Children's Bike Seat

This is what I'm thinking of. A "children's bike seat". I think they would work out great in Haiti. Although I know they wouldn't put just one kid in the seat. They would throw two or three back there. Just like the Haitians say, "There's always room for one more."

I had no idea they were so hi-tech these days... Mine looked nothing like this when I was a tyke.

College de la Grace

Here's some pictures taken out at the school. Our school is called College de la
Grace. We have both primary (elementary) and secondary (middle & high school).
Out of respect (I think) the students always stand up when I enter their classroom. Some mornings they sing a welcome song to me too! Once our new building is complete (we are hoping for January) I will have my own classroom and the students will come to my room for English.

The newest addition at school is a trampoline. It seems like the newness of it has yet to wear off- the kids still go crazy over it daily.
Five in a seat. Is that legal? Our school has a bus that picks up the youngest kids at our 'town square' so they don't have to walk the entire way to school. It is precious to see the moms and dads taking their children to the bus stop. Some parents will ride a bike with 2 kids sitting on the bars of the bike. It's amazing more kids don't fall off. I would love to get a bunch of those bike chair/seats for kids donated from a company that makes them. WHAT IS the name of those things that you attach behind the bicycle seat for kids?? 

My Neighbors

These are my neighbors. The five kids pictured, along with another sibling and their parents live just beyond our campus grounds. Their house is right behind my apartment; I can throw a rock from my window and hit their thatched roof.
On their door you can see that they have written, "Haiti Cheri," which is a phrase that means like, dear Haiti or precious Haiti.

I just recently met this family, so I don't know them well, but they seem sweet. Very poor. I'm looking forward to building a friendship with them in the future.
I'm not sure what you had for dinner, but I'm willing to bet that it was more delicious and nutritious than the leaves that this family of 8 is making to eat. 

Degaje

Degaje- v. to make do. to get by.
innovate.

Degaje is one of my favorite Creole words. To me, it's like the one word that describes how almost every Haitian lives. From day to day, they have to degaje. They have to be creative and figure out how to survive. For myself, its almost as if it's a foreign concept because I rarely have to 'degaje'. I can't think of the last time that I had to do something in survival mode. A bathroom, food, water, a non-leaky roof, it's all right here at my finger tips. But for Haitians, nothing comes easy. Everyday they face challenges that we would never think of. A lot of parents struggle just to feed their kids one time a day. And some children have to walk miles to get clean water from a well for the family. It's not uncommon to see 4 people riding on one bike. I know a few children who walk almost 2 hours ONE way to go to school. Anyways, the picture of a boys sewen up sandal is just a simple example of degaje. I'll continue to post other examples of degaje when I see them. 

Tarantula Sightings

During
my
first
month
in
Haiti,


I
decided
that
I've
seen
one
too
many
of
these....




SO....





I had to get this!

This princess-themed bed tent is supposed to be for 5 year olds to play with. It's a little tent that fits right over the matress so kids can camp out in their room. But for this 23 year old, its so that I can zip myself up at night and sleep peacefully knowing that tarantulas cannot get to me.

I'm back on Blogger

A view from the airplane. I was flying on a little 6-seater plane from Port-au-Prince up to Cap-Haitien (a town on the northern coast). I can never seem to get enough pictures from the air.
A couple of boats in the port of Cap-Haitien. Most of the boats out there in the water are half sunken and have been there for years.
The Citadel! People call it the eighth wonder of the world... Henri Christophe had it built in 1804. I think some 10,000 Haitians died while building it. The fortress was built to defend them from the French. But the French never returned and so the Citadel was never even used! Big bummer...
Let's hope I never get lost on the roads/trails/paths of Haiti. This is the only 'road sign' I've seen in Haiti so far (outside of Port-au-Prince).