keeping them close

I'm preparing to start school here in the States, but I really miss my students in Haiti. 

 I'm planning to print these pictures, and a few others, to hang in my desk area at school. 

So, even if I don't have any Haitian students sitting in my classroom, at least I can see some beautiful Haitian faces while I'm working in my janitor's closet turned office.

Fun Saturday afternoon!

Yesterday we took a couple of my crochet students and Ashley (who's helping out at Rivers of Hope orphanage this month) to Apparent Project. We also made a few other surprise stops, Epi-d'or and Place Boyer park. It was an awesome day. Isaac did a great job riding in the car and shopping. He even got to eat a piece of my crepe at Epi-d'or and drink some water from the bottle and a straw (probably the highlight of his day). I thoroughly enjoyed this special day with some of my very favorite students. Another gift from God, for sure!

ready for a day in the hot city

Rosias and Monley adore Isaac, and the feelings are mutual.

my hubby and a view of the beautiful park

this nice guard/police man let us take a picture with him at the park.

The park we visited was Place Boyer in Petion-Ville. It was just re-opened last week after months and months of work. It was a tent city when I arrived in Sept 2010. The tents were gone by the end of 2011, but the park looked rather blah. Last summer when I was pregnant with Isaac, they put tin all around the park while they were working on it. Everytime we went shopping at the "Haitian Wal-mart" I asked Arold what he thought they were doing in there. (He loves it when I ask him to speculate so much that he's stopped responding to these questions at this point in our marriage. If you hear me talking to myself, it's his fault.) The park was finally reopened this month, and it is AWESOME! I know some people will criticize the government for spending money on a park when there are people still living in tents, but I think having a safe and beautiful place for people to just hang out does a lot for boosting the morale.

Sunday Drive

Last Sunday wasn't Mother's Day in Haiti, but it was a great day anyway. We went on a drive in the late afternoon. We went to the look out point, Boutillier, for some acra (pictured below). We were pleasantly surprised to find live music and lots of canvas gazebos and umbrellas set up to protect diners from the setting sun. It was really nice to sit and enjoy the beautiful view of Port au Prince, the wonderful weather, and the live music. Arold even recognized an actor from a Haitian movie among the other diners!

After the lookout point, we ended up turning into Thomassin 25 and driving on a newly paved road that leads up into Fermathe. Arold took me on this road once a few months ago, so I knew that we would come out around Fermathe 45 area. Once we got up on the mountain a little more we could see the look out point (all those towers toward the right on that mountain ridge below) where we had just been. I love living in the mountains! 

We ended up taking a turn to see where the paved road would take us. We started going back down the mountain and realized that we would end up in Petion-Ville if we kept going. I thought it was a great day for an adventure, so we kept going. At a certain point the paved road just stopped. We were going to turn around, but another car went on the unpaved part so we followed. We ended up driving down through Montagne Noir and into Petion-Ville. When we got to Place St. Pierre there were tons and tons of people in the park that used to be a tent city. It was so nice to see people using the park after month and months of it being closed due to renovations.  Below you can see the difference in the road. The unpaved part was really bumpy.

Savoring these moments

Just a typical day at school. Kids playing. Teachers watching. Sun shining. 

I'm trying to savor these ordinary moments, to remember whenever I start to miss Haiti and our life here.

Sunday Afternoon Drive

These are pictures from a drive we took a couple of Sundays ago (before the little gas crisis). We went to eat in Kenscoff and then took an exploratory drive down a side road on our way home. It was fun to see a new area, and of course I loved the view of the mountains.

Students at Work

6 months

Isaac was 6 months old on Sunday. It doesn't feel possible that our little guy is already at the half year mark! But it also feels like he has always been a part of our family. How is it possible to feel both of those at the same time?! We are so blessed by this little man.

