La Jacmelienne Beach

It’s dark. The shapes of my apartment are eclipsed by the bright white light of my computer screen as I type this. It’s 9:30 p.m., and already, they have cut the generator off. For the first couple of weeks, a few lights, the tv, and the fan in my bedroom would still work thanks to a magical “inverter” hidden away somewhere. Alas, the battery has run out of juice, or so I assume. So, for ...

I arrived in Haiti on September 8.<br><br>On the plane from Miami, I had sat next to a Haitian man who, I believe, was more nervous with anticipation than I was. He was an engineer from Florida and had been living in the States for something like 20 years but hadn't returned home in more than 10 years. He tried to find the words to describe his feelings about return. His heart was full yet constricted. I remembered how I had felt just before the plane bringing me back to the ...

... Forget the tones; forget the rotating-waving hand of the local person you&#8217;re speaking too: here, when you try, it actually works!!! Of course, being French speaking as a start helps a great deal. <br><br>I am still unemployed, on a pure vacation, so not much to say about that. Other than I do enjoy my time off, of course. But I&#8217;ll enjoy my time even more after today, as we&#8217;ll be moving tomorrow from the (charming) hotel (http://www.htmontana ...

Salut groupe!<br><br>Je pense qu'un fait, il serait trop tôt pour donner des impressions, car cela requiert un jugement et il est certainement prématuré d'aller sur ces terrains. Je préfèrerai vous transmettre ce que mes yeux ont vu, mes oreilles entendues, dans le désordre le plus total et sur un mode inexhaustif. <br><br>- On voit des maisons inachevées partout, des établissements fermés, des autobus scolaires laiss ...

... to wait. I enjoy doing that when I'm traveling. The pizza is pretty good. After that we still have quite a bit of time till our flight. I begin to wonder if we are ever going to get home. Jerry's flight to Miami leaves earlier and he goes downstairs to enter the boarding area. We eventually go downstairs to wait in the secure area. This is the third time we have gone through a metal detector. They finally begin boarding: groups un ...

... The food was great. I had delicious pumpkin stew for breakfast made by Mimi. The other foreigners there were UN police officers and Christian missionaries. The swimming pool here too was clean and refreshing from the heat as the day touring was building up a sweat! The beach below was not a private beach, and as such, it was a bit polluted with organic matter, so we didn't go past ...

... spending five weeks here doing research for her public health degree. She is a wealth of information. We see lots of patients, asking them the same basic questions; when was your first period?, when was your last period?, how many times have you given birth?, how many children do you have that are alive? Almost all the women have had at least one, if not more, child die. One in four children die before they are five ...

... for her so she can begin using her legs. Part of the job of the women (Kim, Ashley, Megan, and myself ) on our trip will be to stay with Kenya and help her. I'm excited to help with this. I can't imagine a three year old being so tiny (my three year old was over thirty pounds)! I know this is just a small preview of the suffering we will encounter while there.

... After that, I went to Capotille, a smaller frontier community. South of Capotille I went to Mont Organisé and Carice. Both of these are very beautiful towns, but they are very isolated by mountains and a terrible road - I can only imagine what it's like when it rains! Before coming back to Cap, I briefly stopped by Ferrier. Ferrier is another border town, though North of Ouanaminthe; it is not as isolated as the previous three. I was able to witness ...

... of Mary invited me to teach Spanish to three of their groups. So far the experience has been great: by sharing with the students some things about Spanish spekaing cultures, I get a chance to plunge into an educational setting and experience it firsthand - plus... they are not only my students, but also my Creole tutors! I am sending some pictures: look for the PHOTO ALBUM somewhere. I hope to write at least one entry every month. Be well, and prepare the way of the Lord!