tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21831473130580934932024-03-13T19:17:43.877-07:00Travels to HaitiJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-39321746506719519452011-12-20T14:34:00.000-08:002011-12-20T14:34:24.862-08:00The Final Post<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well, only three days left in beautiful sunny Haiti before I return to snow, temperatures below zero, and a life that is polar opposite to my current one.<span> </span>My last few weeks I’ve managed to visit almost every corner of Haiti.<span> </span>After my previous blog post I bumped and bounced some 8 hours with three Swiss folks and our Haitian driver to Cap Haitien.<span> </span>This is Haiti’s second largest city and the best part; still assembled!<span> </span>An earthquake leveled the city in 1842 but the city has been earthquake free since then.<span> </span>What a breath of fresh air (well diesel-infused fresh air) it was to be in a city that wasn’t collapsed.<span> </span>Sadly it is still doomed to fail if another earthquake hits and the other Swiss engineer, Jan, and I played name-that-building-that-will-fall-in-the-next-earthquake game in the car for entertainment.<span> </span>A little morbid but still fun.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Our first day we had plans to visit a huge mountain top fortress in the nearby looming mountains. <span> </span>This famous monument , the Citadelle, was constructed by Henri Christophe, a key leader during the Haitian slave rebellion, after Haiti gained independence from France at the beginning of the 19th century.<span> </span>Jan, our trip organizer, kindly arranged for us to visit the Citadelle on possibly the only gloomy rainy day in Haiti.<span> </span>Regardless we had a blast (in a drowned rat sort of way) and learned a lot.<span> </span>Well the French speaking folk (Swiss and Haitian driver) did.<span> </span>Our translator for the Citadelle and surrounding sites had difficulty remembering which one of us didn’t speak French (you’re truly) and proceeded to deliver most of the history to me in French.<span> </span>No worries, I wouldn’t remember it no matter the language spoken to me.<span> </span>I was more interested in the massive stone structure (130 feet tall) that has withstood several earthquakes and contains walls as thick as I am tall.<span> </span>The cannonballs scattered around the fortress were also fun to pick up as well as climbing around the entire structure.<span> </span>Luckily there are no rules for safety (besides our guide yelling “Attention” at us every 10 minutes) so there was no limit to where we could or couldn’t walk.<span> </span>Here’s the website for you history buffs.<span> </span>Pretty fascinating! <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadelle_Laferri%C3%A8re">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadelle_Laferri%C3%A8re</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The next day we followed a dirt road along the north coast to Labadie where we took a very small boat to our hotel which was only accessible by boat.<span> </span>A quaint little place with plenty of hammocks, beer, a mountain behind to climb the next morning at 6am, and dead seafood to eat for dinner.<span> </span>This would be where I tried my first lobster.<span> </span>If the cracking sounds to get to the meat off the lobster aren’t discouraging enough the crunchy meat inside will.<span> </span>Not delectable in my book.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So after my wild weekend across country, I flew into the next week giving my last workshop.<span> </span>Our limit for these workshops is 16 students.<span> </span>We were warned we may have as many as 30 students a few weeks prior which gave us opportunity to hire one more expat to help me give the workshop.<span> </span>Come Monday, I had 60 beady eyes ranging in age from 20-70 staring back at me anxious to learn.<span> </span>In Haiti I’ve developed this “don’t think, just do” mentality which has aided my apprehension for many things; mainly standing in front of large groups, entering houses that are far from stable, etc.<span> </span>This was in full effect come Monday.<span> </span>As most of these workshops have many malfunctions throughout the week, we found our site not prepped for concepts that we needed to teach.<span> </span>I like to call it improv teaching.<span> </span>Each hour goes differently then planned and I find myself pulling ideas out of my hiney right and left to make up for items we can’t teach simply due to the chaos.<span> </span>James would come back each day from teaching these workshops saying “Just another day in paradise” and I found myself succumbing to the brainwashing as well to eliminate pulling my hair out, throwing things, etc.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Finally by day two we had figured out how to control some 60 grown Haitian men, all of which have a different opinion on EVERY minuscule detail of masonry construction (including even how one ties the wire the holds rebar together).<span> </span>Johnny (our new engineer and my replacement), Sayem (the other expat that was hired to help), Raoul (my voice…a.k.a translator) and I arranged the men into sub-groups and monitored separate sessions of all parts of building that are important and that need to be changed in rebuilding Haiti.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>All in all, this workshop and my final week has been the most rewarding week of my time spent here.<span> </span>I am flabbergasted at these Haitians’’ desire to learn.<span> </span>They ask question after question after question.<span> </span>I think we could have saved an entire day just for questions and they still wouldn’t be question free.<span> </span>Coming from a country where education is entirely taken for granted, I found myself immersed in a community that would kill for an education but simply can’t afford one.<span> </span>Some men have never taken a written test before in their life.<span> </span>Some can’t even write their name and had to provide their drivers license instead.<span> </span>For these men, we retested them orally.<span> </span>Several completely failed the written test but when asked the same questions orally aced it.<span> </span>One old man who didn’t pass either test told me his father couldn’t afford school for him so never sent him.<span> </span>He didn’t want to make the same mistake with his four children so he worked day in and day out to send all four to school.<span> </span>Now one is an architect and the other three completed (I didn’t understand what in) their school as well.<span> </span>He then proceeded to tell me how gracious he was that I had volunteered my time and patience for him.<span> </span>Heart wrenching.<span> </span>I wanted to pass him simply due to his situation.<span> </span>And there are hundreds upon thousands more in the same situation.<span> </span>It’s a funny world we live in.<span> </span>While some countries fight over which brand of epoxy to use on site, others merely scrounge for enough hand tools to even complete a job.<span> </span>Incredible.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>My last weekend was spent driving with two co-workers down to the southwestern point of Haiti to a delicious sleepy little town called Port Salut.<span> </span>We stopped to check the structural integrity of a school on the way so we could call it work.<span> </span>It is here in Port Salut that the beaches are the bluest and the streets are the cleanest.<span> </span>As any trip of course isn’t complete without a river crossing we had the joy of such an activity a few hours before our destination.<span> </span>The “highway” was flooded with approximately 2 feet of water and our new Toyota Rav4 had its first swimming lesson.<span> </span>We arrived at our little cottage and much to our delight found one could practically fall out the front door into the ocean.<span> </span>We marveled at some antique wood row boats on shore which we later learned were not antiques but the “modern” boats they actually USED to catch the fresh fish each day.<span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port Salut</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port Salut</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4mzGl_dqYhSKtKaLM_eidwKDX0iE0TuQsqRkGyo_r-ToNQKKxa8mJfUEVgu9p-j4ZNE6ayRqUNwVVnNcdfgxYPfL5bhpY_2WgpO_dgyC1xsDJ9mJ-uTNmgUo3MPLoYSw0MF5yweQxLEz/s1600/IMG_6673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4mzGl_dqYhSKtKaLM_eidwKDX0iE0TuQsqRkGyo_r-ToNQKKxa8mJfUEVgu9p-j4ZNE6ayRqUNwVVnNcdfgxYPfL5bhpY_2WgpO_dgyC1xsDJ9mJ-uTNmgUo3MPLoYSw0MF5yweQxLEz/s320/IMG_6673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lobster cage</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDxVvJzQCR75lOPTWf5vQdBoV3oRefqFgIE8a7IRYNsR57JbRpI6MqRL56BBFg4Ck3Xgl5T_Tc09C4FcNupbohxZ1RAO34e-YNQmdcXnQGA2oO9kAsRgC2dXZAcLe5PTtUtZJduBcqEar/s1600/IMG_6069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDxVvJzQCR75lOPTWf5vQdBoV3oRefqFgIE8a7IRYNsR57JbRpI6MqRL56BBFg4Ck3Xgl5T_Tc09C4FcNupbohxZ1RAO34e-YNQmdcXnQGA2oO9kAsRgC2dXZAcLe5PTtUtZJduBcqEar/s320/IMG_6069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little boat to Labadie</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmei98gg3J81HQlGHJGsMUJw0EGlxr5I4RmDFzWsOZZJFck27ezzwofxABuStt76Y0SAU3ldsIKgZIwfs-XLrACbSz-4Iuuz0Qcgga3k7lxFo2fZq7aUXCBCzizBRa6FXYgxAUUTX3pKJu/s1600/IMG_5999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmei98gg3J81HQlGHJGsMUJw0EGlxr5I4RmDFzWsOZZJFck27ezzwofxABuStt76Y0SAU3ldsIKgZIwfs-XLrACbSz-4Iuuz0Qcgga3k7lxFo2fZq7aUXCBCzizBRa6FXYgxAUUTX3pKJu/s320/IMG_5999.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citadelle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Rlndo_ngR3L4hv-kai7MNa9-Zt-NgGSFuQzqHYlhOaHfpUUXBlLk9Tak67Q7VPJdENHeyAC8imsYKiDCVnS4XitDG2vIIwAccXZh_a8nz6GSDAO9m8ZkRHooaaebUTfvhJOT_QTBWUiZ/s1600/IMG_6021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Rlndo_ngR3L4hv-kai7MNa9-Zt-NgGSFuQzqHYlhOaHfpUUXBlLk9Tak67Q7VPJdENHeyAC8imsYKiDCVnS4XitDG2vIIwAccXZh_a8nz6GSDAO9m8ZkRHooaaebUTfvhJOT_QTBWUiZ/s320/IMG_6021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The walls of the Citadelle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well it’s the final countdown to homeward bound and I have to admit I’m ecstatic to return to life in the States.<span> </span>At the moment I’m more excited to go home then sad to leave but I know that will change as I adjust to life in the US and think back to my adventures here and the amazing people I have met and worked with.<span> </span><span> </span>I feel like 4 months ago I stepped into a time machine that set me back some 70 years to a world where electricity was a luxury and TV dinners didn’t exist yet. Along with that comes fresh home cooked meals without preservatives, a chance to enjoy other’s company without the distractions of iphones and a hectic lifestyle, appreciation for a good book, and the opportunity to learn how peanut butter and sugar are actually <i>made</i>.<span> </span>I’ve found we are so far away from where we get our resources and where the waste goes in the US that we loose focus on appreciating how technology allows us to buy pre-chopped veggies on the cheap and walk down litter free roads.<span> </span>Parents only need to register their child for a free education versus pulling a 80 hour work week just to afford for their child to attend school (forget trying to feed the family).<span> </span>As hypocritical as it is to say, I think I will struggle with reaccepting the American fussy, or dare be it, snobby lifestyle.<span> </span>The pharmacy doesn’t have your medicine in stock (hey at least it carries it at all, and they have change for your 20 dollar bill so you can purchase it the next day) or waiting in the line at the bank for 30 minutes because service is poor (a good day in Haiti will put you around 2 hours) will be some things I may have to resist slapping people over.<span> </span>Having services like public toilets (and ones that <gasp> flush!) and restaurants or gas stations to buy food in within spitting distance of each other is something we need to cherish a hole heck lot more.<span> </span>Personally, not squishing biting ants in ones bed each night will be a plus as well as not living in the equivalent of a sorority and fraternity combined (guest house, it was my choice mind you).<span> </span>Hot showers will also be appreciated.<span> </span>I would sum up my experiences in Haiti as a life where constant struggle of the simplest things absorbs a significant portion of ones life and there is little energy left for advancement.<span> </span>Then you throw shattered politics into the kettle and finding despair comes easier than solutions.<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>But this isn’t the mindset of the Haitian. They pray.<span> </span>They have hope.<span> </span>They smile and laugh.<span> </span>I think because life is tougher they are tougher.<span> </span>Put an American in a Haitian’s shoes and they’d die after a day.<span> </span>It’s mindboggling to me and I am so thankful I was able to be exposed to a glimpse of it.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So on that note I say “pase bon <span class="hps">vwayaj</span></span> Ayiti”.<span> </span>I look forward to seeing you and your progress again some day.<span> </span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-9099324938722951102011-11-29T14:40:00.000-08:002011-11-29T14:40:31.866-08:00Mamajuana - The Domincan Drink<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Goodness I’ve fallen a little behind in my blogging.<span> </span>So many things to write about.<span> </span>I suppose I should start with the story where I got the Tacoma hopelessly and very much stuck on our way to a job site.<span> </span>We (me and the 3 Haitians with me) were all assessing the depth and location of a drainage ditch as I slowly crept over it.<span> </span>I knew I’d guessed wrong<span> </span>when my side of the front of the truck fell down 2 feet.<span> </span>After a few “oh shuuuuts” (this is missionary work, no swearing EVER takes place….) I opened my door and fell out of the truck.<span> </span>The clutch peddle was level with the ground.<span> </span>After collecting myself and taking a few steps back I saw the full damage I’d done.<span> </span>The drivers side front wheel was sunk 2 feet down in the ditch while the opposite rear tire was floating 2 feet in the air.<span> </span>I happily handed the keys to Raoul after he asked me if I wanted to try and get us out or if I wanted him to.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>In true Haitian culture by this time a crowd had formed around us and people from all directions were “helping” shouting directions in Creole for the best method to get unstuck.<span> </span>Back and forth with much tires skidding and clutch burning Raoul miraculously got the car out of the ditch.<span> </span>I would have taken some pictures but I was too busy picking my jaw up off the ground.<span> </span>In USA we say always have 3 points of contact when off-roading.<span> </span>I have confirmed Haitians only need two wheels on the ground to recover a car.<span> </span>Incredible.<span> </span>When I returned to tell my story to my supervisor the first thing she asked me was if I’d gotten any pictures.<span> </span>Apparently this is a common occurrence.<span> </span>Raoul only laughed at my request to do it again so I could video it.<span> </span>I thought that was a splendid idea.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>After my exciting car adventure I headed off to the Dominican Republic where I met the beautiful Miss Sara for 10 days of fun filled travel.<span> </span>After 10 hours on a bus and crossing a border that felt, I image, something similar to a concentration camp I found myself in the booming metropolis of Santo Domingo at a hotel with a rooftop swimming pool AND air conditioning!!!!<span> </span>The next day after collecting our rental car (they gave us a nice flashy red one so we’d really blend in <snort>) with 2 inches of clearance and wheels no larger than a wheelbarrow wheel we headed off to the little town of Jarabacoa in the mountains.<span> </span>Here we hiked to a series of three waterfalls (two by mistake after adventuring off on a muddy steep path with a trail bridge down that we crawled underneath).<span> </span>We were joined on the trail by Paul from the Peace Corp who is a mechanical engineer and working in a town near by.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The next day we headed to Cabarete, world renowned for its amazing kite boarding.<span> </span>After reading about people who’d lost limbs and viewing images of faces being massacred from hitting the water of course I had to give it a go.<span> </span>Turns out it’s a little more complicated than a piece of cake.<span> </span>More like a 10 layered cake. <span> </span>The minimum lesson time required is 6 hours and most companies recommend 12.<span> </span>I had 2 hours before the wind died.<span> </span>The first part of kite boarding is all on beach just learning to fly the kite.<span> </span>I spent most of the time trying to stay grounded and avoid flying away <i>with</i> the kite.<span> </span><span> </span>The trainer kite they give you that rips you around is half the size of the one you actually fly in the water.<span> </span>Yipes!<span> </span>The next part is body dragging through the water where you practice flying the kite with your life vest on in the ocean and let the kite pull you around.<span> </span>This eliminates one extra object and sport to try and learn (the boarding part).<span> </span>The third part is putting all three together and not drowning, loosing some $3,000 of gear, and actually enjoying the sport.<span> </span>I got to level 1.<span> </span>Hardly.<span> </span>Too be continued at the Gorge in Oregon.<span> </span>Who’s with me?<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>As I was taking my lesson some young Dominican that works for the same company that my instructor was from came behind me to tether me (when you’re learning to fly a kite you need someone to help ground you or else you end up running all over the beach into people trying to control your kite due to the massive pull you receive from the kite).<span> </span>After he walked away and my instructor came back she explained he was one of the best kite boarders in Cabarete.<span> </span>He’s 18.<span> </span>When he was 8 years old he wanted to enter a competition one hour away but didn’t have money for the bus fare so he decided to wind surf down to the competition.