How is your spring so far? I heard that in MN and WI there's been a bunch of snow and sub zero temperatures. It's been pretty cold here too, only reaching the low 90s. Can you even imagine? It's frigid.
Here's a sunshiny spot to my week- our great friend E was here! She arrived on Saturday and it was such a treat. It's been really lonely here, even with my friend W who lives three doors down. E arrived at around 2 on Saturday afternoon, and we had a little adventure getting to the airport. Our driver was a little late, so we took a "shortcut" that ended up taking longer than it should have.
We wound up on a side alley that had a Saturday afternoon market. We basically had to inch our way up the street, passing vendors with all their vegetables and fruit basically in the road (keep in mind we were in a huge car!) and eventually we had to do a very slow Y turn to go back the other way. It was so cool to see the things they were selling. All the produce was on one side of the drainage ditch: stacks of green bananas and limes, tiny heads of garlic and jewel-like tomatoes in woven baskets, beans in tall sacks, radishes and carrots in feathery green bundles, pearl onions rolling around on burlap. On the other side- trash. So much trash. That's one of the things about Haiti that I've had the hardest time getting used to. The garbage is just unbelievable.
On our way to the airport, I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. That's not very unusual, since I get about six unknown calls a week from Haitians who just have the wrong number. I figured this call wasn't any different, but I answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is customs at the airport- we have a lost passenger waiting for you?"
I felt my stomach drop. E was lost in the airport? She'd never been out of the country before and now she was lost in the Port au Prince airport! How was I going to explain this?
Then suddenly on the other end of the phone, I heard in the background, "I'm not lost! I'm not lost!" and then the "customs agent" started to laugh. Turns out it was our friend and neighbor, R, who had arrived at the same time as E and was pulling a prank on me. Luckily I had given E my Haitian phone number before she left! R explained that he had arrived back in PaP a day early to surprise his wife and son, and had run into E in the waiting room (where all US Embassy folks go in the airport to wait for their baggage etc). She had explained who she was meeting, and he decided to play a little joke on me. All in good fun, of course.
The whole week E and I got to spend quality sister-friend time together, even if it was just doing stuff like painting our nails or watching a movie. She came to REBUILD with W and I a couple times, and also had some meetings with people at the Embassy that are in the medical field (she's going to be a doctor). It was so wonderful to have her here. Dinner conversations were really interesting- since she's a biochem major, we talked about things like evolution, DNA, cancer research, all sorts of cool sciency things. We've decided that she'll be our family doctor once she's out of med school.
E left yesterday afternoon and we miss her already. Almost every Sunday night for the past three years, she would come to our house for dinner and a movie. For a week, everything was almost normal. Or rather, what used to be normal. Now it's back to the new normal, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Still, I must get on.
In other news, some more of our HHE arrived- but it turned out to be just my mom's china and some other random stuff. No books for Sophie yet :( On the bright side, we've discovered an awesome pizza place about five minutes from our compound. It's run by a family of missionaries who open their house on weekends, and they make all the pizza themselves. It's nice to have a spot like that that's so close! It's almost like having Domino's. Well. Not really. But it's close enough.
Another tidbit- I've had street food twice now! We're not forbidden from doing that, just urged against. The first time I was with two of the girls from REBUILD and we had rice and beans with stewed okra, fresh tomato and onion, and a chunk of chicken (I think it was chicken). I didn't eat the meat- wasn't brave enough for that- but the rest was pretty dang good! It needed a little hot sauce though ;)
The second time I had this thing called pate. In the US and in other countries, pate means that fancy spread with liver and stuff. Not here. Here it's a fried pastry kind of like an empanada that has shredded chicken or beef, peppers and onions in it. It was absolutely delicious, even though a few times I found a less than edible piece of chicken in mine. I'm proud of myself for taking the risk! (a small risk but a risk nonetheless).
Also, does anyone know how to reverse a typewriter ribbon? My typewriter has stopped working and I think it's because the ribbon needs to be flipped or whatever. I'm afraid to touch it in case I break it. Suggestions are appreciated, actual knowledge is preferred.
