Big Stuff UPDATE

On Monday night there were some pretty heavy rains in Port au Prince. Massive flooding. Mudslides. Deaths. It was a horrible night. And last night there was more rain, compounding the problems.

Our shindig with the President that was slated for today has been postponed. He's busy picking up the pieces of the storm. While we're disappointed we won't be able to meet him today, we're happy to have a president who is already active in the communities he serves.

And we're also thankful we have homes, not tents, to sleep in.

Big Stuff UPDATE

On Monday night there were some pretty heavy rains in Port au Prince. Massive flooding. Mudslides. Deaths. It was a horrible night. And last night there was more rain, compounding the problems.

Our shindig with the President that was slated for today has been postponed. He's busy picking up the pieces of the storm. While we're disappointed we won't be able to meet him today, we're happy to have a president who is already active in the communities he serves.

And we're also thankful we have homes, not tents, to sleep in.

Big Stuff

In church on Sunday, Willem announced that the school was chosen to plant some trees--with President Martelly! Martelly wants to provide free education to all of Haiti's youth by the end of his first term, and he's impressed with what MTM is doing in Gramothe.

On Wednesday 300 of our students will travel a short distance to a hillside near Boutillier (also known as Look Out Point for those of you who have been here). They'll plant some trees, eat lunch with the president, and probably have a chance to mingle with the press. I haven't been given all the details, but I can tell you that the kids are ecstatic!!! And the adults are just as pumped. I have been deemed the official MTM photographer for the event. I was even given permission to be an obnoxious-in-your-face photographer for the day, which is good because I want to try to get a picture of every single student we take.

Can you imagine being so poor that your family lives in a one room shack, sleeps on the dirt floor, and often doesn't have enough money for food BUT you have been chosen to meet the president of your country? I am so, so excited for these kids. What a blessing for them to be given this honor!!

Big Stuff

In church on Sunday, Willem announced that the school was chosen to plant some trees--with President Martelly! Martelly wants to provide free education to all of Haiti's youth by the end of his first term, and he's impressed with what MTM is doing in Gramothe.

On Wednesday 300 of our students will travel a short distance to a hillside near Boutillier (also known as Look Out Point for those of you who have been here). They'll plant some trees, eat lunch with the president, and probably have a chance to mingle with the press. I haven't been given all the details, but I can tell you that the kids are ecstatic!!! And the adults are just as pumped. I have been deemed the official MTM photographer for the event. I was even given permission to be an obnoxious-in-your-face photographer for the day, which is good because I want to try to get a picture of every single student we take.

Can you imagine being so poor that your family lives in a one room shack, sleeps on the dirt floor, and often doesn't have enough money for food BUT you have been chosen to meet the president of your country? I am so, so excited for these kids. What a blessing for them to be given this honor!!

Golden Nuggets VII: Shopping Similarities

Living in a foreign country requires learning new customs and adjusting to a new normal. All those interesting tidbits I learn as I live in Haiti are Golden Nuggets. And what kind of person would I be if I didn't share those Golden Nuggets with others?

Shopping in Haiti is both really similar to and very different from shopping in the States. Today I want to focus on the similarities. The places where I shop are very much to what I'm used to in the States. I buy my food at the grocery store, I purchase presents at gift shops, and I get household things at a place called Handal--which is the Haitian Wal-mart. Even though I don't typically buy anything, I've also been with other people to optical shops (eye glasses), jewelry stores, clothing stores, hardware type shops, and book stores.

Even though shopping in Haiti can be very similar to shopping in the States, there are some differences.

• First, there are armed guards at almost every establishment--especially banks and grocery stores. They have very official looking uniforms and carry giant guns. Often shotguns or something equally large but scary looking. I have never heard of a business being robbed, so accredit this to the armed guards.

• Sometimes I like to think of Haiti as a 1950s America. Women wear skirts and stay home with their kids, gas stations have attendants to pump your gas, and bag boys always carry your groceries to the car. I absolutely love shopping at Giant Supermarket because it's new and shiny and makes me feel like I'm shopping at Meijer. Best of all, the bag boys (which are really grown men) bag all my groceries and then carry them to the car for me no matter how many I have. At the grocery store much closer to my house, the bag boys (again all grown men) will even unload my cart onto the conveyor belt for me! It's awesome customer service.

• Every single store in Haiti has a complimentary gift wrap station. Anything you purchase as a gift can be gift wrapped in the paper of your choosing (normally there are at least 2 options) and will have a nice pretty bow. A friend of mine recently told me about her self-serve gift wrapping fiasco at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It made me chuckle when I told her all stores in Haiti have someone who is dedicated to gift wrapping.

Golden Nuggets VII: Shopping Similarities

Living in a foreign country requires learning new customs and adjusting to a new normal. All those interesting tidbits I learn as I live in Haiti are Golden Nuggets. And what kind of person would I be if I didn't share those Golden Nuggets with others?

Shopping in Haiti is both really similar to and very different from shopping in the States. Today I want to focus on the similarities. The places where I shop are very much to what I'm used to in the States. I buy my food at the grocery store, I purchase presents at gift shops, and I get household things at a place called Handal--which is the Haitian Wal-mart. Even though I don't typically buy anything, I've also been with other people to optical shops (eye glasses), jewelry stores, clothing stores, hardware type shops, and book stores.

Even though shopping in Haiti can be very similar to shopping in the States, there are some differences.

• First, there are armed guards at almost every establishment--especially banks and grocery stores. They have very official looking uniforms and carry giant guns. Often shotguns or something equally large but scary looking. I have never heard of a business being robbed, so accredit this to the armed guards.

• Sometimes I like to think of Haiti as a 1950s America. Women wear skirts and stay home with their kids, gas stations have attendants to pump your gas, and bag boys always carry your groceries to the car. I absolutely love shopping at Giant Supermarket because it's new and shiny and makes me feel like I'm shopping at Meijer. Best of all, the bag boys (which are really grown men) bag all my groceries and then carry them to the car for me no matter how many I have. At the grocery store much closer to my house, the bag boys (again all grown men) will even unload my cart onto the conveyor belt for me! It's awesome customer service.

• Every single store in Haiti has a complimentary gift wrap station. Anything you purchase as a gift can be gift wrapped in the paper of your choosing (normally there are at least 2 options) and will have a nice pretty bow. A friend of mine recently told me about her self-serve gift wrapping fiasco at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It made me chuckle when I told her all stores in Haiti have someone who is dedicated to gift wrapping.

What no one tells you about living in another country

I try to keep things light and cheery over here on my slice of the internet, but I opted to share these particular thoughts because I think I think they provide more of a full picture. I am not unhappy in Haiti. I do not desire to move back to the United States. I just need to share some things that don't often get said.

• Living in another culture is hard. All the things you rarely think about in your own culture--greeting people, acceptable attire for public, knowing who to tip, smiling for pictures--suddenly require conscious thought. You have to remember new customs, force yourself through the uncomfortableness, and evaluate personal behaviors and habits that may need to change in order to fit into the new culture. There are constant reminders that you are an outsider. Eventually the novelty and excitement of being in a foreign country wear off. 

• If you don't speak the language of the people, there will be times you will feel inadequate, overly dependent on others, extremely frustrated, and sometimes ridiculous. You may decide to go without something rather than deal with the hassle it takes to communicate what you want. Sometimes it's just easier that way. There will even be nights you cry yourself to sleep because of the language barrier.

• Once you've called more than one place "home," your heart will never be completely happy in either. When you're in one place, you miss the other. You feel guilty for not being full hhere, for longing for the other place. People in both locations question your desire to live in or visit the other place.