<span> </span>About 1 mile offshore the wind died completely and he was left to paddle and survival sleep (cocooned himself in the kite) in his kite all night long on the ocean.<span> </span>Did I mention he was 8?<span> </span>Oh yes I did.<span> </span>Perhaps we’ll mention again that he was only 8.<span> </span>A fishing boat picked him up the next day some 4 miles out at sea.<span> </span>He came home, hung his kite up to dry and was out kite boarding the next morning.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The next day we backtracked to a splendid little series of waterfalls call 27 Chacos inland a bit.<span> </span>For 14 dollars you get a life vest, helmet, two of the most hilarious Dominican guides you’ll ever meet, and 4 hours of sliding and/or jumping down 27 waterfalls.<span> </span>The areas you can slide are actual rock formed from the waterfall itself.<span> </span>They are almost like a luge but made out of rock.<span> </span>The highest waterfall we got to jump off was 25 feet.<span> </span>To do so one must climb up wet slippery rock to a wet slippery edge.<span> </span>Because my brain doesn’t work on vacation I didn’t think that tennis shoes would be a good idea to bring for such an occasion so I arrived in sandals.<span> </span>The guides were quick to knock that idea down and I was given keds, of which I think had about half as much traction as my teva flip flops.<span> </span>This added to the adrenaline rush of walking down wet slippery waterfalls for 3 hours.<span> </span>We had a blast in a butt-slapping, nose-filling-with-water kinda way.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The next day we headed off to playa grande, probably the most beautiful beach in DR, where Sara snoozed and I entertained myself with a man trying to sell jewelry on the beach.<span> </span>After he realized I didn’t want to buy anything he plopped himself down next to my lounge chair and we chatted away in Spanish for a few hours.<span> </span>Anytime I didn’t understand a word he would draw or create the word in the sand so I understood.<span> </span>“Trampa” was my favorite (booby-trap) which he proceeded to dig a miniature hole in the sand, lay sticks over and a leaf on top.<span> </span>Priceless.<span> </span>We became fast friends (it doesn’t take long in DR) and after a while he had pulled out a little book in Spanish he carried in his back pocket (after seeing that I had been reading a book in English) and told me all about the funny stories in it.<span> </span>Anis, as his name was, became one of my favorite parts of the trip and made playa grande a lot more grande in my heart.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Next I drug Sara out to a little one intersection minuscule spit of a town on the eastern peninsula.<span> </span>Here we took a small motor boat to a remote island.<span> </span>Our captain was a charmingly attractive young man whom I loved mostly because he only spoke Spanish.<span> </span>Great opportunity to practice!<span> </span>While Sara spent 4 hours snorkeling and getting barnacles stuck in her toes and hands, our captain and I clambered off up the mountain looming behind us.<span> </span>The trail was pretty similar to rock climbing in that I used all four appendages most the time to hike in my sandals.<span> </span>Remember that whole brain on vacation thing?<span> </span>Finally I followed the example of my guide and just ditched the slippery suckers for better traction.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Never did I think I would travel to a Latin country and have a Latino be ecstatic for me to teach HIM how to salsa dance but thus was the case with Elvin our boat captain.<span> </span>At the top of the mountain we enjoyed breathtaking views of the ocean, a few bachata and salsa dances, and prickly sticker bushes.<span> </span>Pretty awesome last day in Dominican Republic and I found myself reluctant to leave.<span> </span>Dominicans will go out of their way to help you (as well as whistle or kiss at you too) and we found it easy to get around even on our most lost days.<span> </span>On the second day of our trip we thought it brilliant to shortcut it through the mountains rather than take the autopisto all the way around.<span> </span>Turns out the sides roads aren’t marked at all and we found driving 15 minutes and then asking someone on the site of the road where we were and how to get to the next town more productive then using the map.<span> </span>At one point a man in a delivery truck stopped next to us in an intersection, rolled down his window and asked us where we were trying to go.<span> </span>After rolling my window down and shouting back the town we were trying to find he led us through town to the road we needed.<span> </span>It was awfully helpful to have Sara with her platinum blond hair and short summer dresses along for those days we really got lost and needed help.<span> </span>At one point I recall getting out of the car and asking a very inebriated man (little did I know) which direction we needed to head.<span> </span>He was all smiles and happily pointed a wavering hand in the direction we needed to go.<span> </span>There were a few “I love you”’s and “Marry me”’s included in the directions.<span> </span>What a hoot. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So I have returned back “home” for a knockout three remaining weeks.<span> </span>In these three weeks I have some 20 houses to inspect, one last week long workshop to teach, overseeing the installation of trusses on our huge community center in Cite Soliel and helping Sue interview Haitian engineers to fill my place.<span> </span>Go BIG or go home I say.<span> </span>But not before one last vacation.<span> </span>I will be traveling with the Swiss up to Cap Hatien on the north end of Haiti this weekend for some exploring.<span> </span>Three Swiss expats that work with the Swiss Confederation here in Haiti have generously given me the last seat in their car so I can attend.<span> </span>Should be fun.<span> </span>I fear I will be the only one in the car that speaks less than four languages.<span> </span>Sigh…..sometimes us Americans just can’t win. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara feeding all the stray dogs in Las Terrenas. Felt like I was traveling with Jane Goodall</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elvin our boat captain and my faithful mountain hiking guide. Complete with Bachata music as we hiked.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santo Domingo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little mountain town of Jarabacoa</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Ferrari. I named it Horse spit</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salto Jimenoa near Jarabaco</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playa Grande</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_KVdkQx2A2uKa3B1VFhl_akBJgJRsEuJULOciFgLhz7rG9P9nMVKgnrpXFqLaYT76f17HWHJkzq00btOwT8VdS9izsVoC65pqNIAaW5XFvKCXXYR5LYJQuia-TyaaiYGjgTA1-wAYeq5/s1600/IMG_5856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_KVdkQx2A2uKa3B1VFhl_akBJgJRsEuJULOciFgLhz7rG9P9nMVKgnrpXFqLaYT76f17HWHJkzq00btOwT8VdS9izsVoC65pqNIAaW5XFvKCXXYR5LYJQuia-TyaaiYGjgTA1-wAYeq5/s320/IMG_5856.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friend Anis at Playa Grande</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I miss you all so very much and although life here in Haiti is quite exhilarating and thrilling I am ready to return home to a land where the temperature falls below 60 degrees and where I can hate myself for eating fastfood. Looking forward to a splendid holiday with the fam in addition to a new job and reconstructing my life in Seattle.<span> </span></span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-74224256402549392512011-11-04T07:12:00.000-07:002011-11-04T07:12:36.460-07:00Mom comes to Visit!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>This blog will be the blog of the mom visit mostly because nothing too out of the ordinary happened between the last blog post.<span> </span>Oh wait.<span> </span>I guess I did spend a day with our engineer prospect. <span> </span>And I do have the story of collecting a package sent from my darling brother and the lovely Caitlin Kiley (gf) (Side Note:<span> </span>DO NOT SEND ME ANY PACKAGES. <span> </span>Stay tuned to find out why) so let’s back that horse back up to last week.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Late last week I came back from a hard day in the field to find a little slip of paper from the Haitian Post Office signed out to me.<span> </span>After hearing horror stories from my co-worker about $20 fees for a few magazines that were sent to her I begrudgingly headed downtown in search of the post office.<span> </span>Once found I headed across the grass lot to collect my package.<span> </span>I was quickly steered over to four ladies sitting at a fold up table conveniently located under a tree in the yard.<span> </span>They had a box that said “Post Office”.<span> </span>Then after much hand motioning, blank stares and “m pa pale kreyol” I was directed back to the tent to pay my $5 (phew..only $5) to pick up my item.<span> </span>Not a moment before I was starting to think ‘what a simple process is it to get a package in Haiti’ did I get directed to another building across the grass lot and across the street.<span> </span>So close to my package…and yet so far away.<span> </span>I wandered aimlessly into this building across the street past all the employees who were sitting outside in the shade.<span> </span>One followed me inside and collected my ID.<span> </span>After filling out a form equivalent in length to one’s home owners loan paperwork, I was marched back across the street to the back of the tent and ordered to sit (which was commanded to me in French, then Creole, and finally English before I figured out what I was expected to do) while the postman went in search of my package.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>My package was placed in front of me, I was asked something in French which I quickly replied “oui” to and then those nice postmen did me the favor of opening my package for me (so NICE of them…..) and rooted through each and every item.<span> </span>I think they felt that to make the opening process a more fun surprise, it would be a grand idea to parade each item by my gaze and comment in French about how nice it was and how it would probably taste tremendous later.<span> </span>I gave them an annoyed stare as I glanced down at the slip of the package they’d given me prior to opening the package which said plainly in English “candy, magazine, Gatorade”.<span> </span>Upon completion of this process I sighed a deep sigh thinking FINALLY my package would be handed over since it contained no guns, drugs, or fruit and I would be on my merry way.<span> </span>WRONG.<span> </span>Once again I was marched away from my package (although this time open.<span> </span>Wasn’t expecting much to be in it when I returned) and across the street to collect my receipt.<span> </span>All receipts are hand written mind you.<span> </span>Getting quite fed up with the “system” I rushed back across the street, picked up my package and just walked off.<span> </span>Seemed to work.<span> </span>Didn’t get arrested.<span> </span>A few murmurs were directed towards me but I just kept walking.<span> </span>Thanks muchos Brother dear and Caitlin for keeping me in my sweets and cliffbars while I’m here in Haiti and giving me something to write about in my blog!<span> </span>That was fun to go through once.<span> </span>Please no more gifts folks!<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span></span></span><span><span></span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Following the package incident came the day in the field with Engener Jacqlyn whom I learned many things and am STOKED to have fill my place if MCC feels that is the correct path to take.<span> </span>He did a nice job of professionally and politely admitting that the work that was done in between when James left and I came (without supervision) was pretty poorly done and the reasons for it.<span> </span>An engineer here in Haiti plays the part of engineer, architect, contractor, subcontractor, and sometimes as far down as the mason if they have to.<span> </span>This means Engener Jacqlyn can pick out things I’m not used to picking out (like incorrect aggregate size for mortar in a final product) and giving me important recommendations from his experiences in the field (like the absolute necessity of renting a concrete mixer to get a proper mix ratio because it is simply too much work to do by hand and the masons just wont do it correctly).<span> </span>Plus I got to practice my Creole because he spoke very little English!<span> </span>I find myself following most conversations in construction pretty well these days but if the topic switches to “the weather is nice today” or “what did you do this weekend” I’m pretty lost.<span> </span>Funny but this type of conversing doesn’t get you too far in the bar.<span> </span>Or the office for that matter.<span> </span>Bummer.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So on to the mom visit.<span> </span>We had a most fabulous time giggling away at the cultural differences here and jarring the snot out of ourselves driving around.<span> </span>Mother now appreciates a good pothole.<span> </span>Like a good loving daughter, I whisked her off from her redeye flight to a full day of affairs.<span> </span>We visited Pastor Yvon and the church where I taught my workshop out in the countryside.<span> </span>The next day we slept in tell 6am <span> </span>and rose for church (in French) followed by amazing eggs and bacon from the local equivalent of McDonalds only with real eggs and real bacon.<span> </span>Probably more grease though.<span> </span>Haitians looooove their cooking oil.<span> </span><span> </span>Next it was off to the beach but not before buying peanut butter patties (sorta like a payday only a million times better)…..um 15 actually….for the two of us on our way out.<span> </span>You never know when your car might break down.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Monday Mom got to job shadow and meet the MCC staff.<span> </span>We hit almost all the projects I had been working <span> </span>since I’ve been here including some nice steep off-roading through downtown PAP.<span> </span>This might become Mom’s new favorite pastime.<span> </span>Or not.<span> </span>Everyone just loved her and she chimed right in with the eclectic group we have here in Haiti.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Our remaining few days were spent freezing our bones off up in the mountains (it got down to 60 degrees!<span> </span>BUuuurr!) and telling little Haitian children that no, we didn’t want to give them one dollar and also that we didn’t want to pay for their school.<span> </span>I’m sure glad I brought my translator up to the mountains with me.<span> </span>Apparently ritzy resorts aren’t so fond of speaking Creole and insisted on speaking to me in French.<span> </span>One problem.<span> </span>Julie doesn’t remember her French.<span> </span>BUT MOM DOES!<span> </span>After dusting off her 40 year old French we made out just fine.<span> </span>Service doesn’t really come with a smile anywhere in Haiti (and sometimes the service hardy comes) so we felt content with our waiter’s 36 degree warm personality.<span> </span>Once we convinced him to come wait on us of course.<span> </span>We <i>almost </i>got a smile out of him at the end. <span> </span>After our glorious time spent up in the mountains at an incredible lodge we headed out for a hike along the ridgeline of beautiful Haiti.<span> </span>Check it out folks.<span> </span>Haiti hides its beauty with poverty so foreigners won’t discovery what they are missing not visiting here.<span> </span>Pretty clever.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Mom and my’s favorite part of the hike was our turn around point.<span> </span>A few peasants had come up with the clever idea to install a sort of road block toll.<span> </span>Mind you this is out in the absolute middle of no where.<span> </span>The road block consisted of a single row of cement blocks with two vertical blocks in the middle acting as the gate for moto taxis.<span> </span>Never mind the fact that one could merely WALK over the block with little effort.<span> </span>We stood dumbfounded for a few minutes watching the commotion as motos would approach the “gate” and decided instead of exhaust all my Creole to get through, to just turn around.<span> </span>Hiking in Haiti is a little less fun with the attention we attract from the locals and after 2 hours of hiking we were mentally done with our hike.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>All in all we had a splendid time and I haven’t been that full for a very long time.<span> </span>It was just peachy to finally be with someone who appreciates food and eating as much as I do.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>On another note we had a few members of our Haitian staff attend orientation in the United States these past two weeks.<span> </span>Orientation is designed to orient (duh) those who work or are going to work for MCC about the organization and all the wonderful things they <span> </span>are doing globally and have done in Akron, PA.<span> </span>Some national staff here in Haiti have never been to orientation due to difficulties to obtain a passport.<span> </span>For some this was their first time to the United States so a special trip to NYC was planned.<span> </span>Never had they seen so many fat people in their lives.<span> </span>There were so many that they had to come up with a special classification for those that were beyond fat and obese.<span> </span>The word that developed was Walmart.<span> </span>I think on the way to NYC their guide stopped at Walmart.<span> </span>Here is where the fattest of the fat shop apparently (hey, it’s true!) so as the Haitian staff spotted an obesely obese tourist in NYC they would say “Look, another walmart”.<span> </span>I was snorting and spitting out my lunch today when our Haiti rep informed of this.<span> </span>I have seen one obese person here in Haiti and I think by American standards we could classify her as fat.<span> </span>Amazing what not having access to cars does for people’s health.<span> </span>I also think it’s due to the fact that you can’t buy chocolate without a refrigerator.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>On the opposite of fat, our skinniest Haitian staff member who went couldn’t stand American food and lived off of Insure for the whole two weeks he was there.