Cheers,
Soph
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
March 13th: Football, Feminism and You
Greetings, earthlings. I say it's time for a blog post, do you agree? Excellent.
Where did I leave off? Oh I was going to tell you guys more about REBUILD Globally! It's a simply smashing organization, one that I'm really lucky to be a part of.
Here's the skinny on what I'm doing there- W and I have been weeding the garden like crazy. It was in use about a year ago, when some Irish volunteers got it up and running, but then they up and left, so the garden went fallow (I think that's the correct term, isn't it?). We've figured out the irrigation system that the Irish set up still works, which is a plus. Now all we have to do is get some more seeds and plant them. The soil is really rocky, which is not great, but we'll work with what we have.
An additional part of REBUILD (aside: REBUILD is an acronym, which is why I always put it in all caps. I don't quite remember what it stands for, but it's not important at this moment) is the Saturday Apprenticeship Program. Various young adults (probably aged 15 to mid twenties) come from 9-12 on Saturday mornings to learn crafts, English, business management, and other applicable skills. Sometimes they just do world geography- E, one of the girls who works there- did an entire presentation on her time in Africa. W and I want to do presentations on Minnesota & Wisconsin, because the kids have never been anywhere so completely different from Haiti. I'm going to find pictures of the crazy amounts of snow we get.
W is also doing an individual project on American sports like basketball, baseball, American football and soccer. He wants to clear out some of the land that REBUILD owns and make it into a soccer (or as the Haitians call it, football) field. He's making a plan to build goal posts, which would be amazing.
This past Saturday, one of the Haitian workers at REBUILD gave a presentation on violence against women, something I feel very strongly about. In case you are not up to date on the goings on at Capitol Hill, the President just signed a bill that strengthened the Violence Against Women Act. I won't go into many details, since I sincerely hope the majority of you already are aware of this fact. Furthermore, February has been officially declared as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. (YAY! LOVE IS RESPECT!)
We discussed the topic of VAWA with the Haitians, who were surprised that violence against women occurs in the United States. Several women spoke of their experiences - in Creole, so we had a translator - and then we had an interesting Q&A session. What is abuse? What are the different kinds of abuse? What are the signs? Why do you think some victims stay with the abuser? We also discussed how domestic violence is not just limited to women, that men are abused as well. It was really fascinating to hear what they knew and didn't know.
Typically, the role of women in Haiti is what you'd expect. It's the woman's job to cook and clean and raise the kids. Of course there are exceptions, just like in any society. We discussed feminism and female empowerment, which made me realize how progressive the US is compared to this country. There is still a lot of work to be done in the States, but compared to Haiti we're way ahead.
After that presentation, I felt really drained. While I have never been abused in any way, I get really uncomfortable discussing it, particularly rape. I guess I find it the most disgusting, horrific crime and hearing their stories made me feel physically sick. My therapy? Going back to the orphanage with W, S and E. Something about holding a small child made me feel infinitely better. S and E brought along a three week old kitten from REBUILD so the kids could see it. I sat on the floor with one little girl in my lap, and as soon as I sat down five or six of the older girls came over and started playing with my hair- I doubt they see blond curls very often. The kids were so sweet, oohing and aahing at the kitten, offering to share their crackers with us, stretching their arms out so we would pick them up. It was a great way to shake off the stress of the morning. It's times like that when I feel I can do something of worth here.
On a much lighter note, part of our HHE- household equipment- arrived last week which means we have things like hangers, more clothes, our consumables (canned/boxed food) and most importantly, my owl shower curtain. Sadly, this half of the shipment did not contain my books :( I was more upset than was reasonable, but I've read all the books I have here so many times, since I had them with me in DC as well. Alas, I'll just have to wait.
Furthermore, I've been writing like a fiend on my typewriter. It's so much more appealing than a laptop- maybe it's the clackclackclackclackDING! It's a Smith-Corona Silent and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with it. I must apologize in advance to any future roommates because you'll have to put up with my typewriter as well as my excessive loud spontaneous singing. Maybe I'll put that as a disclaimer on my roommate application.
