More mice. More mosquitoes.

So it turns out, my room does in fact have mice... I've just never put out any traps. Since the last blog (only a few days ago), I've caught 4 mice, 1 lizard (sorry buddy!) and 1 cat! Things are going well! I may have had another mouse as well, but if so, the cat got to him first, and I woke up to a frantic cat flapping the sticky pad around my room at 4:30am! Thanks for trying Roxanne!

Well, pour little William has taken quite the beating these past few weeks. First, before the surgery, he somehow acquired a massive scrape on his hip. He never told anyone, so we never saw it until it had already scabbed over. The thing was big though, probably 3 inches long! Oh well... I guess it didn't hurt that badly! So, then he goes for his surgery, has bandages around his crotch and is walking like a cowboy, and can't really run around much. And THEN, the day mama was coming home, Rosy hit him in the head with a rock and the screams coming out of that boy were nothing I'd heard here before! Hans, Vladymir and I run outside to see what's going on, and there's William coming down the alley towards the kitchen, his head spewing blood all over the place. It was dripping down his face, was spattered on his chest and legs and was all over the walkway. I have never seen anyone bleed so bad. I run for a wet cloth to press against the wound. My hand is quickly covered in blood, and I'm thanking God this is one of the few kids who doesn't have AIDS! Anyway, the hole in his head was pretty big, and the swelling had made a bump probably about a half inch off his little head. By morning though, when Trisha finally saw the damage, and after it had been squished with one of the girls' headbands to keep pressure, the swelling had dropped dramatically. He has graduated now to just a small band-aid.

Sponge bath for William. Can't get the stitches wet yet.

Gotta wash them stinky pits!

Hans and I went to Vladymir's church with him this past Sunday (the same church where he was recently married). Vladymir said he'd be here to pick us up at 7am sharp. So, Hans and I got up at 6:30 to make sure we'd be ready, and have had time to eat a little something, as we were warned church here tends to go for close to 3 hours many times! Waiting for him to show up, some of the kids woke up. Of course, William with his bandages everywhere, woke up, and when we told him to go back to bed, he climbed back into his bed, stepping so very carefully at the edges of the mattress, butt straight up in the air and hands at the front of the bed frame. I asked what he was doing, and quickly realized he had wet his bed and 90% of the thing was sopping wet! Deciding we couldn't leave him that way, we changed the sheets, wiped down the bed and him, and redressed his wounds, as they too were sopping wet with piss (even his head bandage!). It reeked as you can imagine. I felt my gag reflex kick in a few times while wiping the mattress down! Don't know how such a little boy can pee sooo much!

Anyway, back to church. Vladymir finally got here around 7am, and the three of us took a tap tap to our turn off from the main road. This was my first tap tap ride (Hans's second). It was fun! I tried to get some pictures, but the go-stop-massive-speed-bump ride made it a bit difficult. There are a few below though. From there, Hans and I shared a moto taxi (motorbike) from the main road to the church itself. That road was full of rocks and more speed bumps. There was one point, we almost tipped over because we had to slow down so much!

On the moto taxi on our way to the church.

On the way back home. (Vladymir is the guy standing on the right).

We finally got to church, and sat in the back section. Our bench was very popular for some reason, and I ended up sitting with one shoulder behind Vladymir's and the other in front of Hans. Wasn't the most comfortable, but at least we were up and down a few times to break up the awkward seating arrangement! It was long indeed, and not speaking the language just emphasized that feeling. There seemed to be a lot going on though... people talking, singing and walking around while the service was going on. Babies were getting passed around so much, I couldn't even tell who the mother was anymore! I found that all a bit odd... But what I found the most humorous, was that church is just a great cell-phone-charging hub. Every outlet in the room had chargers hanging from them, with cell phones squished between the wall and the pipe to hold them there. People were constantly checking their phones, and switching them out when one was finished.

Hans continues to implement his school schedule, and it seems to be going well. I've been helping with it when I can (and finding I have very little patience at times!), but have otherwise been working on elements of the website. Websites are a lot of work! And trying to work on that while also trying to be around and helping with the kids is a hard combo to master. We've made some worksheets on the computer for math and clock work, and we are very excited about them. Too bad Trisha wasn't able to find the right ink for their printer when she was in the States. Hopefully they'll be able to get ink the next time they're up there. By leaving materials, we're hoping that school can continue even after we leave.