<span> </span>I’m not sure (no pun intended) how Insure is better than American food.<span> </span>I’d say that’s a pretty big slap to our culinary skills.<span> </span>Although I would have to say that when Haitians cook in bulk they eliminate those pesky preservatives that make my stomach churn and everything is pretty much organic.<span> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsVQ2KochdjAb0Lvi7G_FRGphdDGegtzaV3kEblP09cIMyHU4TWb9E_HRi2NKR4uPa9l0QqxWeG7rCJQ4WIIe2bo3gUyBMuosYhQWs414aUvR6VVw40Q9TiIvGlG32TgssHdaI3TpHTUl/s1600/IMG_5558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsVQ2KochdjAb0Lvi7G_FRGphdDGegtzaV3kEblP09cIMyHU4TWb9E_HRi2NKR4uPa9l0QqxWeG7rCJQ4WIIe2bo3gUyBMuosYhQWs414aUvR6VVw40Q9TiIvGlG32TgssHdaI3TpHTUl/s320/IMG_5558.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Brother and Caitlin for sending me my Halloween costume to Haiti. The Haitians got a kick out of it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilckUXUKX2W8YOL3T9YpZAPEeC8jf-ldRjqZejXlQJOxZpnHks_BCYk3LPBr4z2KLT_0KtLXLU6LuESyPysOlXoCY1nOUG-Eoxg7tDoMyNKVEzYePZ9H8DgCNp2sDFTuaQUe2x5mrFE6tJ/s1600/IMG_5460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilckUXUKX2W8YOL3T9YpZAPEeC8jf-ldRjqZejXlQJOxZpnHks_BCYk3LPBr4z2KLT_0KtLXLU6LuESyPysOlXoCY1nOUG-Eoxg7tDoMyNKVEzYePZ9H8DgCNp2sDFTuaQUe2x5mrFE6tJ/s320/IMG_5460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us with Pastor Yvon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN78YWb489COsxVnkkTsKEqjz4ciTHgQKYG1WJKOXA-YRrHi1fOnrsGWU9em06D4Uer9Pe-FAL9B7blVEHRzlyiMuaeSTFJ41vkAT4F2ncDUms6aJDCWH-OlbuLsUxHd7xLvxdt6YL_Jar/s1600/IMG_5470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN78YWb489COsxVnkkTsKEqjz4ciTHgQKYG1WJKOXA-YRrHi1fOnrsGWU9em06D4Uer9Pe-FAL9B7blVEHRzlyiMuaeSTFJ41vkAT4F2ncDUms6aJDCWH-OlbuLsUxHd7xLvxdt6YL_Jar/s320/IMG_5470.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom soaking up some rays at the beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK-QrWD8CxnnjhZURJWetUD7qLkEWgVnYngoX7wgXl4IbwAgdom_Z3suHRCQXvMkP3Hj4g7DB-rRk-wWWFLBb_jbpRnK6kaB3DKwxvdgKFZyOV9SWmaD7brLH-G_kfGoH-Ivze_Zrumn8/s1600/IMG_5500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK-QrWD8CxnnjhZURJWetUD7qLkEWgVnYngoX7wgXl4IbwAgdom_Z3suHRCQXvMkP3Hj4g7DB-rRk-wWWFLBb_jbpRnK6kaB3DKwxvdgKFZyOV9SWmaD7brLH-G_kfGoH-Ivze_Zrumn8/s320/IMG_5500.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My translator up in the mountains at our resort called "Lodge". Pretty appropriate name I'd say. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIy2GJ3MWSORFeDWxObPSHrqs7vY1Dyv4s2iHX5C3oH-n3j0Z4p0N9OAV2gEtvgsJHJWF8quOyaIX5I2P-1b2dTlTVvIMFktKNbo02qf-3t8XgF9VTU4SG8yEQkwIPuWQp8qHW-1veLCc/s1600/IMG_5520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIy2GJ3MWSORFeDWxObPSHrqs7vY1Dyv4s2iHX5C3oH-n3j0Z4p0N9OAV2gEtvgsJHJWF8quOyaIX5I2P-1b2dTlTVvIMFktKNbo02qf-3t8XgF9VTU4SG8yEQkwIPuWQp8qHW-1veLCc/s320/IMG_5520.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Haiti</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY6d5MkrCkCumyxKTeDy6JZ4pjYuZ3NIqIIzbLSABVa85MB65QqLzIK2fnpWa8bS2nP_36n8cjgVwcvsibMMMGJmpDy3MEjMw5fHzGSwJTzZdDb446O3jklc8poCThcedKR7Tv5qQ2oYy/s1600/IMG_5521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY6d5MkrCkCumyxKTeDy6JZ4pjYuZ3NIqIIzbLSABVa85MB65QqLzIK2fnpWa8bS2nP_36n8cjgVwcvsibMMMGJmpDy3MEjMw5fHzGSwJTzZdDb446O3jklc8poCThcedKR7Tv5qQ2oYy/s320/IMG_5521.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along our hike. Believe it or not they garden all over these hills. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d4YRvgwm34XCpthWwvffmuwIsYTcXwCGlZ3gjjIGBh_o4dShqDiD6cpvErH7bIcBrDnvmPwADgBCNJAEKlR0rQ-zMTAx8uwPpdqIGTOxNcr6ai2hCPLvSfe-9_dW8Uz0Ph0Hwrm6Yjyh/s1600/IMG_5526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8d4YRvgwm34XCpthWwvffmuwIsYTcXwCGlZ3gjjIGBh_o4dShqDiD6cpvErH7bIcBrDnvmPwADgBCNJAEKlR0rQ-zMTAx8uwPpdqIGTOxNcr6ai2hCPLvSfe-9_dW8Uz0Ph0Hwrm6Yjyh/s320/IMG_5526.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrots and onions being carted to town</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Ok well I’ve bored myself with my blog so I’m sure you’re sawing logs at the moment.<span> </span>WAKE UP.<span> </span>Off to one more day of work and then a fun filled weekend of…well…probably working.<span> </span>Headed to the Dominican Republic in a few weeks though for Turkey day with Miss Sara Sieteski.<span> </span>Now if she would just buy her ticket!<span> </span>Hope you all are amping up for the Holidays and having a glorious time freezing your bones off and making snowballs already.<span> </span><span> </span>Sounds cold over there.<span> </span>Me, I got sunburned yesterday.<span> </span>Brag, brag, brag.<span> </span>At least you have electricity.<span> </span>Till next time!</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-81570135303739650162011-10-21T05:18:00.000-07:002011-10-21T05:18:21.904-07:00Toothbrush ants<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Alas my first week long training workshop was not a complete failure!<span> </span>Actually I believe it went quite well.<span> </span>I’m not sure who learned more; my students or me.<span> </span>What a blast it was to see the results of my teaching visually before my eyes in a building.<span> </span>After day one in the classroom the remainder of the week was spent starting construction of a classroom for a church community just outside of Port-au-Prince.<span> </span>I believe I spoke about this in my past blog.<span> </span>Well the remaining three days were filled with adventure.<span> </span>Thursday’s adventure consisted of a flat tire and waiting at the hardware store for 2.5 hours for materials.<span> </span>I arrived on site at 1pm.<span> </span>Class ended at 2pm.<span> </span>Whoops!<span> </span>Sue mentioned that the most stressful aspect of these workshops for James when he was here was the fact that nothing goes as planned.<span> </span>I agree.<span> </span>No one has plans.<span> </span>And if there is a plan no one really follows it.<span> </span>Plans are more like weak guidelines.<span> </span>And it’s not like in the states where flexibility is defined as having plans but if things go wrong we simply replan in a jolly fashion.<span> </span>Here even if you have a plan and something comes up you can’t replan if something goes awry because the person or organization you are attempting to replan with has no plans.<span> </span>Or concept of planning.<span> </span>Forward thinking isn’t even an afterthought here.<span> </span>I tried this the first day when we were arriving late.<span> </span>I mentioned to my translator that even though we didn’t have the materials to start building, the masons could start carting blocks back to the building site.<span> </span>This thought was so silly to him he didn’t even bother translating it.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I’m learning that Haitian mentality is how can I get rich fast and not have to work a day in my life.<span> </span>Haitians don’t like to work.<span> </span>The goal is to become educated and get an office job so you can sit behind closed doors and not really do anything besides receive your paycheck.<span> </span>They don’t realize that you have to work pretty gosh darn hard to make a good living.<span> </span>And that’s not to say that most Haitians don’t work pretty gosh darn hard.<span> </span>I’d say they work crazy hard.<span> </span>But they don’t want to.<span> </span>And they don’t see that as success.<span> </span>Success is finding a way in life where you can bask in your pool with your martini ordering others to do your work.<span> </span>In the states being unemployed is, let’s face it people, pretty embarrassing.<span> </span>Even if you are receiving unemployment or another source of financial support being unemployed is not desired.<span> </span>Even retired people find a job because we just like to work.<span> </span>Wow, as I write this I’m beginning to see how weird minded we are.<span> </span>Or obsessed with work?<span> </span>Hmmm….Please note I am not talking about official employment here.<span> </span>Being a stay-at-home mom or dad is a full time job in my eyes.<span> </span>But the point I’m trying to make is Americans (well at least most anyways) <i>like</i> to work.<span> </span>Maybe this is because for the most part people’s career selection is actually what they enjoy and is a large piece of who they are.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I was talking to a Haitian man the other day.<span> </span>We met for drinks on his way home and he said “I had a really bad day.<span> </span>I worked today”.<span> </span>Now this guy is a very successful business man who lives in a nice home and owns his own car.<span> </span>So he’s financially very stable.<span> </span>Basically the equivalent to middle class in the US and yet he’s unhappy.<span> </span>He doesn’t like his job because he was forced into business rather than pursuing his ideal job as an architect or construction manager.<span> </span>These jobs don’t make any money so Haitians steer their children away from them.<span> </span>Even if it leads to discontent.<span> </span>But in the US we stress obtaining a degree doing what you “love”.<span> </span>As I write I realize that it’s not only in Haiti they do this.<span> </span>Ok here we go with the stereotyping people.<span> </span>Bear with me.<span> </span>Asians commonly veer towards high paying careers revolving around computers.<span> </span>Middle Easterners (even women who will forever be stay-at-home moms) choose medical, computer and engineering paths regardless of a passion for it.<span> </span>So why in the US do we get a PhD in History and teach at a middle school and are totally content?<span> </span>Is it because we didn’t grow up in poverty (and people, poverty in the US is NOT poverty) and have absolutely no concept of what it would be like to go back.<span> </span>Maybe when you grow up with nothing maybe it’s more common to shoot for the absolute top to get as far away from the bottom as you can to avoid falling back in the hole?<span> </span><span> </span>I realize these are drastic categorizations/stereotypes/assumptions (whatever) and there’s several carrots in the apple basket but makes you think huh?<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I’ve been doing a lot of thinking of what is actually best for Haiti and how to instate sustainability here rather than just feed and clothe people for the rest of the universe’s existence.<span> </span>NGOs and the UN are the reason food is at an obnoxiously high level (you won’t get a plate of food at a US equivalent restaurant here for any less than $15 and the standard is closer to $20.<span> </span>Most people make $3 a day) but we can’t exactly pull out now.<span> </span>People have become too dependent.<span> </span>So the #1 solution is providing education and jobs maybe?<span> </span>Don’t hire an expat engineer.<span> </span>Train a Haitian engineer.<span> </span>Don’t bring in a group of US construction workers.<span> </span>Train Haitian labors and hire them.<span> </span>But the complication comes with the will to work hard.<span> </span>And I don’t really think that’s in the mindset here.<span> </span>At least professionally.<span> </span>Or if it is here it’s a far cry from the “Haitian Dream”.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>In the engineering side of things it seems that they kinda just don’t care.<span> </span>Some do.<span> </span>Most don’t.<span> </span>Some of the problem lies in engineers that were educated 50 years ago and haven’t really engineered since then (i.e. limited technical skills).<span> </span>Another part of the problem lies in the “I don’t really give a sugar” because I have a home, wife, and car and you aren’t my close family so why should I care about you or making the house you’re building structurally adequate when I can build cheap and pocket more mullah.<span> </span>Along the same lines (but the reverse) is “This engineer is my brother so he wouldn’t do any less than quality work and I will use him in all the house construction in our village”.<span> </span>Never mind the fact that the man never went to engineering school and that all the houses he built fell down during the earthquake.<span> </span>That was due to voodoo not poor construction!<span> </span>Muuhuh?<span> </span><span> </span>Another cultural aspect is the fear of offending. <span> </span>An engineer doesn’t exactly tell his brother, the mason, to tear down an entire wall because it’s constructed poorly.<span> </span>Flip that around and you have the other situation.<span> </span>Engineers come out to a site and make the mason tear everything down solely for power control.<span> </span>What a mess!<span> </span>We have all this in the US but the difference is we have a code to back people up.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Ok I’m gonna take another site track.<span> </span>If you’re lost please catch up cause this is some deep Julie thinking.<span> </span>Opinions are gladly accepted.<span> </span>The voodoo thing.<span> </span>People are diehard Christians here yet polygamy is practiced regularly and voodoo is feared.<span> </span>Even people who claim they won’t touch voodoo with a 100 foot stick still believe in it (or perhaps fear it).<span> </span>So going out at night when people are possessed and turn into chickens (yes, exact words from a Haitian I was talking to and he wasn’t talking mentally.<span> </span>He was talking literally.<span> </span>This guy is a very advanced Haitian in his mental thought process and slightly Americanized as well) is avoided.<span> </span>I came to realization that voodoo is Haitian’s way of defining the mentally handicapped or clinically ill.<span> </span>Think about it.<span> </span>If you saw a person walking down a street erupt into a tirade of seizures and you have a second grade education level (at best), my guess is diagnosing a case of epilepsy won’t exactly be the first thing that comes to mind.<span> </span>Pretty fascinating stuff.<span> </span>Too me.<span> </span>I’ve probably bored your balls off.<span> </span>Sorry.<span> </span>What were we talking about?<span> </span>Oh yeah my workshop.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So after two days of charades and using 2 French words with 3 Spanish words combined with 1 Creole word to complete a sentence I realized my need to have my translator come back.<span> </span>So Friday consisted of a 3 hour review on site as I worked from the foundation up and reiterated all the things I’d taught them that week with visual demonstrations using their own work.<span> </span>They asked super great questions and honestly we really learned together.<span> </span>I stressed the importance of building how you know how to build and not trying to build like France or Nicaragua or Seattle, WA.<span> </span>I also stressed that the building method in Haiti IS strong and it CAN resist earthquakes if done properly.<span> </span>They taught me about what’s hard to find and the reasoning behind why they’ve switching to building the way they build (poorly).<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Saturday night I headed out dancing yet again but this time solo.<span> </span>It’s actually more dangerous for me to pick up my friend and then drive her home (and then myself home) then just going alone.<span> </span>I met my new found salsa instructor friend at the dance studio and we conversed back and forth; me butchering his language and him royally confusing me with his English.<span> </span>You can imagine the conversation we had, especially with salsa music pumping in the background.<span> </span>This time I took our Land Cruiser.<span> </span>What a beast that thing is.<span> </span>Best part is the chains that rattle against the back as you drive which closely resembles a tank or some sort of World War II military ambulance.<span> </span>Anyways I called it an early night to get home at a reasonable hour. <span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Sunday I was invited to a Haitian birthday party from one of the men I’ve been working with in a partner organization.<span> </span>What a neat experience that was.<span> </span>He is more in the upper middle class here in Haiti and lives high up in the mountains with 11 acres.<span> </span>The cool thing is his house is so cute and reasonably sized and he has such a cute family and community.<span> </span>There was a live band and another English speaker that was invited to the party and I had a blast.<span> </span>Few Haitians approached us to meet us but that is to be expected.<span> </span>Neither of us spoke great Creole so that was quite a barrier.<span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Today I drank a coke that was bottled in Haiti that had some large chunk in it.<span> </span>Instead of spitting it out since it was a gift from Pastor Yvon (and he was sitting right next to me) I simply swallowed it whole.<span> </span>If I’m dead tomorrow you’re all my witnesses.<span> </span>Sorry, totally random but I just remembered that.<span> </span>I just can’t stop thinking about the thumb in the coke story that went around in junior high.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>This week has been spent returning to the school we are building to make field inspections.<span> </span>I’m super excited because MCC I think is going to move toward hiring a Haitian Engineer to replace me when I leave.<span> </span>I think that is definitely the best move for the next 3 years for sustainability.<span> </span>I’ll be working with a few candidates in the next few months before I leave.<span> </span>Another idea I had is taking a few block makers in the community where Pastor Yvon is to a testing facility.<span> </span>We will break a few of their blocks so they can see themselves the strength of the block they are producing.<span> </span>Then we will take them to a block factory and show how things are done there.<span> </span>We’re calling it a field trip.<span> </span>My idea is to try and work towards getting block makers on the street to adhere to correct block making since many many families are still buying these blocks to rebuild even though they are of poor quality.<span> </span>Many of these block makers add SIKA product to their blocks to improve the quality.<span> </span>I want to see how this affects the strength.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>In addition to the block maker field trip I am planning to visit 4 or 5 technical schools to see what they are teaching masons and engineers in their classes.<span> </span>Should be interesting.<span> </span>So I’m not really sure why I gave myself three more jobs on top of the ones MCC has given me while I’m here but I s’pose it’s cause I’m passionate about finding solutions that Haitians suggest, not how US or Canada, or wherever suggest.