"WARNING: Applicant is in possession of a Smith-Corona Silent typewriter that is in NO WAY SILENT! Applicant will make it up to future roommate with brownies and a 'coupon' for one essay per term that said applicant will type for said roommate on aforesaid machine."
Think it'll work? I totally do.
That's all for now, ladies and gents. I'm off now.
P.S Please feel free to leave comments on my posts! I'm not sure who is looking at this blog, but I'd like to know! Comments don't need to be related to the post, just say hi or let me know if you're enjoying reading my blog so far. Thanks guys!
Where did I leave off? Oh I was going to tell you guys more about REBUILD Globally! It's a simply smashing organization, one that I'm really lucky to be a part of.
Here's the skinny on what I'm doing there- W and I have been weeding the garden like crazy. It was in use about a year ago, when some Irish volunteers got it up and running, but then they up and left, so the garden went fallow (I think that's the correct term, isn't it?). We've figured out the irrigation system that the Irish set up still works, which is a plus. Now all we have to do is get some more seeds and plant them. The soil is really rocky, which is not great, but we'll work with what we have.
An additional part of REBUILD (aside: REBUILD is an acronym, which is why I always put it in all caps. I don't quite remember what it stands for, but it's not important at this moment) is the Saturday Apprenticeship Program. Various young adults (probably aged 15 to mid twenties) come from 9-12 on Saturday mornings to learn crafts, English, business management, and other applicable skills. Sometimes they just do world geography- E, one of the girls who works there- did an entire presentation on her time in Africa. W and I want to do presentations on Minnesota & Wisconsin, because the kids have never been anywhere so completely different from Haiti. I'm going to find pictures of the crazy amounts of snow we get.
W is also doing an individual project on American sports like basketball, baseball, American football and soccer. He wants to clear out some of the land that REBUILD owns and make it into a soccer (or as the Haitians call it, football) field. He's making a plan to build goal posts, which would be amazing.
This past Saturday, one of the Haitian workers at REBUILD gave a presentation on violence against women, something I feel very strongly about. In case you are not up to date on the goings on at Capitol Hill, the President just signed a bill that strengthened the Violence Against Women Act. I won't go into many details, since I sincerely hope the majority of you already are aware of this fact. Furthermore, February has been officially declared as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. (YAY! LOVE IS RESPECT!)
We discussed the topic of VAWA with the Haitians, who were surprised that violence against women occurs in the United States. Several women spoke of their experiences - in Creole, so we had a translator - and then we had an interesting Q&A session. What is abuse? What are the different kinds of abuse? What are the signs? Why do you think some victims stay with the abuser? We also discussed how domestic violence is not just limited to women, that men are abused as well. It was really fascinating to hear what they knew and didn't know.
Typically, the role of women in Haiti is what you'd expect. It's the woman's job to cook and clean and raise the kids. Of course there are exceptions, just like in any society. We discussed feminism and female empowerment, which made me realize how progressive the US is compared to this country. There is still a lot of work to be done in the States, but compared to Haiti we're way ahead.
After that presentation, I felt really drained. While I have never been abused in any way, I get really uncomfortable discussing it, particularly rape. I guess I find it the most disgusting, horrific crime and hearing their stories made me feel physically sick. My therapy? Going back to the orphanage with W, S and E. Something about holding a small child made me feel infinitely better. S and E brought along a three week old kitten from REBUILD so the kids could see it. I sat on the floor with one little girl in my lap, and as soon as I sat down five or six of the older girls came over and started playing with my hair- I doubt they see blond curls very often. The kids were so sweet, oohing and aahing at the kitten, offering to share their crackers with us, stretching their arms out so we would pick them up. It was a great way to shake off the stress of the morning. It's times like that when I feel I can do something of worth here.
On a much lighter note, part of our HHE- household equipment- arrived last week which means we have things like hangers, more clothes, our consumables (canned/boxed food) and most importantly, my owl shower curtain. Sadly, this half of the shipment did not contain my books :( I was more upset than was reasonable, but I've read all the books I have here so many times, since I had them with me in DC as well. Alas, I'll just have to wait.