Here are are some 6 month stats and pictures for you.

weight: 19 lbs 6 oz   90th percentile
height: 66.5 cm (26.3 inches) 50th percentile
head circumference: 44cm (17.3 inches) 50th percentile
teeth: two bottom teeth

eating: nurses every 3 hours during the day; has tried sweet potato, papaya, and applesauce all one time each; LOVES bananas; will start some cereal this week (I had no idea what to get, so the doctor helped me figure it out); drinks 3-5oz bottles while I'm at school

sleeping: 3-4 naps a day with most 45 minutes and one longer nap; sleeps 5-7 hours at night with one feeding around 2; often wakes up between 5 and 5:30 to eat and talk to us (it's a party of one, we just let him lay in bed with us until he's ready to sleep again); goes to bed between 6 and 7pm and is up for the day between 7 and 8am; must be swaddled or in the car to sleep--no falling asleep while snuggling

playing: loves to take his toys out of the toy basket, chews on everything he can get in his mouth, swats at hanging toys, loves reading books, talks and sings to us, and enjoys talking to Grandma and Grandpa (and friends) on Skype; he can play on his own for about 15 minutes with his toys on his play mat right after he wakes up before he needs a change of activity; also loves jumping in his Johnny Jump Up

milestones: Isaac can sit really well on his own, transfer toys from one hand to the other, use his finger and thumb to pick things up (pincer grasp), rake toys toward him, and put things in his mouth quite easily; he does NOT roll either direction, say any words, crawl, or answer to his name; also doesn't have stranger anxiety or separation anxiety at this point

In addition to all of this, Isaac has a very distinct personality that is emerging. He smiles often, laughs easily, and loves to snuggle. He enjoys music and sometimes sings along with us. He is quite talkative, even if no one responds to him (ie the 5am talk time). He enjoys being outside and likes to look out the window when we're in the car. He isn't afraid to let us know when he's cranky (more talking, but in a different tone). And he's determined to "help" with whatever we have in our hands be it a cell phone, food, or anything in between.

Isaac has brought so much joy to our lives, and I can't imagine life without him. We love our little boy more than words can say!

you can't say it's not fascinating

You'd think after 2.5 years of seeing people carry things on their heads, I'd stop sneaking pictures of them. But the truth is it's just so fascinating that Haitians can balance so many different things on their heads. This lady had been to the market and was carrying her two bags home. Other people carrying bundles of vegetables to market. I see plastic tubs and baskets full of whatever the vendors are selling. And I even see giant bamboo stalks, planks of wood, and other random long objects. 

did you miss this face?

Our little man is almost 6 months old. I don't know how that's possible. He used to be so small and snuggly. Well, he's still snuggly. But he's not small. The porker is about 20lbs!

 Somebody has learned to sit up. And puke at the same time apparently.

First piano lesson was at the guest house on Sunday before church. He loved it!

That curved bar down around his feet is supposed to be in the air with the toys hanging off of it. He loves to pull on them and swat at them. I found the toys on the floor around him like this after he had been playing for a while. He was pretty proud of this feat.

Parc Historique de la Canne a Sucre

After visiting the Embassy on Valentine's Day (and being approved for Arold's visa!) we drove around the corner and visited the Sugar Cane Historic Park. (please pardon the picture placement in this post. It looks good when I'm editing it, but the pictures move whenever I hit "post.")

We learned that the site was once a big sugar cane plantation and the Frenchman who owned it was named Chateaubland. He was very successful because he exported the sugar and sugar cane products (like rum) to France. The French apparently really liked the cane syrup and rum.


He would ring the bell in the morning to tell the slaves it was time to come to work. Later in the day the ringing of the bell signified when they could eat and when they could go "home" for the day.

Next we saw a big water wheel that was fed from an aqueduct, a very good use of resources for the time period.

Then we went under a little tunnel where the slaves would carry the cane to the "crusher." (the tour was in Creole and my husband translated for me, but since he doesn't like translating I didn't get the specifics.) The crusher was powered by cows harnessed to big poles connected to the metal things. The cows walked in a circle and made the metal things crush the cane. (Such a great description, I know.)

From there the sugar cane pulp was taken to these cauldrons and boiled and boiled and boiled some more. When it reached it's final sticky semi solid state it was transferred to big funnels sitting on top of clay pots. It took a month for the syrup to drain into the pot, while the crystalized sugar remained in the funnel.