<span> </span>My assumption is if they suggest it and we find that it’ll work, it’s more likely to stick and be done.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well I’m half way through my time here.<span> </span>I feel that I’ve really adapted to Haiti.<span> </span>I only stall the Tacoma once a week instead of twice a day on the steep hills here.<span> </span>I have developed the bad-ass mean face as I walk around so people don’t bother me (advice given from one of our partners out in the country).<span> </span>I know how to say food, sleep, and bathroom in Creole.<span> </span>I think it’ll be quite a shock to move back home in December but I am incredibly excited for my new position at Boeing and to settle back into life where my heart is truly at.<span> </span>Still, I’ll miss picking ants out of my toothbrush and following the cockroaches back to bed after a midnight bathroom run.<span> </span>I will NOT miss the almond tree outside my window that gladly drops almonds on the land cruiser’s metal roof below.<span> </span>Sounds like a gun shot and I swear I loose a year of my life every time it happens, which is daily.<span> </span>Shoot, that’d make me what…….90 something right now?<span> </span>I will also not miss sweating profusely each and every day.<span> </span>I think my skin will not miss the deet I apply to it every day.<span> </span>The grocery store is going to miss me though.<span> </span>I keep them in business single handily with the amount of chocolate I purchase each week.<span> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHK6TV66zrlbnPFUd_a5rfeRv12Cnpz7RCJqNEbkOpA2xqbSL3Jl6b7zQQmzwnZn3JznQh_pQbW7I6JDOGSU-_5SDFWAT3bwc6Odrgoy_LTt64O738tijDKKYamjAmrTyDBkkb2h4O2tjm/s1600/IMG_5310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHK6TV66zrlbnPFUd_a5rfeRv12Cnpz7RCJqNEbkOpA2xqbSL3Jl6b7zQQmzwnZn3JznQh_pQbW7I6JDOGSU-_5SDFWAT3bwc6Odrgoy_LTt64O738tijDKKYamjAmrTyDBkkb2h4O2tjm/s320/IMG_5310.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World War II Ambulance (aka Land Cruiser). She's a beast</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My students during our workshop</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How to make stirrups for tieing rebar. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They all graduated!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seat of the Land Cruiser. Too funny when you're in salsa dancing outfit</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Ok kids, that’s all for now.<span> </span>Miss you all so very much.<span> </span>I’m headed to the mountains this weekend for some hiking, an attempt at running on the ol’ knee, and some mad exploring!</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-85032349704568884912011-10-11T19:46:00.000-07:002011-10-11T19:46:22.963-07:00Mmmmm....cow skin<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Two words for you.<span> </span>Goat’s blood.<span> </span>Three more words for you.<span> </span>I ate it.<span> </span>Yup!<span> </span><Proud Smile>.<span> </span>Sadly it was Manje but I felt since he’d already sacrificed himself for us (or a member of our Haitian staff had sacrificed him for us) I may as well make use of the…blood?<span> </span>Needless to say it was kinda like escargot.<span> </span>Very flavorful but the texture is far from palatable.<span> </span>I’ll also have you know that I did infact eat mr. New arrival goat and I knew this because the meat was much softer.<span> </span>One of our Haitian staff members educated me on how eating younger goats and meat is much tenderer so that is how I will know which goat I’m eating.<span> </span>Manje was an old guy.<span> </span>Apparently.<span> </span>Other odd food items that can be recorded in the Julie book of fine-dining (or not so fine-dining in some cases) is cow’s skin. Love the cow meat here. <span> </span>Skin, however, is a whole other ballgame.<span> </span>I must not be 100% Haitian yet because my translator jumped out of his chair at my offer of cow skin to him including the piece I’d bitten off my tasting chunk from.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So last week was met with the wedding weekend which evokes many stories.<span> </span>First off, coordinating cars to the wedding was a bit of a headache (and that’s being kind).<span> </span>At one point I got excited thinking we would get to take the limo.<span> </span>Of course the limo here is the cattle truck which holds a heap load of people who sit on wood planks in a truckbed in the same orientation we would at the front of the bus facing each other (kinda like a limo?!?!).<span> </span>Add an ice chest with some drinks and you’re there in my book!<span> </span>Alas due to the fact that American’s and Canadians are born and bred to plan plan plan, rides were eventually found for everyone sans limo.<span> </span><Sad Face>.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The wedding was gorgeous and very Americanly done.<span> </span>It even started on time!<span> </span>And only lasted 1.5 hrs!<span> </span>WOW!<span> </span>It was higher up the mountain where the air is cooler and a tad freer of polluting smog.<span> </span>I think the most memorable thing in this wedding for me would be the assumingly French lady wearing her odd masquerade hat from the Rhett Butler and Scarlet era.<span> </span>(See picture below).<span> </span>It’s a tie between that or throwing rice at the bride and groom as they ran out.<span> </span>Who gets to do THAT anymore in the US?<span> </span>I just learned tonight from one of the men who went to Kurt’s (groom) bachelor party that it is THE tradition in Haiti for bachelor parties to go get pedicures and manicures.<span> </span>No that’s not a typo, and yes I did mean to type “bachelor”.<span> </span>Sounds silly but here’s the scoop.<span> </span>To not work with your hands in Haiti is an honor.<span> </span>It shows you are wealthy and educated.<span> </span>Put two and two together and you can see what manicures and pedicures will do for your social status.<span> </span>Men will even grow their nails out a smidge for extra gloating rights.<span> </span>Try keeping long nails as a mason.<span> </span>Forget it!<span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So after the happy couple made their way to their honey moon we headed farther up the hill to a bakery.<span> </span>YUM!<span> </span>Most memorable part about this bakery is that it had a petting zoo, church, cholera clinic, restaurant, and missionary guest house.<span> </span>Ok…so the bakery was only part of this Fairmont Baptist Mission but that was what I was going for.<span> </span>The petting zoo was a depressing sight with a single pitiful sign in the middle of many animals in cages that explained how all the animals had been injured and were being kept in captivity for their own protection.<span> </span>After seeing the grounds man beating several peacocks back into their cage we wondered where exactly the “injuring” had taken place.<span> </span>I have completely desensitized myself from animal abuse over here.<span> </span>If I didn’t I’d probably set up shop with my new vet clinic and be known as the “blah moun fou” (crazy white lady) who believes in nurturing animals.<span> </span><span> </span>I’d be dirt poor and out of aid supplies in the first hour.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span><span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--><span>Ok enough sad animal talk.<span> </span>On to sad engineering talk.<span> </span>Really it’s not sad, just mostly inspiring and quite the learning curve.<span> </span>That was just my transition sentence which many a-writers would frown at the irrationality of but alas here we are onto the engineering side of things so I supposed it worked?<span> </span>Unless you have derailed and are on your own train of English studies.<span> </span>Alas I digress.<span> </span>The workshop pulled through and I find myself in my first week of a training workshop.<span> </span>Talk about drinking through a fire hose.<span> </span>The workshop consists of a 3-4 hour power point presentation given by yours truly.<span> </span>The location was quite a hoot.<span> </span>It was held in the old church that was fractured so badly it is considered non-repairable and thus the reason for my presence (teaching a workshop to build a new church).<span> </span>Nothing brings it home quite like a presentation with real life examples.<span> </span>So as I explained out-of-plane and in-plane fractures I simply left my slides and walked around the room pointing out massive cracks.<span> </span>Funniest part was the fact that they decided to arrange the classroom chairs under the half of the building where the trusses had been completely split midspan during the earthquake and were holding the roof up by an act of God alone.<span> </span><span> </span>I was thankful my location at the front of the room was near an exit.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span><span></span>Gary, my translator, is a wonderful Haitian man who worked with James (professor whose place I filled) during his some 11 or 12 presentations.<span> </span>I came to realize about an hour or so into it that he really didn’t need me there as he has pretty much memorized James’s presentation.<span> </span>The point at which I realized this was when several students were asking questions.<span> </span>I thought Gary was speaking back to them to clarify exactly what the question was so he could then translate it to me.<span> </span>It wasn’t until he stopped abruptly and turned to explain to me that he already knew the answer to the question and informed me of what he was telling them that I realized my ignorance.<span> </span>All was not lost as I was still needed for the enginerdy questions which came later and in much abundance.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The questions I was asked during my presentation were not at all like I’d expected.<span> </span>Which is to be expected I suppose?<span> </span>One thing my students kept accentuating was the fact that many times materials are purchased by the homeowner for the mason to build with.<span> </span>So the mason has no control over what materials he buys and if he wants the job he must build with those materials.<span> </span>It seems the weak link is not in the mason’s knowledge but in the ignorance of homeowners in Haiti.<span> </span>Which means we have to educate them all!<span> </span>Hah! Good luck on that one.<span> </span>The most popular question of the day is “I need to feed my family.<span> </span>How can I be competitive in my field when you are asking me to spend more money on materials and spend more time on a house when I can build two in one day”.<span> </span>Every answer I came up with was met with a reason why they can’t do it.<span> </span>One thing Haitians are good at is complaining. This was evident during my class.<span> </span>They aren’t so motivated to find a solution and instead are more motivated to tell you all the things wrong with what you are proposing.<span> </span>Regardless many of the things I’ve been told by other engineers here or James seemed quite silly as I was presenting.<span> </span>I was confirmed of this as each time all the masons would erupt in laughter and give me the “moun fou” look.<span> </span>My favorite, the STOP DROP and COVER method for earthquakes.<span> </span>Tell that to someone who has actually BEEN in a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and you’ll realize you only have time to STOP.<span> </span>Dropping happens naturally as you are being thrown back and forth.<span> </span>Forget covering.<span> </span>Another fun one was explaining the need for watering concrete for 7 days to help the curing process when these people barely have enough to wash their hands with it.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>None the less I felt quite a sense of accomplishment after my 4 hours of having 19 little beady eyes looking at me and pelting me with questions.<span> </span>I must admit I think I learned more than they did.<span> </span>They also had some great alternatives to what I was proposing of which would require more investigation before confirming acceptable.<span> </span>Haitians are not less intelligent then us educated smarty-pants.<span> </span>They’re just poor.<span> </span>You’ve got to be genius to build well in a poor country!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Another fun and common thing in Haiti is organization.<span> </span>Or lack there off.<span> </span>And forward thinking.<span> </span>So after affirming yesterday that the pastor of the church we are building for will have the materials this morning at 8am, we get a call at 6am this morning saying he was unable to do that.<span> </span><span> </span>Thus four hours of our six hour field work today was spent driving to and standing in the hardware store waiting for materials to be shipped from another store uphill down.<span> </span>I should look up the word for preordering in my creole-english dictionary but I’m pretty confident such a word doesn’t exist here.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>So today’s few hours was spent teaching 18 masons how to build a confined masonry church.<span> </span>I left out telling them the part where I’ve never built a confined masonry church (or building in general) ever in my life.<span> </span>An interesting discovering today was the complication from single rebars within the concrete blocks.<span> </span>This is typical construction in the US but today has assured me this is NOT a good idea in Haiti.<span> </span>It just doesn’t work.<span> </span>I mean it can work, but not for the technology they have here.<span> </span>I had talked to a few people from another NGO that were using these techniques to build here and were having quite a lot of difficulty in getting the masons to build this way properly.<span> </span>I can see why.<span> </span>I never realized the strategic measuring that must be done to align all these single rebars so that they are within the blocks in both directions.<span> </span>If you align the block holes with the rebar then your block count is off and you are forced to chip blocks smaller to get them all to fit.<span> </span>NOT good! All the poor building I have seen in the past month I now know WHY it’s done.<span> </span>So today’s lesson was how to arrange the blocks to minimize chipping and using small block pieces or thick mortar joints to fill the gaps.<span> </span>We were successful!<span> </span>Needless to say I still hate the person who built the foundation with those single rebars.<span> </span>Peoples, leave your United States building in the United States!!!!<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I think my favorite part of today was seeing my lil’ students all dutifully wearing their hardhats.<span> </span>Apparently a hardhat here in Haiti gives you the official I’m-smart-and-I-mean-business look.<span> </span>No ringing their necks to wear them was required.<span> </span>In fact I didn’t even comment that that’s what they were there for.<span> </span>They went and grabbed them themselves.<span> </span>Too adorable.<span> </span>Well the remainder of the week should be quite a bit more entertaining as I’ve said <i>au revoir</i> to my translator and must now express myself in Creole.<span> </span>Nothin’ like being thrown into the pack of wolves.<span> </span>I need it though.<span> </span>Up to this point I really haven’t had too much of a need to speak Creole.<span> </span>Most of the Haitians I’ve encountered either speak English or are salsa dancing with me and I’m silently glad they can’t speak English and I can’t speak Creole.<span> </span>One of my students actually was bold enough to outwardly say it would be much better if I was fluent in Creole.<span> </span>I agree!<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>There is an engineer in this group that took my class that MCC has decided to snatch up and see if he’s any good.<span> </span>I will be taking him out in the field to assess houses next week and “Test” him a little to see what he knows.<span> </span>He built a house in the same area as the training prior to the earthquake that has not even a single crack.<span> </span>Nothing quite like testing your own design than a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in a high ground water area (aka unstable soil).<span> </span>Cross your fingers he is good and maybe could take my place?!?!<span> </span>My opinion is we need to hire a Haitian engineer, not another expat to do this work.<span> </span>That is the only way to be sustainable.<span> </span><span> </span>Plus he speaks the language, he’s DONE the work himself (all engineers have to work as foreman for 4 years I think.<span> </span>Wish we did this in the states), and he knows the culture and barriers against his students.<span> </span>Brilliant I say!<span> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGDhs-Jc0_YBl69QMef6kcue2Jc-DUH2B_VHwShfIfjpl89DxgeWxrBaUQM-UhLqafz3Mur4t60rt2G13dQkjQaieU-pYz8q7pt8VHplaI4mLzq1h6G58KbMe_C3bkUoRsGhRyYBV8MYo/s1600/IMG_5201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGDhs-Jc0_YBl69QMef6kcue2Jc-DUH2B_VHwShfIfjpl89DxgeWxrBaUQM-UhLqafz3Mur4t60rt2G13dQkjQaieU-pYz8q7pt8VHplaI4mLzq1h6G58KbMe_C3bkUoRsGhRyYBV8MYo/s320/IMG_5201.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can we say WHOOPSIE on that design? This is the Palace. Sue said she saw a man with a wheelbarrow wheeling across the roof the other day removing ruble. Only in Haiti.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedding Day!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy hat Lady. I was secretly jealous. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Happy Couple being pelted with rice. You can see how much Kurt was enjoying it. Classic shot!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classroom. Notice the enormous splice in the bottom chord of the truss. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiq1Z0XBVE6sJK9dx8KzyNfn8ONPT-s0bWV-nmLQHPDmpLddT4F1Y6l-fJrIPr40X3dqJuodF0pERX1vnMN8DEb7u3hUuK55kKPZ8CUjSXE6M5x0lGS71_JozxJ2m37nA4ocwxRMGxKoVv/s1600/IMG_5280.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiq1Z0XBVE6sJK9dx8KzyNfn8ONPT-s0bWV-nmLQHPDmpLddT4F1Y6l-fJrIPr40X3dqJuodF0pERX1vnMN8DEb7u3hUuK55kKPZ8CUjSXE6M5x0lGS71_JozxJ2m37nA4ocwxRMGxKoVv/s320/IMG_5280.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my students. Check out those hardhats! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2w-vBbQJtOBRZiGuMcY1DnqsgSrPxvqJR8U1HNMkiCXwYirYTLAde9pAECtd3zF9-Vx521Ap-O-hjXwrvvmgpoQfhkaFr36Gyc4RqdmwsLxJhWeQB878yrNk5srpgQ2ifdi1RVYHNSKoG/s1600/IMG_5284.