Our studious pupils (L-R): Gessica, Nadia, Christian and William

 

 

I continue to get bitten by mosquitoes. Hans too. It almost seems to actually be getting worse. My room seems to have become a breeding nest for them. It used to be just my calves and feet, but now it seems to have spread to other areas as well, in particular, my bum. Don't know why, but they really seem to like it. Maybe the bloods a little sweeter... I think I counted about 20 bites just on one cheek. Don't understand why Trisha and Ray don't have problems with them! They don't even use repellent!

Crazy little Mason

Rosy washing the potatoes in preparation for HASH BROWNS!

For the rest, things are going well. Hopefully this burying myself behind the computer thing will end soon! Being the perfectionist that I am, it's sometimes hard to say when to stop! We'll be sure to let you know when it's done and up.

If it's possible, we think to stay here until the middle of December now. That way, we can not only continue the school schedule for a little longer, and get more materials, but we can also go see the country a little more before leaving. We think to start that this coming Saturday by going up into the mountains. The elections are this weekend (the 28th), and private vehicles are not allowed on the road in many areas, so we can't go too far. Should be a great start though.

Hans found a frog peeking at him while getting ready for his shower... That board is actually a wall between the showering area and my room.

Hans's hands were peeling away from all the cement at work. They've cleared up by now luckily!

The kids love watching me work on the computer, and decided to build their own "computers!" I love the mice especially (a toy construction truck with wheels, so they can move it around!)

This girls gonna be a lot of fun (and a lot of trouble) when she grows up. Now, she's mostly just a really cute pain in the butt. But, you've gotta love her! (Elda and Lulu eating almonds from the tree)

The smaller images can be seen larger if you'd like. Just click on them, and the image will load in a new window.  But, that's all for now. We'll try to get some new stuff up soon again!

Posted by Abra

A lot has happened since the last blog post, but little to write about. Construction has been put off for the past week, and the kids are still acting like spoiled brats, and standing against the wall because of it. Thirteen kids require a great deal of care and attention, and two parents (who should be enjoying a retired life of golf and bridge) are hard-pressed to fulfill it. And unfortunately, instead of providing what attention you can muster, it's all too easy to ignore the problem and retreat into the semi-sanctuary that is the computer 'depot'. "GET OUT OF THE DEPOT!" is an all too common exclamation in the Comfort House. 

Today, in the midst of all of this, I noticed an anomaly. We were trying to teach the children discipline through a friendly game of memory, and when that failed we switched to a puzzle. But after a few hours of yelling at them, we grew tired and annoyed. In a moment of frustration, I sent one kid (a whining trouble-maker) to the wall, the younger kids to the front to scream and play, and the three oldest into the kitchen for school.  And immediately there was peace in the Comfort House. The oldest were able to focus without distraction, and the youngest could play without the constant need for attention. And, Abra and I could get to our own writing (her in her journal, me doing this blog), with only the occasional 'helping-along' and encouragement for our three studious pupils. 

It turns out, the best form of discipline is not yelling and punishment, but division of children, schedules, work and education. You must divide to conquer, keep a schedule to keep them busy, give them work to keep the distracted, and give them an education to get them learning and excited about it. 

 

 

So I am now setting out to create a school schedule, which will lead them through the sequential steps of learning to write, read and do math. I've never created lesson plans before, but I'm confident that over the past 4 weeks, I've learned the order in which kids have to learn these subjects, so it's a matter of writing that down (for future teachers), creating the material (on the computer, so it can be printed as needed), and creating some sort of an accomplishment chart so they can feel rewarded and encouraged. I'll let you know how it goes... but I can already tell you I'm much more excited about this than shoveling rocks into another drain hole. 

And it's a much bigger area of need. Saving these kids from homelessness and starvation is one thing (not to mention death, as they provide them with life-saving medication), but it would be a disservice to not also give them even a rudimentary education. (Which, to be honest, is about all they'd get from public education system in this country).

 

 

 (Photos from above: Ray had to take a drive down to Port one morning, and Abra wasn't feeling so well... Meaning, I got to cook breakfast for the crew. It was Saturday, so, eggs and hash browns. I opted for scrambled eggs thinking maybe it'd be a little easier than fried. Was pretty delicious I'd have to say!)

Other than that, which I haven't even started, life has been fairly routine. Which is not to say bad. William just came home from the hospital, where he was for an operation to help his testicles drop. He's walking like a cowboy, just off his horse, but he's recovering fine. Abra and I each spent about 4-5 hours babysitting him during his 2 day stay at the hospital. To get their I took "public transportation." First, I took a tap-tap, down the road to the HAS turn-off. A tap-tap is nothing more than a cheap Toyota pickup, which piles people (and whatever they're carrying) into the back, fitting 20 people easily. When you want to get off, you just tap on the side. Hence it's name. Then, from the turn-off, I took a Taxi-moto the rest of the way. A taxi moto is just a dirtbike that can hold one passenger, though often times, you'll see 4 people on these little bikes. 