Next we visited the distillery where we learned that rum can be made from the syrup in about 24 hours. But then it has to sit in barrels for years so that it ages and tastes better.

After the revolution and exit of the French plantation owner, Haiti wasn't exporting sugar cane products or rum to France anymore. (Something about the US still having slaves and being able to produce it for less money than the free Haitians wanted to be paid.) But with the industrial age, came a faster and less labor intensive process for refining the sugar cane. We saw a set up for how it's processed now and it included a steam powered crusher and steam powered boiler pots, and a very tidy looking set up.

Overall, we learned a lot about Haiti's history with sugar cane and the process for refining it. And we got a lot of pictures of a really old steam engine. I think my husband thought the train was the coolest part.

Canne a Sucre is now an historical site and also used for concerts and big events. I often see signs for concerts happening there, and after visiting I can see why it's such a great place for entertainment. (The events are generally above our price range, and Johane tells me that it's very difficult to find parking when you go there for an event.) All that to say, there's a big stage and a bunch of tent pavilions set up with tables and chairs for the events among all the old artifacts. So as we were walking from one sugar cane piece of history to the next, we would our way through the tables and chairs set up for fancy concerts. You can check out the website, but be warned it's in French.

Isaac's Dedication

We presented Isaac to the church and dedicated him to the Lord at church on Sunday. Here are some pictures of the special event.

my favorite men

I love these two more than I can say.

singing in the rain

Well, I don't know that they were singing as they walked down the mountain during Hurricane Sandy's rains, but its fun to imagine, right?

 I found these pictures that my hubby took last week. I'm really glad I wasn't with them!

waiting

  

October 3rd, 2012

Patients arrive at the clinic early to secure a spot in line. Here they are waiting for the clinic to open.  Once the clinic is open they will wait inside the waiting room to have their paperwork pulled and then wait outside until their name is called to sit on the bench by the door. Then they wait to have their blood pressure and weight taken. Then they move to another bench to wait until a provider can see them.  

It's a long day of waiting.

There were 150 patients seen by the 5 stations of medical providers this day--not including several other surgical patients that were treated. 

Craft Day

Wednesday turned into craft day at our house. I invited Rosias over to help me test a crochet project because I want to have a class sometime next month. My hands hurt too much right now to try to crochet, so I needed someone to do it for me. Anyway, I taught him a couple different stitches and let him practice with yarn for a little bit while I worked on lunch. Then I gave him some fabric strips (1.5" wide) and had him start a semi-circle rug. Once he mastered changing colors and counting rows, I packed up the rest of the supplies he would need and sent him home before it started raining.

While Rosias was crocheting, my husband worked on his very first banana leaf card. I showed Rosias some as an example and my husband decided he could make them. He left the house with some scissors and came back with a big chunk of banana leaf "bark". I think he would benefit from having a razor blade, but his first card turned out alright, don't you think?

And then there's poor pitiful me. All fine motor movements (typing, writing, drawing, crocheting, etc) make my fingers go numb because of this pregnancy induced carpel tunnel. So I just cut up plastic bags to make plarn for later use. I'm planning to crochet some baskets when I can feel my hands again, so I figured I could work on preparing my supplies while the guys worked on their projects. It was a fun day!

Computer Lab Use

Last week we did the VBS for the younger kids in Gramothe from 9-11ish. After we finished with them, we would go upstairs to the computer lab for an hour and half and have class with the teenagers. Arold was in charge of the class, and did a great job explaining new concepts to the kids. Some days I think his lessons were derived from their questions, and other days he had a plan going into the class. They worked on basic formatting in text documents for most of the time (bold, italics, columns, colored text, font size, etc), but they also had a long lesson on computer components and how they work (ie how they store information and what you can do with them).

There are quite a few teens in Gramothe that are not in the MTM school. Some of them attend other schools, and some of them are just not in school. Nearly all of them are in the church youth group, so I see them at church on a regular basis. The students who are not in the MTM high school don't have much of a reason to talk to me, so I don't know them very well. It was nice to interact with them a little bit last week and see their personalities as they interacted with each other and my husband.

More Pictures from Graduation Weekend