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2w-vBbQJtOBRZiGuMcY1DnqsgSrPxvqJR8U1HNMkiCXwYirYTLAde9pAECtd3zF9-Vx521Ap-O-hjXwrvvmgpoQfhkaFr36Gyc4RqdmwsLxJhWeQB878yrNk5srpgQ2ifdi1RVYHNSKoG/s320/IMG_5284.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary my translator</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ2dmNzMZWKVjRE6OImwr1lIbMs6Hi8ukceRSd16DCx3JHnz72U_RW0IyalpbWwdBeGFoXGZkrrdbvXCD9764WwknQI8cPnUqfNbKI5jUiIUWPOheUyBIC7CV0TGFORmZ7hCarESsNFpE/s1600/IMG_5261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ2dmNzMZWKVjRE6OImwr1lIbMs6Hi8ukceRSd16DCx3JHnz72U_RW0IyalpbWwdBeGFoXGZkrrdbvXCD9764WwknQI8cPnUqfNbKI5jUiIUWPOheUyBIC7CV0TGFORmZ7hCarESsNFpE/s320/IMG_5261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome viewpoint overlooking Port-au-Prince. We are looking North. If this country wasn't so poor it would be crawling with tourists. Already kinda is. We call them service workers. Same idea. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Bottles up for 3 more days of learning for Julie!<span> </span>Clink!<span> </span>Hope you all are doing well!<span> </span>FYI, I’ll be available for moonlight contracting work for building confined masonry homes when I relocate back to Seattle.<span> </span>We’ll have to hire Haitian masons to do the grunt work though cause I think they’re the only breed that can handle the labor.<span> </span></span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-58207611829888224032011-10-03T20:54:00.000-07:002011-10-03T20:54:19.661-07:00Manje the Goat<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well this week’s blog will most definitely have to start out with Saturday night’s salsa dancing extravaganza.<span> </span>Raoul, one of the men from an organization I’m working with (Raoul I told you you’d make it in my blog soon!<span> </span>Fair warning!) informed me of a club which has salsa dancing Saturday nights and also teaches lessons during the week.<span> </span>After dragging two other MCC employees around by day to locate both this club and another few dance clubs to get times and cover charges, I selected this venue for Saturday evening.<span> </span>I dragged a friend of a friend who had a reputation for enjoying dancing (not salsa dancing mind you) out with me.<span> </span>She lives about 20 minutes away from my house in the opposite direction of the club and since it was dark by the time we were to head out, it was necessary for me to go collect her in our company truck before heading up the hill to our destination.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I will have to say that this driving trip to pick her up goes down in my book of “firsts” that are so amazingly absurd they require documentation.<span> </span>I spend most of my days on the road driving from site to site and thus am typically instructed to take back roads from my fellow carmates to avoid traffic jams.<span> </span>This has gotten me exceptionally knowledgeable of all the short cuts and back roads, however I can’t for the life of me find my way around on any “main” (I use the parenthesis here because main doesn’t necessarily mean paved or it good condition) road.<span> </span>Then you add pitch black to that and forget figuring out where you are.<span> </span>So I stuck to my roots and headed out in my Cinderella sparkle 3” high dance heels and red Toyota Tacoma to her house.<span> </span>Of course back roads here can hardly be compared to logging roads in the US.<span> </span>No that’s much to tame of a comparison.<span> </span><span> </span>I’d say they are more approximately simulated with serious off-roading in the US.<span> </span>You know that recreational sport men do where the main goal is to see how far one can drive before getting stuck?<span> </span>Then they proceed to spend the remaining 10 hours of their day winching themselves out?<span> </span>Yep that’s transportation at its best in Port-au-Prince, and my evening commute.<span> </span>And you know what’s hard to see when it’s dark?<span> </span>Dark people!<span> </span>Which we have a lot of here.<span> </span>And they walk to get everywhere.<span> </span>Summary of the last two paragraphs:<span> </span>It’s quite challenging to off-road down a street in the dark avoiding Haitian children, grownups, and dogs alike in Cinderella sparkle high heels….while laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of it all THE ENTIRE WAY.<span> </span>Needless to say I made it to her house with no injuries to myself or any surrounding people or objects.<span> </span>Off to the club we went!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>We arrived at our destination safely and after waiting for a Voodoo priests to finishing putting a hex on our car (yeah..don’t ask cause I really can’t explain that one) we made a break for the club entrance.<span> </span>We of course arrived at the dance club much too early which was both good and bad.<span> </span>Bad, because we soon realized our much hoped bedtime of 10pm (and more importantly getting off the roads at a decent hour) was not going to be met.<span> </span>Good, because we got personal attention from a dance instructor at the club who joined us at our table and remained there for the rest of the night.<span> </span>So needless to say my dance card was quite full.<span> </span>By the time our new found friend had “advertised” me for a dance or two many other strapping young (and old) gentlemen game to request a dance.<span> </span>I contemplated the entire night how best to describe the setting and aura of the club in my blog and I think I’ve figured it out.<span> </span>I’d say it was 1950’s American ball meets Latin performance showcase meets Haiti.<span> </span>Not a single soul in that room, aside from my friend and I, had had less than a year of weekly dance lessons in Rumba, Cha-cha-cha, Bachata, Salsa, and Tango.<span> </span>I found myself leaving my street style hip bumps and shoulder shakes at home and uprooting some of my best (or at least what I’d seen on TV) formal performance dance frame combinations.<span> </span>The 1950’s American ball atmosphere was brought about from men kindly asking you to dance, walking you up on stage (from behind to make sure you got up the stairs ok and then in front once feet hit the dance floor), and then thanking you for the dance and returning you to your seat, regardless of how far your seat was from theirs.<span> </span>Quite the process just for one dance.<span> </span>You think they’d double up or something on the number of dances they had with each lady.<span> </span>More bang for your dance!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The evening’s festivities proved to be quite enjoyable and we both had a blast.<span> </span>Come 11:30pm we decided to head home.<span> </span>Earlier in the evening Sue (lady I live with) had sent me off with a final note saying “If you feel like you’re being followed on your way home when you arrive at our gate don’t get out of the car.<span> </span>Just honk your horn to wake the guard across the street and myself and we’ll come out”.<span> </span>Since that doesn’t scream 100% security we will just note that my solo drive back to my house after dropping off my friend was done at a much faster speed then I will openly admit.<span> </span>The suspension on the Tacoma might have seen happier days as well.<span> </span>Never has simply going salsa dancing been such an outing (and such a heart stopper in entirely NOT the way you would think) and yet I’m sure I will do it again soon…maybe this Friday.<span> </span>I just be a livin’ on the edge…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>This coming weekend we are all happily preparing for Kurt’s (our MCC Haiti rep..aka: boss) wedding.<span> </span>The start of the weekends festivities include a party this Wednesday at the guest house/office.<span> </span>For the party Kurt has purchased a goat which he offloaded into our backyard last week to graze and plumpify.<span> </span>I believe I have mentioned said goat in previous posts.<span> </span>I regret to inform y’all that a terrible no-good-very-bad-thing has happened and that is that I have BONDED with mr. goat.<span> </span>He has sort of become my new county fair 4-H project (we can thank the lovely Sally Sandoz for that description).<span> </span>Of course bonding here can be defined as feeding it stale leftover toast from breakfasts and apple cores.<span> </span>After going a week without naming the poor devil I’ve succumbed and titled him manje (“food” in Creole).<span> </span>Manje is a black little goat who got loose Saturday and required quite a bit of coaxing (more of that bonding stuff) to return to his pasture out back.<span> </span>He bhahhs and complains all day until you head out to feed him something and then he shuts up while you chill with him which makes eating him seeming less and less appealing.<span> </span>I have been notified that we will be getting one more goat tomorrow as well (a friend for Manje! Oh joy! <tear>) so I hope to bond a little less with the new arrival so that I may be able to slightly enjoy my feast on Wednesday.<span> </span>I intend to reiterate to myself as I’m eating goat at the party that it is NOT Manje but instead Mr. New Arrival.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>On the engineer front (since I suppose that’s what I SHOULD actually be blogging about) it looks like I will be teaching my first workshop next week if everything goes as planned.<span> </span>That being said and with my given 4 weeks of experience with Haitian organization, I think there will be about a 50% chance of that happening.<span> </span>Regardless I am excited for a change of pace and will be working with my translator this week to make sure the process goes smoothly.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>After getting lost for an hour and a half on Sunday in a cattle field on our way to church (what a mucky off-roading experience that was in our Sunday’s finest) we headed over to my “problem-child” site (City Soleil with the community center and long spanning trusses) to take down some measurements for the trusses we are planning to have built.<span> </span>This community center is a concrete fenced in area with a soccer field and several buildings.<span> </span>When we arrived a boy’s soccer game was in full session with kompa music cranked at an ear piercing level.<span> </span>I can not explain the sense of achievement and excitement I had at that moment to be a part (even though I haven’t really been involved until these past few weeks) of such an impressive project.<span> </span>This is a project that is providing a safe location for the city slums to instate a sense of community without the fears of what remains on the exterior side of those walls (not gonna lie, it aint puurty folks.<span> </span>A local doctor was murdered last week and some have started burning down tent camps near by).<span> </span>They say a picture is worth a thousand words.<span> </span>So that means a video must be worth, what, a billion or so?<span> </span>Thus, I took a video which I will attempt to download onto my blog to provide a visual display.<span> </span>If you look closely as the viewport pans from left to right past the concrete soccer field you will see a Haitian man in a green shirt walking towards me dancing.<span> </span>Little did I know that this man (Daniel, the man who is overseeing this project and who I am working with) was walking towards me.<span> </span>Little did he know I was videoing. <span>:)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwjNBPZO8IGXS9M1kNt8kPBYBM_ANoppL_ZmSKGlZwyG-SQBUH4r0K_TcTZU21l83Tn7qZWJXdVQ7Lo_YekeQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well I suppose I better put my pretty little head to bed.<span> </span>Until next week, I hope this blog finds you well and without a goat in your backyard who has become your friend whom you must eat on Wednesday.<span> </span>Night!</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-27069335940523374472011-09-28T12:51:00.000-07:002011-09-28T12:51:11.017-07:00Crutches<div class="MsoNormal">Well it’s only appropriate to start this week’s stories off with one of my favorite things in life. Those who know me especially well will appreciate this story that much more (Mom, Dad, Bro). On Saturday Sue (75 year old lady I am living with in the guest house) offered to cook a gourmet meal of mac and cheese for us for lunch. Of course I agreed and off she went to cook up our feast. We settled down at the table, said grace, and famishly (yes I know that’s not a word Sara) began our meal. Not ten minutes into our scrumptious lunch did I hear a high squeak and a whhhooomf. I looked into the kitchen to find Noche (one of our two cats) had just made her meal as well. Good thing Julie is not at all squeamish about mice and small critters (yah right!!!!). And while eating…no problem. Noche ran to join us in the dinning room to “eat” with us although I soon realized she wasn’t as interested in eating as she was in playing. I did all I could to contain myself as I hear “squeak”…whooopf…..”squeak”….whooophf behind me as I’m ingesting my meal AND attempting to focus on our lunch-time conversation. Noche, in parallel, is having a grand ol’ time catching and releasing el mousy. I lasted about two minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore and put both feet up on the chair next to the one I was sitting in while constantly racking my brain on a mouse’s ability to climb up chairs. I put Sue on guard duty. She was to inform me of the where abouts of cat and mouse. Regardless of where cat and mouse were she was supposed to tell me they were WAAAY behind me in the living room behind a couch. That worked until Noche decided to bring “dinner” into the dinning room and more specifically under my chair. All I can say is the amount of will power it took for me to not scream and run from the room probably could have solved world hunger. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tasting my mac and cheese was long gone as well as the feeling in both my legs from being elevated on the chair next to me. This process continued (along with the leg numbness) until two mac and cheese noodles were left on my plate and I saw out of the corner of my eye the mouse scampering off down the driveway and Noche not far behind. She came back empty handed…and I wanted to stand on the table and do a praise-the-Lord dance. I didn’t. Now I can’t decide if I hate cats more than I did before or less. On one hand she DID get el mousy out of the house (more specifically the kitchen where I was to be washing the dishes soon) but she sure as shootin’ took her time. A little less play, a lot more action kitty! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The things I see on my site visits every day continue to boggle my mind day in and day out. Of course the usual collapsed 5 story concrete building amongst hundreds of peoples houses in the city is getting to be the usuz’ as well as the 4-wheeling to get to sites. But the beneficiaries we meet for each house is another story in itself and can range from someone who has (or atleast says they have) a pain in their foot (but are fully walking….and here you can typically call walking hiking) to the man in a crutch with one leg missing. Let’s emphasis on that one. I’m becoming convinced that the disabled here in Haiti could probably be equivalent to the standard American man or women and the fully abled here in Haiti are closer to our Olympic athletes. No, I’m gonna go with stronger than our Olympic athletes. The other day I was driving down the highway when I realized a young boy <i>running</i> on his crutches aside a car that was fishing through their purse to give him some money. I still to this day have no idea how he collected his pity cash while crutch-running along. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Crutch story #2 goes like this. Our last house we visited one day was owned by a man on crutches. Best part, he owned the whole 4 stories but lived on the STOP story. We in the good ol’ USA would say “no problem, he uses the elevator”. We expats would laugh very very hard at that theory. Don’t worry, story gets better. After showing us the lowest level we all head for the stairs which turn out to be twisty and in several places only 3 inches wide with no railing and a shear drop off (mind you this is practically in the dark as there is no lighting in the hallway). I gulp at the thought of MYSELF walking up them and remind myself to check each foot as I go up. Crutch-man effortlessly starts up them. When he’s half way up he gets a message on his cell phone. Out comes the cell phone and he continues up the stairs reading a message I’m sure was much more important than paying attention to his crutch placement. At the top last few stairs I see a little puppy in the house scampering about that he veers around all the while still checking his message. As I’m reliving this experience through writing it I laugh at the thought process that goes through ones’ head when this situation arises. First thought is feeling sorry and wanting to offer to help. Second moment consists of being frozen in place and awestruck of the disabled person actions. Third and final thought is the realization that this person is much more capable then you with 2 legs and 2 arms and maybe you should focus on helping yourself and not them. As I’m scampering over obstacles to get to the job site some 50 hands come from all directions to help me, the female “blah” in tennis shoes (never mind that the beneficiary is in high heels). I gladly take them all with not a shameful bone in my body. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well all good stories have to have a traumatic paragraph or two to keep the reader enthralled with the story. Last Thursday and Friday will provide this section of today’s blog. It appears I have a reason for last weeks’ randomness in my blog and that is because, unbeknownst to me, I was becoming deathly ill. Ok so maybe it was just a horrible two day flu bug but still! Thursday morning found me upchucking out of both ends (sorry if that’s TMI) with a fever of 102 degrees. Fevers of that level when you are lying in a room that’s 90-some degrees isn’t a whole lot of fun and advil became my new dear friend. At least I was upstairs away from our entire staff and could bask in my own misery, right? I soon found out not so much. Eklann, one of our cooks, was upstairs during my first upchucking session and raced downstairs to tell the entire staff. Next thing I know staff members are coming up in stages to get the full report. I soon found my business was everyone’s business and most everyone knew of my bowel movement as well as all other movement, fever, what I’d eaten, you name it moment by moment throughout the day. Apparently this is the norm in Haiti. I was in good hands and by the second day felt much better. No idea what I had but one thing’s for sure. I’m ok not having it again. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">A few more funny stories to shown the randomness of life in Haiti. A few months ago Sue (75, 5’7”, white, female) had to have a physical done to fill out some paperwork to remain in country (we don’t need work visa’s here but basically same idea). She really balked at the idea so Joseph (39 but looks 20, 5’0”, Haitian and as black as they come, male) offered to go in her place. So he did. Came back the next day from the doctors with all of Sue’s forms filled out and set to go. Not two weeks later did another gal in our office (24, white, female, 5’8”) need to have the same physical. Off went Joseph to the same doctor and came back once again with all forms completed. The MCC office died laughing that day. I did as well when was told the story. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Famous advice from a Haitian: If you can see water in a pothole that’s a good thing because you know it has a bottom. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As all stories end on a happy note I would like to tell you all that Kurt our MCC Haiti rep (the boss) is engaged and is to be married in two weeks to a wonderful Haitian women. I’m excited for the wedding and all’s its’ festivities expect for one thing. He bought a goat for the wedding feast and it stands bahing and grunting out in the backyard. It’s really quite a helpless (and dumb) little animal and proceeds to wind and twist itself around the pole it’s tethered to until someone comes and rescues it. Joseph, our book keeper, takes it for daily walks around the house and has taken dibs on being the one to kill it. Eww. When first it landed in our backyard I got all excited about our new pet and racked my brain for a lovely lil’ name for the obnoxious sucker. Now that I know I will be eating it in two weeks I’ve decided it’s better for me mentally to keep as far distance as possible. Hmmm I suppose I failed slightly at my happy ending. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi012x3cuG0HnhxPPH1EB_tBk3NCZ1n5nbeThdLZds9a3t9meWCnyw3KEiIFG35_RbWoUiN3CLKfMu-gRgZzNq7AaavR6xIioGq8ZQM_-ejRt3KEbitNyq6at3j_RfczE1H4tdxnC1z1Dpu/s1600/IMG_5154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi012x3cuG0HnhxPPH1EB_tBk3NCZ1n5nbeThdLZds9a3t9meWCnyw3KEiIFG35_RbWoUiN3CLKfMu-gRgZzNq7AaavR6xIioGq8ZQM_-ejRt3KEbitNyq6at3j_RfczE1H4tdxnC1z1Dpu/s320/IMG_5154.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crutch man's 4 story building</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvweDeDO1UZ3jvKbGQQPKRC_kIoF98enETlYi4LWCd6dCPRKuHrDdagLl7clf37TLrIqkhGB2pkYTx6_7edLRpWbUTs4tw43JacdYWu_V6GQxgf2LYltrcWDQ-KTYyQKJ1QnblZD4nyoO/s1600/IMG_5150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvweDeDO1UZ3jvKbGQQPKRC_kIoF98enETlYi4LWCd6dCPRKuHrDdagLl7clf37TLrIqkhGB2pkYTx6_7edLRpWbUTs4tw43JacdYWu_V6GQxgf2LYltrcWDQ-KTYyQKJ1QnblZD4nyoO/s320/IMG_5150.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section of Port au Prince</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFu06unQVp2j1m2GNlJnfkoquEnz1ztOddn7AHt54UEpxXudYuWQSh14KB5ud4S6PO_Xik6Ew0tcTb0W8hQMZd796iIU8sykRmwtf8F6Qj7w2ZGHFPIdTgrH1UWejNW99xaJTNqXB3gjF/s1600/IMG_5152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFu06unQVp2j1m2GNlJnfkoquEnz1ztOddn7AHt54UEpxXudYuWQSh14KB5ud4S6PO_Xik6Ew0tcTb0W8hQMZd796iIU8sykRmwtf8F6Qj7w2ZGHFPIdTgrH1UWejNW99xaJTNqXB3gjF/s320/IMG_5152.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can we say this failed?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFFK3_1_K71pDqW2SWj8W2eu4W5cMJwduEphLX20hxFQWnp3ZwB7rmrG5y8muG-bnlH8dxF4Snfq9lKccgAIjyq47VrR7C7g3sIRr1IZVAJw4kficwMSTJAuVXo86Hi8leMuuC8_Sd2SW/s1600/IMG_5153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFFK3_1_K71pDqW2SWj8W2eu4W5cMJwduEphLX20hxFQWnp3ZwB7rmrG5y8muG-bnlH8dxF4Snfq9lKccgAIjyq47VrR7C7g3sIRr1IZVAJw4kficwMSTJAuVXo86Hi8leMuuC8_Sd2SW/s320/IMG_5153.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two men I've been working with this week. Left is Doniel (Engineer Tech) and to the right is the mason. Never got his name. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ok well on a happier note I am headed to an engineers meeting tonight which should give me the opportunity to meet other local engineers. Tomorrow there is a big drum festival in celebration of a famous Haitian drummer who just recently passed away. I have also been informed that there is salsa dancing every Saturday from 5-8pm up in a good neighborhood of town. I am dragging our new staff member along with me who confesses she doesn’t know how to dance at all. Should be entertaining although maybe that’s not the best way to make friends with the staff? Only one way to find out. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span> </div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-37079141121825491452011-09-21T19:08:00.000-07:002011-09-21T19:08:34.300-07:00Fresh Gingerbread<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well another week has whisked by so I suppose it’s time to write some more about Julie life in Haiti.<span> </span>We shall begin with the weekend.<span> </span>Saturday adventures included driving 1.5 hours or so north of Port-au-Prince to a beach called Onuagu (or something of that nature) for a posh beach experience with five other volunteers from various organizations.<span> </span>Most beaches in Haiti are private and have some sort of entrance fee.<span> </span>Depending on the ritziness of the beach that fee may include lunch.<span> </span>Ours appeared to be that of a wealthy vacation spot for locals and thus included nothing in the entrance fee aside from a grass mat to put on our wood lawn chair.<span> </span>What a gorgeous joint though (see picture below).<span> </span>We began our day at the beach with a jolly fine swim.<span> </span>I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned the amount in trash in Haiti once or twice yet but it deserves a third time if not.<span> </span>There is heaps and piles of it here….everywhere…..so you can imagine my surprise when we arrived to our beach destination and it was clean as a whistle.<span> </span>Rest assured I was quickly comforted by a plastic bottle floating by us as we swam out into the ocean.<span> </span>And another.<span> </span>And then one more.<span> </span>It appears Haiti has a undiscovered sea urchin which I call the “bottlefish” which is constantly breaching.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I think you all know of my fear of underwater creatures and unlike others who prefer clear water, my motto is the muddier the better (less to see). <span> </span>Needless to say not ten minutes after we’d swam out did my had graze across something most definitely squishy.<span> </span>It took three more of us to encounter squishy experiences before we realized we’d found some jellyfish. <span> </span>Thus ended my interest in anymore swimming and I made my way to shore as the rest of the folks goggled and googled at the jellyfish floating by until a few more got stung and then followed me in suit.<span> </span>I believe I touched the top of my jellyfish and got away sans stings.<span> </span>The others weren’t so lucky but their stings were fairly minor.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I am slowly and surely finding my way around the engineering world in Haiti.<span> </span>It is difficult to combine engineering design I did some 3-4 years ago in Seattle for building design with Haitian design techniques (and no design code) to build the safest structure.<span> </span>Did I mention I left ALL my code and design books at home?<span> </span>Really racking the long term memory for guidance.<span> </span><WARNING: Enginerd talk about to occupy a brief spell of this blog>.<span> </span>Not only does one need to design for an earthquake in Seattle or California, we also must look at hurricane wind loads from Florida.<span> </span>So you have to design a lateral system that can sustain seismic forces with their confined reinforced masonry system (which is kinda impossible to calculate in the same fashion we do in the USA and is more designed using percentages of things) and then try to design a roof that wont become a giant airplane wing during a cyclone.<span> </span>That all sounds fine and dandy and fairly simple but it’s really quite the opposite.<span> </span>Especially with 2 weeks on the ground in Haiti.<span> </span>And then if all that isn’t complicated enough, you have to find a way to build ALL the above by hand.<span> </span>And when I mean by hand, that does NOT include power tools OR electricity.<span> </span>To exhaust the severity of this, another good example is the fact that they make gravel by hand here.<span> </span>Some dude sits on a pile of already chiseled gravel with a hammer beating larger rocks into smaller ones.<span> </span>Even getting water to a site can be quite obnoxious as some sites are up on mountain tops with only a little foot access path.<span> </span>In addition some sites require my best 4-wheeling skills to get to in a little Tacoma truck (most days are spend with my heart in my throat as I drive to said sites).<span> </span>It boggles my mind getting a truck up there to carry all the cement bags, water, and rebar.<span> </span>I think we all have a lot to learn about intensive labor from Haiti.<span> </span>The design part is easy.<span> </span>It’s the building part that requires the engineering.<span> </span>All of these problems are typically fairly simply resolved when it’s a house.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Of course that would make my life easy so James (Calpoly professor) left me a huge community center with a clear span of 28’ and 50’ long that I have to find a specially fabricated roof for.<span> </span>This week has been spent meeting with a Swiss engineer (did I mentioned a fine looking young man?<span> </span>My boss has decided she’s going to play matchmaker) who had metal trusses specially fabricated for a school he designed.<span> </span>I also met with a dutch family that packed up and moved to Haiti some 30 years ago and is now the mass producer of wood trusses for Haitians.<span> </span>Only glitch is their largest truss span is 8 feet.<span> </span>Whooops!<span> </span>Luckily they have done ONE building in the past with a span roughly the same as mine which they had a truss company in the USA engineer.<span> </span>And they had the truss calc sheet for it.<span> </span>Phheew!<span> </span>Now we just need to get Haitian engineers who’ve never worked with wood trusses to install 300 lb trusses correctly (using only manpower of course).<span> </span>Hah!<span> </span>Should be entertaining.<span> </span>This is the most combobulated engineering feat I’ve done yet.<span> </span>Will definitely be videoing that installation.<span> </span>Ok enough nerd talk.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I definitely don’t have a shortage of driving stories here seeing as that is what I spend majority of my time doing.<span> </span>Unlike many of the workers in my office I am lucky to have the opportunity to really experience Haiti and all it’s poverty as I visit site after site of houses in need of repair day by day.<span> </span>And my Creole is improving!!!<span> </span>Ok, not really.<span> </span>But I try anyways every time I have a spare moment in the car with another young Haitian who is very very patient and helpful with my dilapidated attempt at his language (especially when I bring crackers for us to munch on).<span> </span>I am getting more and more motivated to improve so I can order fresh gingerbread made daily down the street from the guest house from a lady off the street.<span> </span>Wow, how did I get from poverty to gingerbread so fast?<span> </span>My dinner tonight consisted of a can of tuna fish.<span> </span>Maybe that’s why?<span> </span>But I digress….so poverty..yes…there’s a lot of that here. <span> </span>But the nice thing is majority of people aren’t deathly skinny or really too skinny at all.<span> </span>Just the dogs (SNIFF).<span> </span>It is still astounding however the mass of people who’s homes are so fractured that they are simply un-repairable by our organization’s budget.<span> </span>Rebar (that is supposed to be cast within concrete) has been exposed to rain for so long it’s of the same consistency of charred wood but weaker.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>My amazement most days however is how the 4 or 5 or 6 Haitians I visit these sites with each day can find each house with ease.<span> </span>I mean these houses are basically a maze off the main route.<span> </span>Driving only gets you so far.<span> </span>Next you must wind your way up concrete or dirt foot paths among many many many houses (most in desperate need of repair) right and then left and then two more rights and so on.<span> </span>By the time we arrive at the house they may as well have just blindfolded me and turned me around in several circles and airlifted me into the site.<span> </span>Forget orienting myself.<span> </span><span> </span>But they don’t miss a lick and hit each house on the nose!<span> </span>My favorite part is watching 4 or 5 fully grown Haitians cram into the back of my Tacoma in those ½ back cabs or whatever they are called with the little fold down chairs that we in America think getting one person in the back is achievement.<span> </span>Even better, I found out yesterday one of the lady’s crammed in the back is pregnant and bumping and bouncing right along with the rest to our destination.<span> </span>She darn near delivered prematurely that day as we were waiting for a street corner man to fix a flat I got driving to one house and had to drop her off early.<span> </span>I think by the end of this adventure even when someone tells me Hitler is still alive and they’ve solved global warming I’ll barely bat an eye.<span> </span>Each day’s surprise is more interesting than the last.<span> </span>One things for sure; I sure can’t complain of a dull minute in Haiti.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Wow, excuse those last few paragraphs.<span> </span>I was all over the plate on that one.<span> </span>Don’t think Mrs. Belgard my 9<sup>th</sup> grade AP Language Arts teacher would be very proud of that last paragraph structure.<span> </span>Probably cause there wasn’t any.<span> </span>You all still following?<span> </span>I’m lost.<span> </span>Well I suppose that’s all the news I can report this week.<span> </span>Life is pretty chill in the evenings with my absence of any social life besides pilates with the mosquitoes out on the back porch (these sessions are consequentially quite short).<span> </span>On a side note for those of you who don’t know I’ve accepted a job with Boeing as a product review engineer in Everett, WA.<span> </span>Not sure when my start date will be but my hiring manager is very supportive of my time here in Haiti as long as I give a full report upon my arrival so we’re still working out all the details for a start date.<span> </span>I’m super stoked at my new position and location as my best friend Elizabeth also just got a job in the same factory.<span> </span>I will be working on all parts of the 767 (I think) finding fixes for glitches during construction.<span> </span>Basically I’ll be climbing through airplanes all day with my measuring tap.<span> </span>Plus this means trail running at lunch for my first 100 miler as there are trails right next to the office!<span> </span>How perfect is that?<span> </span>I’ll just be jumping right into that training after not having run for over half a year and recovering from a stress fracture in my knee.<span> </span>No prob.<span> </span>Peace of cake. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CE9Hqk4zj0gob9xYlTCf5DgY10XuxcCWfB3mgZSvYvoWfmi5wEHU7O9PzeThDt9qLlQwkM-bK-DKC3k0T-lyUEc8MVzRQABwJXBqTguMa1lCUPzna7_TvAaTqMWwLYfGaLvpPI4ypBaN/s1600/IMG_5053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CE9Hqk4zj0gob9xYlTCf5DgY10XuxcCWfB3mgZSvYvoWfmi5wEHU7O9PzeThDt9qLlQwkM-bK-DKC3k0T-lyUEc8MVzRQABwJXBqTguMa1lCUPzna7_TvAaTqMWwLYfGaLvpPI4ypBaN/s320/IMG_5053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My view from the water. The Jellyfishes view too little did I know. </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sC4ZFP2d-UkR1YALOGv9DJD6tq7QT6B79hj12iaEjVQ2B4MJkNA7kGQO6SQC16eBxOzbkwiXxqbUAGAMyZwGkS7ip11V8ZaOJ-27t47JVIjMnbiC2tx8O3Pctb1Qb8m-AKeE4lpr3vN7/s1600/IMG_5032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sC4ZFP2d-UkR1YALOGv9DJD6tq7QT6B79hj12iaEjVQ2B4MJkNA7kGQO6SQC16eBxOzbkwiXxqbUAGAMyZwGkS7ip11V8ZaOJ-27t47JVIjMnbiC2tx8O3Pctb1Qb8m-AKeE4lpr3vN7/s320/IMG_5032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoUQDpaRPqGY0h0N1kpEQJA-5_UY5_43eLwHHFq2wXWlPnPI3LDD0oOIQ8dTjpM01lrPxDgHk2NDhs6rKfndiFFnR-NJ5R8tt_uvN1wP8gsC2LwTRYOyp77UEMAHFf9hAqC1kdcZY_Ahd/s1600/IMG_5058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoUQDpaRPqGY0h0N1kpEQJA-5_UY5_43eLwHHFq2wXWlPnPI3LDD0oOIQ8dTjpM01lrPxDgHk2NDhs6rKfndiFFnR-NJ5R8tt_uvN1wP8gsC2LwTRYOyp77UEMAHFf9hAqC1kdcZY_Ahd/s320/IMG_5058.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the people I have been working with. The man in blue is Doniel. He is the patient creole helper. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTCaeQ-70Lqa2uxCthFBMWU6lziV8NfVoeBfX7HbwDaPHDkXx91-gUl5mBI1NIYnEQ1zyEAQcYuOeuOiI5CTwLCEcNGVzIXfTQev5DFD_ODEAUGo56s9jenLghFkQEwU9XT0GCvY6Se23/s1600/IMG_5057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTCaeQ-70Lqa2uxCthFBMWU6lziV8NfVoeBfX7HbwDaPHDkXx91-gUl5mBI1NIYnEQ1zyEAQcYuOeuOiI5CTwLCEcNGVzIXfTQev5DFD_ODEAUGo56s9jenLghFkQEwU9XT0GCvY6Se23/s320/IMG_5057.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To the right is the beneficiary for this house. His wheelchair is useless as his house is on a mountain top and requires some serious hiking by the average two pod man to get to. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Ok all well it’s been fun.<span> </span>Excuse the randomness of this blog.<span> </span>I’m gonna blame it on my 25% deet bug spray that I apply more often then lotion.<span> </span>Till next time may you have a happy-happy and a merry-merry!</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-112967211521680342011-09-15T18:29:00.000-07:002011-09-15T18:29:18.407-07:00Julie goes Bonkers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Reason #1 why I love Haiti: I think I’ve found the new LA diet.<span> </span>Move to Haiti.<span> </span>Your body spends its whole day being an air conditioner and snacking isn’t a common activity practiced by the Haitians.