Also watch how freaking cute they are here:

Keep English in Mind in Haiti from Heart to Haiti on Vimeo.

The Capstone

I've been home for a week now from Haiti. 

Everyone asks me the same questions-

What's was your favorite part? 

What was the worst part?

How was the food?

Wow you're so tan! (I lived in the carribean for six weeks people. What did you expect? I promise I wore sunscreen everyday....)

How are they recovering from the earthquake?

Or simply tell me about Haiti...

These all baffle me. How do you sum up such an experience in just one sentence? 

      

 "We all know that Western news media provide a constant barrage of images of snotty-nosed orphans wandering aimlessly around fly-infested tent camps. We’re supposed to feel bad for them, we’re supposed to give to charity because of the earthquake, and most importantly, we’re supposed to feel better about ourselves for giving. After spending some time there, everyone in the group can agree that this is not the real Haiti…well not the full picture at least. One cannot deny the reality that more than two years after the earthquake, more than 200,000 people still live in tent camps. However, down from a peak of 1.4 million not so long ago, that number doesn’t look so bad. They say that more than 50% of people in this country live on less than $2/day. But when you’re a subsistence farmer living in the countryside (like a majority of Haitians), you rarely spend any money because you live off your crops.

Each day we would drive by signs denoting million-dollar projects funded by USAID, CIDA, UNICEF, UNHCR or other big foreign players in the development game. Infrastructure projects have the opportunity to help thousands, if not, millions of people. But far too often, water tanks are built, roads are constructed and buildings are erected, only to be neglected and begin crumbling in the months/years after. Long-term commitment to maintain and repair these projects is always a challenge because let’s be honest, road maintenance does not make a sexy fundraising ask.

What lasts forever though? Education. Once someone is taught something, it can never be taken away from them. Education is the path towards freedom. The freedom to learn, the freedom to form new opinions, the freedom to exchange thoughts, the freedom to get a job/opportunity and ultimately, the freedom to make a better life for oneself, one’s family and one’s country.

After spending significant time with the students of English In Mind Institute (the Haitian run adult English school I was working at), we are just now beginning to understand these complexities. For as much English as we have taught them, they’ve taught us much more.

We didn’t go to Haiti with the expectation of “saving” Haiti. Nor did we think we were making a grand difference. So why was our trip so successful? To be honest, all we did was run some extracurricular test-prep courses for adults and some English/art classes at orphanages. What we did do was make a ripple that will be part of the greater wave of change this country needs. We formed life-long connections that will continue through our fundraising efforts and our knowledge that EIM is entirely Haitian-taught and Haitian-operated. EIM was here before we arrived and it will be here after we leave. That to us is success." - OG blog

I think the hardest things I've had to deal with since being back is not the cross-cultural shock. (with windows, AC, flushing toilets, paved roads, and all the above) I expected those. I knew they were there before I left an that wouldn't change when I returned. The hardest part about returning is that I've had this amazing experience in Haiti....and no one fully understands but me. No one really cares about Haiti, except me, or at least not as much as I do. No one understands when I say they lived in tent camps what that means. Or how orphanages are run, or the sad reality of restaveks, or how striven an motivated my EIM students are. 

This is the hardest part, caring so much for something that nobody can understand or relate too. 

Life must go on though. School has started and soon I'll get back into the swing of things called life and perhaps forget a little of what I learned this summer. But I think I will forever hold Haiti in my heart. 

If you would like to donate to English in MInd Institute to help keep my students learning english for free please visit: 

http://www.indiegogo.com/englishinmind

A school I believe deserves to be around for a very long time. 

There is only 11 days left to donate, so don't hesitate!

ITT

Individual travel time has begun. Which means my trip is near its end. Tomorrow I am going up to Cape Haitian to see the Citidel. I will return Tuesday. And then I am either staying in port-au-prince till Thursday working on a project with my adult English students teaching my orphanes English, or I'm going to hike across Haiti from port-au-prince to jacamel. I haven't decided yet. Either way my OG family will be meeting up in Jacamel at a fancy classy resort for our disorientation. After that I'll be on my way home. Time goes by too fast. I can't believe it.

I'll be in and out of contact this week. But every chance I get I'll let you know I'm alive an well ;)

Love you all!

It's So hard to say Goodbye

This upcoming week we start ITT (Individual Travel Time) On Wednesday I will be going to a private water resort staying the night there, then heading up to Cape Haitian in the north east of Haiti for friday-monday. Tuesday and Wednesday I will be in Port-au-Prince going to the steel market and the metal shop to buy some goods for y'all (potentially I will take a moto to Kenscoff) Then I will be going to Jacamel see a waterfall. Meet up with my crew on friday in Jacamel and tell of our adventures.
So we've had to start our goodbyes.

