trip before, and some of us stayed up to write Christmas cards for the kitchen staff, drivers and other adults who are a big part of our organization on the ground there. Finally, there was also a wedding that night. I felt a bit like a wedding crasher, but Bernard insisted that we stay up and watch the wedding. It was hard to tell who the bride was because 4 girls had wedding-like dresses on an another 5 had on red bridesmaid dresses. It was a very ceremonious entrance before the party actually began. Haitians have a love affair with Celine Dion because all they did was play one of her French CD’s on repeat the entire night. In the morning, we were all shocked to see that the very ornate wedding cake was still on the table untouched. Apparently, they like to get a wedding cake, but Haitians aren’t a fan of sweets so nobody eats it.

Day 4

Day 4 started out with breakfast again at Pastor’s house before some of us heading back to the clinic while the rest of us heading to finish painting the house. I was part of the house crew, and once I got there, I was surprised to find out that the house we were working on belonged to Mary and Cathiona. Cathiona was the Haitian girl who helped me out significantly with the English classes I taught when I was in Jacmel the summer before, so I was very excited to be a part of this gift to her. Basically, my job was to prime the outside walls. Garret, Maddie and a few of the Haitian kids helped with the outside as well. We had a lot of fun. Jackson, Dudley, Elyekea, and Vio were my little helpers. At one point, Vio was helping me paint the porch and he was just sining away as he was swiping his paint brush back and forth. I didn’t know what he was singing, but I started singing too. We had a ball. Another time, one of the little guys came up and stuck his finger in the paint and ate it. I freaked and yelled “No MANJE” (no eat) and he just squealed with laughter and ran away. I guess kids everywhere are the same.

After several hours of painting, the house was primed inside and out, so we all decided to take a walk down to the clinic to see what that group was up to. We walked in as Mike was taking care of a little friend who had a pretty deep cut in her finger. She was a trooper. I had a bunch of ribbons in my bag so I gave some of the girls the ribbons as we hung out before heading back to Pastor’s house for a late lunch. After lunch, those who had never been to the beach before went while Philip, Theresa, the Wendt’s and I stayed and hung out at Pastor’s house with some of the kids and teens. We found at picture dictionary that were were playing with where we learned new words like “touni” which means naked. It became an inside joke there rest of the trip. I had some alone time with Pastor where I shared with him my issue with the mean LUC grinch and then told him what I had hoped to do when I returned in July. He’s backing me 100%. Philip, Theresa and I strolled down to the preschool to kill some time before heading back to the hotel to clean up for the send-off part that night.

At the party I got to spend some quality hang-out time with my favorite kids. I saved Estalancia and Daline some oranges I had gotten and gave them to them. Jackson, Vio and Elyekea were there, and Dashkya and Ludzia who I had not gotten to see very much so far were around too. The usually speeches of thanks and love were handed out, gifts given to the newcomers, and blessing for our send-off were given. Goodbyes are always hard, but knowing that I would be back in July was enough to fend off the tears for me. I can’t say the same for Estalancia. As the night drew to a close, she went from being a bundle of laughs and chatter, to not even wanting to come near me because she knew I would be leaving soon. Daline cried too. I hate seeing them cry. We heading back to the hotel in the tap-tap knowing that the next morning would be sad goodbye.

Day 5.

Packed and ready to go, we hopped into the tap-taps one last time to get breakfast at Pastor’s house before the long journey home. Estalancia and Daline were once again waiting for me. They brought me to meet their mother before I left. She told me she loved me and I gave her some money before heading into Pastor’s house. I also saw Marjorie, the mother of two of my other sponsor kids, and was able to chat with her and say goodbye before leaving. Breakfast was spaghetti and fresh mango...the perfect meal so as not to get sick and nauseated on the long and winding drive through he mountain back to PaP. The drive through the mountain was fairly uneventful although once we got into the city, we got a little annoyed because we were on a tight schedule and our driver decided to stop for some chicken, then he got pulled over by the cops and the van’s papers were expired. Luckily, the cops let us go after about a half hour of talks. Thank goodness! Once we arrived at the airport, check-in was a breeze. Thankfully there was no line, and we were able to make it to the gate with a little time to spare. The flight to Miami, the 5 hour layover, and the flight to Nashville were fairly uneventful except for the rounds of inside jokes and constant “cross-checks” and “cross-check fail” of the airlines :) that may or may not have annoyed the people around us.

Once at the airport we said our goodbyes and Philip, Theresa and I freshened up, hopped in the car, and headed downtown for the big guitar drop and Lynard Skynard concert for New Years in Nashville. We made it with about an hour to spare as were able to park pretty easily at Titan’s stadium and take a shuttle over the to festivities. Skynard fans are interesting. As for NYE, it was comical. Lots of touni people climbed up on top of the McDonalds trailer before getting kicked off, and in one case, taken down, by the cops. The speakers in Broadway went out in the middle of “Sweet Home Alabama” and we couldn’t hear a think. The countdown started at midnight but the music note stalled in the middle of the drop, and finally, about 3 minutes later, the countdown started again. Music City NEW fail! But we still had a great time. I couldn’t think of a better way to end 2011 and begin 2012...my favorite people, my favorite things...my this year be the continuation of the good things the end of 2011 brought...