<span> </span>Chocolate costs more than cars (and good wine) and the energy and creativity involved to cook a meal is far beyond me by the end of the day.<span> </span>To purchase a pastry from the bakery you have to first know what said bakery item is called sans labels, purchase it at a totally different counter and then wait in a hectic line to pick up the pastry.<span> </span>Most of the complications come from not being assured a cold fridge 24/7 which means for green meat after day two in the fridge (yes, we juveniles ate it the first week but never again) and powdered milk.<span> </span>But where there’s a will, there’s a way and I’m sure I’ll be able to crack the code and put on weight.<span> </span>I’ve never failed me before.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Reason #2 why I love Haiti: Women don’t shave.<span> </span>They find their body hair (chest, chin, legs, armpits…and yes they have it ALL) a sign of strength.<span> </span>In fact women DO shave if they want to appear unattractive.<span> </span>I think I was born in the wrong culture.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Reason #3 why I love Haiti:<span> </span>I asked a co-worker the other day what is a good conversation starter here in Haiti because questions of “what do you do for a living” and “what are your hobbies” can be a lost cause and even insulting.<span> </span>He replied “Haitians really love to talk about food”.<span> </span>During a dinner time conversation one briefly notes the weather and then dives right into talk about the food they are eating, had been eating, are going to eat, etc.<span> </span>This is SO my country.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Well the past week has been full of activities.<span> </span>Over the weekend “orientation” was extended out to the countryside to a place called Desarmes where MCC’s other office is located.<span> </span>The best way to describe life in the countryside in Haiti is a very poorly prepared backpacking trip, I think.<span> </span>You are up against so many elements to which all you are unprepared for so you simply stick to caveman basics and don’t even attempt anything crazy.<span> </span>We headed out Saturday through the mountains for a few hours and landed in Desarmes starved.<span> </span>We stopped at a restaurant (aka shak with four big pots of food) for lunch before heading out to meet Josh and Mary-Lynn; some of the most hard-core Canadians I think I will EVER meet.<span> </span>They have two children.<span> </span>Haydon is 2 and was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (the city).<span> </span>A birth in the major city of the poorest country in the western hemisphere was a little too easy for Mary-Lynn so she decided to plop her second child out in Desarmes.<span> </span>I can’t decide if you have to be a little crazy to do that or just plan stupid.<span> </span>Either way she got my vote of admiration.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>We lazed around Saturday evening with these two until later in evening.<span> </span>One of the other MCC workers and I decided we’d sleep out on the front patio since it was cooler.<span> </span>We snuggled into our frumpy floppy spring gouging mattress that we’d drug outside and settled down for a peaceful sleep.<span> </span>Ten minutes later I had to go to the bathroom.<span> </span>Remember the unprepared backpacking analogy?<span> </span>So no flush toilettes of course.<span> </span>Better yet the latrine (hole in the ground with some type of wood or masonry shelter) was waaaaay ‘round the back of the house.<span> </span>Earlier we’d seen a neighbor dog wandering around.<span> </span>I didn’t think I’d ever say it but I abhor dogs in Haiti.<span> </span>So scarrry!<span> </span>So if one wants to urinate, one must walk with rock in hand (to throw at the dog to scare it away) to the back and sit in a latrine that has tarantula spottings every hour or so, relax enough to do ones’ business, and then start the process all over again to get back to bed.<span> </span>Little did I know that as I was on said journey #1, a tarantula was cheerfully crawling towards the other MCC worker’s bed.<span> </span>When I returned from my trip I found her out of her bed peering intensely at a spot in the patio chucking the dog-throwing rocks at her new found friend Mr. Tarantula.<span> </span>At this point all sanity is lost and we giggled away furiously as we tried to kill the spider with our rock storage that we’d collected for the dog.<span> </span>Upon several attempts we lost interest of killing the spider and convinced ourselves the balmy indoors sounded much more comfortable.<span> </span>The following night for potty trips #2-#6 I did no more than hang my rump out the door (dog-rock in hand, mind you).<span> </span>Haiti has confirmed that I am the biggest outdoor wimp EVER.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Sunday was a fantastic day which included a fantastic hike in the backcountry of Haiti.<span> </span>We hiked up a river for 2 hours to a gorgeous little waterfall.<span> </span>I’ve decided hiking with legs knee deep in water is pretty much the only way to hike in a tropical place.<span> </span>So refreshing.<span> </span>The other great thing about this hike; NO TRASH.<span> </span>If Haiti didn’t suffer from poverty and political issues I think it’d be the most popular vacation spot on the planet.<span> </span>Who gets hiking up a river in 95+ weather with mountains looming all around?<span> </span>Haiti does.<span> </span>As a local passed us on our way back carrying a machete and pistol we started to wonder if maybe we didn’t go quite as prepared as we needed to.<span> </span>Hard-core Mary-Lynn carried her 3 month old infant along through the rushing river for the whole 4 hrs AND a backpack.<span> </span>Take-two of Julie feels wimpy.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>This week has been a whirl-wind of events and I can’t believe the weekend is almost here.<span> </span>I have spent most of my days out with Haitian…..um…foremen?……engineers?......financial planners?...yeaaah….I don’t really know who anyone is.<span> </span>All I know if I show up with my “machin” (car) and Haitian after Haitian piles in (typically two to a single seat) and off we go.<span> </span>Doniel, a Haitian foremen who I spent most of Tuesday driving around with is teaching me most of my Creole.<span> </span>He knows just enough English and I know just even Creole so that we both don’t really understand each other but think we do.<span> </span>I would have to admit that the past few days have been incredibly discouraging and frustrating.<span> </span>James, the Calpoly professor I am filling in for, has spent over a year working with this one particular group of masons and engineers almost every day he was here and they STILL are constructing poorly.<span> </span>After talking to a local NGO that is doing roughly the same type of work I am doing I am beginning to wonder how much good our educating is doing.<span> </span>Another engineer from Build Change (NGO) says that they have found the masons and engineers change their ways for about a month or two and then go right back to the way they have build for the past umpteen years. <span> </span>I’m starting to feel more like a babysitter and chauffer than an engineer.<span> </span>This is a poverty infested city where everyone and anyone local will do whatever they can to eat or have shelter.<span> </span>That includes lying, cheating the system, etc.<span> </span>It’s really quite maddening and yet I completely understand.<span> </span>Heck, I’d do the same thing if I was that desperate.<span> </span>So families that we are helping will find a beneficiary (has to be disabled in some way) who’s really not (in my opinion) just to get on the list of first-priority families to aid.<span> </span>The Haitian engineer that I am working with took me to several 2-story houses in need of rehabilitation today even after MCC has previously told him that we are ONLY working on 1-story houses (a fact which I learned AFTER my full day of work). Typically the 2-story house bottom level is owned by a different family than the upper story.<span> </span>Consequently, repairing the upper story is rather stupid if the story below is nearly ready to buckle but can’t be done because it is owned by someone else.<span> </span>The masons who have taken James education workshop look at me baffled as I point out gaps with no mortar between bricks and exposed rebar just waiting to rust from the next cyclone.<span> </span>I would have pulled out my hair already had I not needed it to protect my scalp from the unrelenting sun during our sight visits.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I’m starting to ask myself the same question I think everyone does after being here for a while.<span> </span>Are we really doing any good being here or are we making things worse?<span> </span>My view at the moment is the latter.<span> </span>If a mason can’t build correctly after 1-year of working every week with a USA structural engineer are we really instigating any sort of sustainability?<span> </span>Any time any Haitian becomes educated to any usable level they immigrate elsewhere for a better life.<span> </span>My supervisor and I have concocted a plan.<span> </span>We’ve decided we should load the Haitian population on boats and send them off to a “holding-country” for a while, sink the island, and start fresh over on another island.<span> </span>Really, you can fix a house but the five surrounding house may never be fixed and can tumble on the fixed house in an earthquake.<span> </span>Bonkers….I’m gonna go bonkers. <span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Enough complaining and on to more fun stories.<span> </span>So AS we were driving (half chauffer half babysitter, remember) around today I came across some rather peculiar experiences.<span> </span>We were driving down a “road” which I’d like to say resembles more of a sidewalk.<span> </span>I come to this conclusion because I believe when your side mirrors are kissing the buildings on both sides as you drive that just plain ain’t a road in anyone’s book!<span> </span>Haitians don’t have the same book.<span> </span>As if the “road” wasn’t narrow enough, it continued to lesson in girth tell I found myself driving over peoples building materials, grocery stores (produce laid out on a blanket on the ground), and chickens (they duck as you drive over them..don’t worry peeps, I’m keeping this G-rated) to get to our destinations.<span> </span>Haitians mentality is “why walk if you can <u>at all</u> ‘drive’” so I was encouraged by my faithful gang in the car to keep driving as I sent apologetic smiles and waves to passerby’s.<span> </span>The climax of this story will be when it came time to park.<span> </span>Yep, park enough for OTHERS to get by.<span> </span>After a 20 point Austin Power’s turn around at an intersection I proceeded to park on top of some ones “grocery store” as hands of folks from all angles of my vehicle (grocery store lady included) guided me furiously backwards.<span> </span>Since I know you are all on the edge of your chair in anticipation to know what became of the “grocery store”, it was swiftly relocated (much to the surprise of its owner) to the other side of the street to allocate space for my mammoth United States-ness “machin”.<span> </span>And if that didn’t draw enough attention, getting out of the car with my fluorescent skin took the cake.<span> </span>Children everywhere started screaming “Blah, blah!” (Haitian creole word for “white person”).<span> </span>Sigh….sometimes you just can’t win. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I decided I need a good break so it’s off to the beach this Saturday with some more blah’s for a day of laying on the beach. My fav.<span> </span>Oh well, I’ll take what I can get.<span> </span>Too be continued.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Hugs!</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ad8bX-zgURckDB9mxoJk023yeHcz8YsuC3KQEgymUh-0NDUcGE7A7CdMxnpZmlieeNgOwmUdj1eFN4n38zSZraTKD1TzeI8CWd6u7yZWmZ28yT8B-r4vfnjcSanKidFDPWzqdvrQw9u8/s1600/IMG_4977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ad8bX-zgURckDB9mxoJk023yeHcz8YsuC3KQEgymUh-0NDUcGE7A7CdMxnpZmlieeNgOwmUdj1eFN4n38zSZraTKD1TzeI8CWd6u7yZWmZ28yT8B-r4vfnjcSanKidFDPWzqdvrQw9u8/s320/IMG_4977.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Latrine in Desarmes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2A-w01d-NA_kVNEIG5uuMRPwG4Hbn2v139c3DuLUORF5Msp5Nvd8E_LM34D_GLPJMb5XzBvrZiXNUW0mDF_rgsby31xaw50sogTlKtdZx4kFHIIr32Jz1CN6M7xHaeCtUiYUvlxbk8PKK/s1600/IMG_4969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2A-w01d-NA_kVNEIG5uuMRPwG4Hbn2v139c3DuLUORF5Msp5Nvd8E_LM34D_GLPJMb5XzBvrZiXNUW0mDF_rgsby31xaw50sogTlKtdZx4kFHIIr32Jz1CN6M7xHaeCtUiYUvlxbk8PKK/s320/IMG_4969.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spider Patio (from left to right: Wawa, Kristen, Ann, Moi)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcukor7sP5CV_KiHWlp9HwbHBX_cxMECPGyGqVJSeIzea6e5656mYHR8rAF1bHwYiDIerc2B_5Iw-Wo9oF9WObx59PUQdokaXFKQmI7pZUl6ehEKSrm7jszbkJ9ASV-2x65FsX1AK-zmH/s1600/IMG_4971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcukor7sP5CV_KiHWlp9HwbHBX_cxMECPGyGqVJSeIzea6e5656mYHR8rAF1bHwYiDIerc2B_5Iw-Wo9oF9WObx59PUQdokaXFKQmI7pZUl6ehEKSrm7jszbkJ9ASV-2x65FsX1AK-zmH/s320/IMG_4971.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showers in Desarmes. Not a bad view from the inside looking up as you shower!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQU1LekIfXJQ8D9B_0AW6KErTvzixl5PGRwqvzrB6bzqrTUOzCt8EuRvShoYpSOo-w7D813ikxQ_DUK90NZXh17tkuf_aaBsnizECum0ne59CA3PJM7CgzmU2ZeicZNbRF2lPLyEWJOT4/s1600/IMG_5025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQU1LekIfXJQ8D9B_0AW6KErTvzixl5PGRwqvzrB6bzqrTUOzCt8EuRvShoYpSOo-w7D813ikxQ_DUK90NZXh17tkuf_aaBsnizECum0ne59CA3PJM7CgzmU2ZeicZNbRF2lPLyEWJOT4/s320/IMG_5025.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poorly build house. Ok geek friends see if you can find the errors!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZD9DKb5GapOGkRWKQpJwk5hrmruJ7OkrONeneD2S4DlTBAS9_3PcJiw5C24sZfBWpu43fqQAHvc7fkqcM7l3HpiIamuVjHZMBspQFdWhBAZUJOmPdIEfNYTcbOifa_1Acf1jt-Guln7M/s1600/IMG_4991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZD9DKb5GapOGkRWKQpJwk5hrmruJ7OkrONeneD2S4DlTBAS9_3PcJiw5C24sZfBWpu43fqQAHvc7fkqcM7l3HpiIamuVjHZMBspQFdWhBAZUJOmPdIEfNYTcbOifa_1Acf1jt-Guln7M/s320/IMG_4991.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Hike</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1srX9iLDrTNcgPakWQlvVkwkB_1odb9i6aMY6gMLSU1zom4wle988Yx_6k3W7QsRdC-oHzQv-rEAmXG-BaJE-t5b1XdMzjDH5Khb1VqnWG8n-QW7NxFqxQaAT8bOaoxMqexF8WgxEvyY4/s1600/IMG_4998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1srX9iLDrTNcgPakWQlvVkwkB_1odb9i6aMY6gMLSU1zom4wle988Yx_6k3W7QsRdC-oHzQv-rEAmXG-BaJE-t5b1XdMzjDH5Khb1VqnWG8n-QW7NxFqxQaAT8bOaoxMqexF8WgxEvyY4/s320/IMG_4998.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice Mary-Lynn (umbrella) with her infant daughter</td></tr>
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</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-26145780029401253642011-09-08T18:25:00.000-07:002011-09-08T18:25:52.326-07:00Bienvienue<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span>Howdy All!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>First blog coming swiftly to you from Haiti…only 1 week late.<span> </span>Wow I need to get better at this.<span> </span>So much to write it’s a little overwhelming (and probably gonna be a tad boring to read) so I’ll do my best to summarize in an interesting fashion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Last week was orientation in Akron, PA.<span> </span>For those of you who don’t know (which included me until last Wednesday) that’s near Lancaster, PA about an hour or so west of Philly in Amish country.<span> </span>I had an amazing supposedly 2 week orientation crammed into 3 days and got to learn how wonderful MCC is throughout the world.<span> </span>I also got to meet some amazinginly wonderful people.<span> </span>Each one has incredible life stories, even the random driver who transports you around has a daughter just back from Bolivia and has stories of living in Africa that’ll make you poop your pants.<span> </span>Two of my favorite peeps are pictured below.<span> </span>Among these amazing things one that stood out was MCC’s Material Resource Center which basically is a gigantic recycle center that makes disaster relief aid items out of…you got it…recycled things.<span> </span>These include using old torn up and illegible books to make recycled paper for school children, weaving used men’s ties and jeans into door mats, cutting up used t-shirts for rags that are sold to local oil changing companies in the US for money, maintain thrift stores scattered throughout the country, and the list goes on and on.<span> </span>In addition to the recycling, locals in surrounding cities volunteer during the week to help built quilts to sell at auctions for money, comforters to send in disaster relief kits, and cloth bags with notebooks, colored pencils and pens for school children. <span> </span>Coolest part….you can put together these school kits and comforters yourself and donate them to MCC if you can’t donate money or want to donate in an artistic way (and have some extra fabric lying around). Here’s the website. http://eastcoast.mcc.org/materialresourcescenter .<span> </span>There are specific instructions on sewing comforters and school kits online or if you want I can put you in contact with Evette at the Center.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Another incredible thing MCC has started is an organization called 10,000 villages.<span> </span>I’m sure several of you have heard about this and there are stores on the west coast to shop at!<span> </span>It’s an organization started by MCC but was so successful it now has its own name and set of workers to go with.<span> </span>10,000 villages buys hand made crafts from all over the world at fair prices and ships them back to the US to be sold.<span> </span>The artisans who’s work is sold are paid a fair wage for their product and actually get to decide the price of their product.<span> </span>Shipping fees unfortunately play a major role but the work that is sold in these stores is absolutely incredible art.<span> </span>The neatest thing for me was seeing how even these things are constructed out of recycled materials.<span> </span>Third world countries definitely have us beat when it comes to reusing and recycling.<span> </span>Here’s their website:<span> </span><a href="http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/">http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/</a>.