Yesterday was my last adult English class. And I had my last orphanage visit last week. I didn't tell the little kids goodbye. I couldn't bare it. I don't know if that was a good or bad thing. I gave them all big hugs and kisses and said goodbye. Usually I say see you tomorrow or later. So I think they understood that i was leaving. On my last day there I made a huge ABCs board that covered a whole wall. So that the young ones could continue on their alphabet recognition. 

And then yesterday at my last adult class we had a writing activity where they were given sentence starters and had to write a paragraph from there. After they wrote we went around in a circle and read them out aloud. And all of them were "I feel so grateful for our foreigners and hope that they come back soon!" or "I am grateful for Callie and her craziness. I am happy that I got to know her and hope I can be crazy like her!" or my favorite "I am grateful for our teachers. I hope god watches over their plane and they land safe. I hope that they come back soon in a private jet with pilot Callie co-pilot chantelle and flight attendant Jana." that's right pilot! Hahaha 

I made them do it again and they could only write happy things the second time around. It was too depressing. Ha

Tonight we are having a "see you later/thank you" party. When I was telling the students about the party I told them that they had to bring one thing to the party. A smile. Most of them said they weren't going to come to the party. That way we couldn't leave. We've had to explain to them that we are very sad to leave too. It's not just hard for them, but us too. They have already started adding me on Facebook. So I've promised them that we could stay in touch that way.

Bongu

So much has happened this past week. What I really like about being in
Haiti, is that we do a ton of volunteer work, but we also go out and
explore and have fun in Haiti with Haitians. So Monday night there was
a big event/parade/party in the streets called "Karnival de Fleurs"
Which is carnival of flowers. It lasted four days/nights
Sunday-Wednesday. Nobody worked it was declared a holiday. So Monday
night we decide to go its kind of rainy/windy so I wasn't really
excited. Plus everyone kept saying you're going to have your things
stolen you're going to get groped you're going to get lost memorize
someone's phone number.... which is pretty much what we get told every
time we go out at night. So I wasn't really nervous, but I was a bit
more cautious. So we hop in our rented taptap and drive on down there.
And literally the streets a PACKED I would say at least 200,000 people
were there. The best way to explain it would be like New York on New
years eve crowded/Thanksgiving day parade/ Mardi Gras party mentality.
So we get there and we are standing in front of the crumbled palace
(which hasn't been rebuilt since the earthquake....just like the rest
of Haiti) and everyone is dancing and what not. Well in the middle of
the streets pushing around people are these GIANT truck like floats.
Each float is participating in a band competition. So each float is
home to one band that is playing just one song and moving slowly
through the street/crowd. So we stand at our spot for like five
minutes and then my group leaders turn to me and say "Callie, you're
in charge. We are getting on that float." I was like lovely. So they
leave and miraculously end up on the float. And then some of the
Haitians we are with are like okay, lets all get on this float! So
they go up talk to the security (As the float is still wading through
the crowd/streets) and persuade them to let all us blancs on this
Bongu (evaporated milk sports shake) float. So we get in, walk up to
the second level. Everyone is wearing a yellow bongu shirt and
apparently bought VIP tickets to be on the float. All we had to do is
be white. White privilege in Haiti is crazy. The lighter your skin,
the more you get. Its so dumb. (But I'm not complaining about the
perks I get...just wish it was more fair ha) So we get up and the band
is on the front of the float. Our leaders have somehow made their way
to the front with the band. There is a security guard standing on a
railing not letting anyone pass. I crawl under his legs and join them.
Ha.
So we are dancing and watching the thousands and thousands of people
below either dancing or flipping us off (ha). We also watch the mobs
of people getting beaten by police and their batons. Men, women.
Didn't matter. If they were in their way they got of piece of it. I
was just super glad that I was up on the float and not down below.
Even though I know because of my white privilege I doubt I would have
gotten beaten, but still the crowds were crazy. It was just a really
awesome moment. (Besides the police brutality) Just seeing the nation
stricken with such poverty coming together and dancing the night away.
They don't care that they live in tents, they just laugh and have so
much fun and are so grateful for the things that they do have.
The best part, is that this whole Karnival was televised.
When I went to school the next day, guess what all my students told me?
I saw you T.V. last night!
What a great role model I am. Hahaha

Random scenes from around town.

Orphanage learning.