Furthermore, I've been writing like a fiend on my typewriter. It's so much more appealing than a laptop- maybe it's the clackclackclackclackDING! It's a Smith-Corona Silent and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with it. I must apologize in advance to any future roommates because you'll have to put up with my typewriter as well as my excessive loud spontaneous singing. Maybe I'll put that as a disclaimer on my roommate application.
"WARNING: Applicant is in possession of a Smith-Corona Silent typewriter that is in NO WAY SILENT! Applicant will make it up to future roommate with brownies and a 'coupon' for one essay per term that said applicant will type for said roommate on aforesaid machine."
Think it'll work? I totally do.
That's all for now, ladies and gents. I'm off now.
P.S Please feel free to leave comments on my posts! I'm not sure who is looking at this blog, but I'd like to know! Comments don't need to be related to the post, just say hi or let me know if you're enjoying reading my blog so far. Thanks guys!
Monday, March 4, 2013
March 4th: Pandas and Kittens and Other Stuff
Hey, how are you all doing? Glad to hear it. Here's an update for ya.
On Saturday, my parents and I went with a group from the embassy to a hotel/beach called Moulin Sur Mer. It's about two hours north of where we live in Tabarre, and WOW what a bus ride it was. We drove out of the city and into these- I hestitate to call them barren wastelands but that's kind of what they were- where it was just dusty fields stretching on one side and the mountains rising on the other. We passed some villages that were made up of metal shacks, goats and chickens running free, the washing hanging from thin wires. After about 45 minutes, we could catch a glimpse of the Caribbean. The farther we drove, the more the countryside changed. So much was green, banana and coconut farms, mango trees, bougainvillea vine spilling everywhere. When we finally got to the hotel, it was about ten o'clock. We laid around on the beach the whole day, and I got the worst sunglasses tan I've ever had. I resemble a panda and that's not really an exaggeration.
Sunday was a bit more serious but still fun. Mum and I went with three other friends to Sens Universale, an orphanage in Petyonville. We didn't go for long, but it was wonderful. This orphanage is bigger than the first one I went to, with many more children. Our friends K and S brought nail polish to use with the older girls, and I helped them. It was hilarious because all the girls were crowding around us, piling their hands on top of each other. I had my nails painted kind of a garish pink by one little girl who kept exclaiming "tres belle, tres belle!" (very beautiful, very beautiful). They also seemed to like playing with my hair- it was like a full on beauty parlour. The kids were wonderful, so happy to see us and so sweet. It's experiences like that that make me fully appreciate this gap year. If I hadn't taken it, I would never have seen and done these things.
Today was one of my REBUILD Globally days. W and I are working on the garden, so today we did a ton of weeding and raking the garden plot. Basically I spent the morning rolling around in the dirt. Our plan is to plant peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and some herbs for a "salsa garden". In addition, we're going to work with some of the young adults that come on Saturdays to make planters out of these old paint cans that are scattered around the property. Most are rusty and dented, but I figure if we can sand and paint them, we can use them to hold plants. I'm really excited about that particular project, since it was my idea and I think it can really work.
Also at RG today, I met two of the kittens that live on the property. There are about seven more, but the two white ones are being "held" for embassy families that are interested in owning a cat. Cutest kittens ever.
In other news, I got a job offer to work at the embassy for the summer! I will be the assistant to the Community Liasion Officer. I'm in the process of getting a security clearance so hopefully that won't take too long. Some of the summer interns didn't receive their clearance until after they returned to the States, so here's hoping that it doesn't take that long.
Went out tonight with W and a friend from REBUILD, also W. He's a pretty cool cat, born in the DR but lives in Haiti, speakes Creole, French, Spanish, Portuguese and- of all things- Russian. The two W's and I went to one of the UN bases and had pizza and played pool. It was a really nice evening, a good way to spend a Monday night.
That's all for now, folks, a tapioca pudding cup is calling my name and I'm afraid that if I don't eat it, someone else will. Ta ta.
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