<span> </span>Check it out.<span> </span>Awesome place for xmas gift shopping. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>After my three day intensive session and goodbyes to friends it was off to Haiti.<span> </span>There is another couple that was traveling on the same flight as I was that are working in advocacy for MCC.<span> </span>Super fun couple that both went to SPU in Seattle.<span> </span>Kristen is from Eugene, OR and her husband Wawa is from Kenya.<span> </span>They had been living in Egypt for the past 2 years where Wawa was getting his master’s degree and Kristen was working with Habitat for Humanity.<span> </span>They have some great stories of Kenya and Egypt, none of which I can remember at this place and time, go fig.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>My first week has consisted of orientation which includes 3 hours a day of Creole lessons.<span> </span>Our Creole instructor, Franz, succeeds mostly in teaching us English and not Creole, preaching the word of the Lord, and singing hymnals.<span> </span>We think he teaches English for most of his day and gets a little confused when he comes to us.<span> </span>We know he is studying to be a pastor which explains the rest.<span> </span>Nice guy, awesome enthusiasm, just not for learning Creole.<span> </span>I plan to plop myself down with the cooks next week where I think I’ll learn more in one day then I did with Franz all this week.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>There are so many funny/strange/peculiar things here that I see each and every day it’s hard to pin point and write about one specific event.<span> </span>Perhaps we should start with my first day of driving in Haiti.<span> </span>My second day in country I decided to just grow some balls and go for it, much to the surprise of my supervisor (who was going to be riding with me and most likely was fearing for her own life, not mine).<span> </span>My first journey consisted of a 2 hour drive through downtown and out to the country to do some surveying.<span> </span>I’ve found the way to master Haitian driving is to have an eye for spotting potholes.<span> </span>Nothing else matters.<span> </span>If you can do this, you can drive in Haiti.<span> </span>Unlike in the US where a pothole is merely an uncomfortable and unpleasant jostle, in Haiti you can darn near lose your entire car (and life) in one.<span> </span>Putting grates over catch basins in Haiti is kind of an afterthought especially since (sans grate) it makes a handy garbage disposal for locals who find sweeping trash and debris in the early morning a form of meditation.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Haitians have got to be the most efficient travelers.<span> </span>Everything and anything is tied, strapped or held out a window to be transported down the road.<span> </span>Said items can include that evenings dinner (still alive.<span> </span>Very smart since they don’t have refrigerators in lots of homes), an object so large in size it really should be placed on a semi and not on the top of a local tap tap (Toyota Tacoma with the snot beaten out of it) making the tap tap incredibly top heavy but quite entertaining to watch from behind (or quickly pass before they lose something that you will inevitably run over).<span> </span>My favorite part about driving in Haiti; everyone and anyone regardless of age and if they’ve ever actually EVER driven a car will help you get around a tight corner, over a bridge etc.<span> </span>As I was pulling onto a road with a drainage trench below me 5 men on motorcycles were on the same ramp/bridge-thing over the trench.<span> </span>I gave them a confused look to say “guys, I don’t have room with you on the bridge. You’re gonna have to move”.<span> </span>They returned my confused look with one of their own and vigorously started waving their hands for me to precede onward, all eyes on my wheels.<span> </span>I drove across waiting expectantly for my back tire to fall into the ditch but alas “pa problem”.<span> </span>I’ve decided I MUCH prefer driving in Haiti then the US.<span> </span>People are just so much more competent.<span> </span>If you’re passing three abreast on the freeway everyone finds their way and it’s so much more efficient!<span> </span>And fun!<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span><span><span> </span>Getting used to using my horn all the time will be tough as Americans view this as rude.<span> </span>Haitians expect to be notified when you’re driving up the road behind them, otherwise they cross.<span> </span><span> </span>Forget “Look both ways”.<span> </span><span> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowYgIvn0l3pLuuAt2g8pex2MYFOiMY5csvhAg1Luna0bQQSnfBJ9JdMZDynJAHfU-qLp_Yxi4cyInEjFqD5eNQDwpZyL5lB524KupENyE0-usSifEGDDSIzPhMT5MA9IWNkd4NUkaPbFH/s1600/IMG_4874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowYgIvn0l3pLuuAt2g8pex2MYFOiMY5csvhAg1Luna0bQQSnfBJ9JdMZDynJAHfU-qLp_Yxi4cyInEjFqD5eNQDwpZyL5lB524KupENyE0-usSifEGDDSIzPhMT5MA9IWNkd4NUkaPbFH/s320/IMG_4874.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "digs" in Akron, PA. All the art, chairs, tables, etc. in my house (Africa house) was actually from Africa. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27YeKk3z9NUN3_P5MJxJb_DcVn5OmhjoOnYaClndM2MKiP8st7NVOse_lHhP0eHIe3kVBknGC4nVYZW-hQCQbn6GktvJS5_4bUedxITeewFvzyGbwSqU8icq1YqTZEaX4s_8eUnWRfwXQ/s1600/IMG_4903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27YeKk3z9NUN3_P5MJxJb_DcVn5OmhjoOnYaClndM2MKiP8st7NVOse_lHhP0eHIe3kVBknGC4nVYZW-hQCQbn6GktvJS5_4bUedxITeewFvzyGbwSqU8icq1YqTZEaX4s_8eUnWRfwXQ/s320/IMG_4903.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lovely ladies from the Latin/Caribbean MCC department </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5gfY3Mzj_KuknpC1NqQyUh_2j2xmdmHbCdy8w5VrgAh-5rN5TA0hkh7TkpZNh4SAe0a3tpdLNrxrNHHkvQydcn56DPNDPnyQa8M6xAHZ4hTGF3aCdo57b9wW3diGxHmMVzNnebDdaN8e/s1600/IMG_4880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5gfY3Mzj_KuknpC1NqQyUh_2j2xmdmHbCdy8w5VrgAh-5rN5TA0hkh7TkpZNh4SAe0a3tpdLNrxrNHHkvQydcn56DPNDPnyQa8M6xAHZ4hTGF3aCdo57b9wW3diGxHmMVzNnebDdaN8e/s320/IMG_4880.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJMjv2p4Q93lpn4KsiNNCJpUcr5TLNqGiA5MApxkB12HCgXQCl62jyczq0ig5GuYgLALrw7t6e3S5Lk72pVBdbHyiJwF4P51BByqUmRFfd6RTOOAEvNlquDNmCyhXVUZDr15bfco1alrg/s1600/IMG_4882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJMjv2p4Q93lpn4KsiNNCJpUcr5TLNqGiA5MApxkB12HCgXQCl62jyczq0ig5GuYgLALrw7t6e3S5Lk72pVBdbHyiJwF4P51BByqUmRFfd6RTOOAEvNlquDNmCyhXVUZDr15bfco1alrg/s320/IMG_4882.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hallway to my room in Akron</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UPc7ha1DuPV1F6fQBG_YxFByp2IBkYhGvvEFSIf0W3ec6sTl4bYM6GPFSFj_pFxvJkyEQz4-U7-5AwU8yPcTzFT9DYp3Wn6-HbykY69gbpooAIJmVV791LUQXF9PwAzGqHDZeNXvY4Dy/s1600/IMG_4887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UPc7ha1DuPV1F6fQBG_YxFByp2IBkYhGvvEFSIf0W3ec6sTl4bYM6GPFSFj_pFxvJkyEQz4-U7-5AwU8yPcTzFT9DYp3Wn6-HbykY69gbpooAIJmVV791LUQXF9PwAzGqHDZeNXvY4Dy/s320/IMG_4887.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLiRjNE1-lDnedvrji82eavGvmDee2kPM5GMXbGejDZW0gfvK7kW8KkPEiUe6E8ANB2RacjUm5YSPflfEpL3uekEXbK4L4Fx5bMlNItNQkceSifEBYdPnwET41R_r2gCnSuXaDDZ6FAsC/s1600/DSCN0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLiRjNE1-lDnedvrji82eavGvmDee2kPM5GMXbGejDZW0gfvK7kW8KkPEiUe6E8ANB2RacjUm5YSPflfEpL3uekEXbK4L4Fx5bMlNItNQkceSifEBYdPnwET41R_r2gCnSuXaDDZ6FAsC/s320/DSCN0341.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building in Haiti. You see this everywhere you drive around Haiti. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuCm8l6t0glEAbxFN4oro22HCvGrkbA2BOMmTNS5MyWWrbnQaReKklIQHX9oOLrNFNz3BN96Lrq4fw26uhqvZMC_R9XwLD2v4v_DpG6N71XIgUP1zGLlDy6prqKo5Hzipm0Di2O1xFeQ9/s1600/DSCN0489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuCm8l6t0glEAbxFN4oro22HCvGrkbA2BOMmTNS5MyWWrbnQaReKklIQHX9oOLrNFNz3BN96Lrq4fw26uhqvZMC_R9XwLD2v4v_DpG6N71XIgUP1zGLlDy6prqKo5Hzipm0Di2O1xFeQ9/s320/DSCN0489.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>My goodness, how I’ve babbled.<span> </span>Too finish, as the week slowly comes to an end I look forward to the weekend which includes heading up to our office in the countryside (Desarmes) with several other folks for continuation of our orientation.<span> </span>Next week I will be working with another organization that has a set of engineers doing the same things I will be doing here.<span> </span>It’ll be nice to bounce ideas off eachother and really get a good grasp of construction over here.<span> </span>Unlike the US, you can’t read about how to build from a book.<span> </span>You just have to drive around and talk to people.<span> </span><span> </span>Until next week, I hope this blog finds you well. <span> </span>Miss you all so very much and hugs and kisses to all.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183147313058093493.post-10724284956691207642011-07-29T07:27:00.000-07:002011-07-29T07:27:29.687-07:00Introduction<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><u>My Next Adventure</u></div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Location: Port-au-Prince, Haiti</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Occupation: Seismic Structural Engineer Educator and Field Engineer</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Organization: Mennonite Central Comity </div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Duration: 6 months <span> </span>(possibly will extend to 1 year)</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Start Date: August 27<sup>th</sup>, 2011</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">As most of you know I just recently finished my master’s degree in Bilingual/Bicultural studies (Spanish language and studying latin culture/cross culture communication) at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA. My thesis was on natural and recyclable ways to reinforce Adobe (mud bricks, not the computer software) houses in the Altiplano region of <span id="lw_1311167058_3" style="background-attachment: scroll; cursor: pointer;"><span class="yshortcuts">Bolivia</span></span>, with a focus on the methods that should be used to transmit this information to the locals. I have been a member of Engineers without Borders throughout this period and heard of a position a few months ago located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for a seismic structural engineering educator. This position is through a Christian organization called Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) located in Haiti aiding in disaster relief since the 2010 earthquake that demolished the city. Almost all foreign aid in Haiti currently are NGOs (Non-government organizations, for those who don’t know). </div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">Over this past Fourth of July weekend I visited Haiti to experience what life in Haiti would be like for me and if this was the next step I wanted to take. I was incredibly shocked at the destruction that the earthquake had on Haiti’s major city and the limited education of many local Haitian engineers and architects. Allowable soil bearing pressure is determined by planting a mango tree and seeing if it remains standing in a cyclone, the world is flat to many people, and calculations are for the time during college but do not need to be preformed once a degree is obtained. Field engineers (and design engineers even) are hardly used during construction thus buildings get constructed improperly and hence fall as demonstrated in the earthquake of 2010 (magnitude 7.0). Third world counties design masonry with a very different method called confined reinforced masonry then what is used in the US. Surprisingly this type of building is very strong for low-budget building, limited labor skills and high power tools (electricity in Haiti is infrequent typically shutting off every day at some point) as long as they are constructed properly. </div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">My position entails filling in for a Structural Engineering professor from Calpoly University, CA who has been down in Haiti for the past year developing a workshop and working with local Haitian engineers in new construction and retrofitting houses that are in need of repairs. Typically the houses my organization focuses on are for people with disabilities who have little hope of obtaining a job. In Haiti, wheelchairs are useless as everywhere in the city requires a 4-wheel drive truck (think off-roading to the extreme) and walking with a cane for the blind is essentially a death march. A traffic light is a rarity even in downtown <span id="lw_1311167058_4" style="background-attachment: scroll; cursor: pointer;"><span class="yshortcuts">Port-au-Prince</span></span> and common norm is pedestrians yield to vehicles because they easily outnumber them (pedestrians to cars) 10 to 1. I will be teaching week long workshops periodically and in between that time working in the field as an inspection engineer. I will be there for 6 months with a possible extension up to 1 year depending on how I am feeling after 6 months and if I feel I can stay. Upon completion of my time in Haiti I will be seeking work in the northwest where majority of my family and friend are. </div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">The native language spoken in Haiti is Creole, which is a combination of French (primarily), English and Spanish. I know all three of these languages to varying degrees so I will hopefully pick up the language quickly as I will be communicating primarily in Creole and giving my workshop classes in Creole as I become more fluent. I believe they will provide me with a translator during these workshops at the start as I am picking up the language. I was actually surprised at how much I could understand when I was there for five days. I will also be able to pop over to <span id="lw_1311167058_5" style="background-attachment: scroll; cursor: pointer;"><span class="yshortcuts">Dominican Republic</span></span> 1-2 hours away for weekend Spanish practice if learning Creole and adjusting to Haitian lifestyle isn’t exciting enough for me, however I hardly think this Haitian journey will lack in excitement.<span> </span></div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">This is an incredible opportunity for me to combine my two degrees and pursue my passion for culture and aiding countries in need. While this is not a paid position, it is fully funded meaning they will provide me with living accommodations and food as well as a minimal monthly stipend.<span> </span>I will be receiving additional funding from a Canadian organization to cover my other financial responsibilities while I am in Haiti.<span> </span>MCC also funds my travel to and from the country and provides me with full health benefits.<span> </span>Essentially it is an opportunity I would have been silly to turn down since it provides me with much more than any Peace Corp or Fullbright (other grants and organizations I’ve been looking at) could ever offer.<span> </span>My parents are ecstatic to be babysitting my 2011 Subaru outback, iphone, and furry son while I am away.<span> </span></div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">MCC will provide me with a cell phone (think first cell phone you ever owned, no data or unlimited streaming, and a limited allotment of messages, Lord above give me strength to stay within my text messaging limit).<span> </span>Most Haitians choose a cell phone over flush toilettes or even a latrine for that matter.<span> </span>The place I am staying has excellent internet service and most MCC workers talk with family and friends back home through skype.<span> </span>I will be blogging weekly (you’re all my witnesses now so I can’t slack) about my experiences and will try to attach pictures as appropriate.<span> </span>Taking pictures in Haiti is discouraged in attempts at eliminating the touristy presence of the organization.<span> </span>Besides, some foreigner snapping photos of ones’ impoverished lifestyle doesn’t really scream positive social relations, does it?<span> </span></div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">The MCC staff in Haiti consists of two offices, one in Desarmes (up north in the countryside) and one office in downtown Port-au-Prince.<span> </span>The staff is roughly half Haitian and half American.<span> </span>Lunches are eaten every day together as a community so I will be closely associated with my organization on a daily basis.<span> </span>I will be working with Haitian engineers throughout the day as well as a several other organizations (Bill Change and Haven, to name a few) with people from all over the world.<span> </span>This is an amazing opportunity to network with Engineers and their building methods and techniques from all over the globe and will truly advance me in my profession.<span> </span></div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2jBm9xRlRZl1mV3jYtABJBMDzp0cGOmDP1y2ZTFeihH7mvHaWI_dncj-BrHxi43Z2aOJMsjAcv7s0JAVhAXSKOgbG1Qft50KGOOdBGWEwDbiRhr2Ix7hc22FOgx_UWpy4Yr3wcmkO8wD/s1600/visit+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2jBm9xRlRZl1mV3jYtABJBMDzp0cGOmDP1y2ZTFeihH7mvHaWI_dncj-BrHxi43Z2aOJMsjAcv7s0JAVhAXSKOgbG1Qft50KGOOdBGWEwDbiRhr2Ix7hc22FOgx_UWpy4Yr3wcmkO8wD/s320/visit+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BqFyzl24291OglZaVlf2sQMoBdN92L-uID61Btiu8lRqTdQ-6wXGlEutP_QDjP-8_rzBoXjc6fYdAQsBkxdB9dMAVjhxRu42IlmKGp0e-IP5_B4rE2NTUX5V0rwaKrIX_Ie0iXfB_IbA/s1600/visit+9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BqFyzl24291OglZaVlf2sQMoBdN92L-uID61Btiu8lRqTdQ-6wXGlEutP_QDjP-8_rzBoXjc6fYdAQsBkxdB9dMAVjhxRu42IlmKGp0e-IP5_B4rE2NTUX5V0rwaKrIX_Ie0iXfB_IbA/s320/visit+9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHrFAB-8OIslKqSgcNcPHo1-lmVU1UwqeV4vcUu0BKtZmvuJUWNSs7EvxXr6wb8tRyxz7e5SG0_1rfaZ8moqr7sQBPCVNzujF9Lb7BlVDVaqYPSDqK-oBW_B3UR2PylM8qMHG1TWpSV7q/s1600/visit+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHrFAB-8OIslKqSgcNcPHo1-lmVU1UwqeV4vcUu0BKtZmvuJUWNSs7EvxXr6wb8tRyxz7e5SG0_1rfaZ8moqr7sQBPCVNzujF9Lb7BlVDVaqYPSDqK-oBW_B3UR2PylM8qMHG1TWpSV7q/s320/visit+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="yiv266663844msonormal">I will be in Seattle starting the second weekend in August on the weekends to visit with everyone and say my goodbyes before my departure at the end of August.<span> </span>Let me know when you have a free moment so we can catch up before I take off!<span> </span>I want to know what YOU are up to!<span> </span>I will be back from Christmas to the New Year as well.<span> </span>Keep in touch!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00616267369042321986noreply@blogger.com1