William's bed was in the children's ward, in a 25' x 25' room, stuffed with 11 beds, each with 1 or 2 accompanying adults. The room was designed for 8 beds (4 on each side), but the hospital was overcrowded, and we were placed in the open space in the middle. But about halfway through the second day of being there, one of the babies passed away, and we were given her stop. I was watching her sleeping, each breath from her oxygen pump seeming quite the struggle, but she seemed at peace. Her mother didn't believe the nurses, when they came in and pronounced the baby dead. I didn't understand what they were saying, but it was very cold, matter of fact, and someone must have said a joke, because one of the nurses let out a chuckle. The other nurse spent her time yelling at the mother to convince her that her baby was no more. After about 20 minutes, the nurses came back, rolled the bed out into the hall and placed a sheet over the body, so that William could take over the spot. 

On her shift, Abra was able to get a handful of photos, some of which can be seen above.

We also took a trip to Lachapelle, and I took some photos along the way, to show the daily scenery of this area. We're living in a valley, with a simple 2-lane road that runs up the middle. Along the road are various small towns, some hardly noticeable as you pass, others a conglomeration of food stands and 'banks'. Banks, as I learned, are not banks at all. But they want you to 'deposit' your money there nonetheless. In fact, they're lottery stands, and every day you can buy numbers from 1-100, and every night they pick 3 numbers. There are a few off-shoots from the main road, most of which are unpaved, leading to the river (which runs parallel to the road, a few hundred yards away), and to various boroughs off the main road. Along the road you see tarps laying on the ground covered with rice, as farmers dry their crop.

Because of the upcoming Nov. 28 elections, the roads are filled with posters for presidential hopefuls. The most common poster is the yellow-and-green for Jude Celestin, the handpicked heir of President Rene Preval. But he's considered unlikely to win due to the inaction by the current government after the earthquake, and the recent cholera outbreak. Many think he would be a puppet for Preval. Over the last administration the country has remained the poorest in the western hemisphere, and a NGO haven for international aid organizations providing education, healthcare (Doctor's Without Borders), and orphanages. The period has also seen the continuance of a UN presence for security, and US AID, which provides food, and development projects. The main opposition candidate is Mirlande Manigat. At the moment she's favored to win. To read more about this interesting election, go to: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2031412,00.html?xid=rss-mostpopular.

The other big thing that's going on is Abra and I are building Ray and Trisha a new website. Their current website is fairly outdated, difficult to navigate, and full of bright-colors and obscure fonts that make it hard to read. We're hoping to give them a more professional site (without losing ALL of the homie-ness), which we hope will help them attract some more eyes and also donations. I wish we could show you what we've got so far, but it hasn't been posted yet. Their current website is still up at www.haiticomfort.org.

Trisha will be back Friday from her 3 week trip to Florida, South Carolina and Texas where she spoke at several churches to ask for donations. She's coming back with bowls, and batteries and other essentials that are hard to come by in Haiti, and also, so I've heard, a Thanksgiving Turkey (hard to believe!). And hopefully, the donations will soon follow. If they do, the Lachapelle house has a real chance of being built fast. And while the original date of Dec 31 is looking increasingly unrealistic, hopefully the end of February isn't.

Everything else is going well. I'm considering returning (alone) at the end of Abra and my trip, but that is yet to be determined. The 16 year old (Roodline) is still in love with me, and 'flirts' by following me everywhere, copying my every word, and giggling obnoxiously. It's less cute than it is annoying, childish, and sad. She has a history of sexual abuse, as well as a late stage of AIDS dementia, which gives her very limited mental capacity, speech impediments, and a skewed sense of balance. 

The twins (Mason and Michael), with whom I share a room, have graduated from cribs to beds. And since my room is also used as a storage room for rice and beans, it means nap time has become ‘run-around-the-room-and-spill-rice-everywhere-time”. Speaking of my room… I caught 2 more mice a few days ago. That brings the total for my room up to 6. Except, again, 1 escaped (I was naïve to think these sticky pads were strong enough to hold the mice). So that means with 4 sticky pads I’ve eliminated only 4 mice. Abra is lucky not to have mice in her room but because her room is open to the outside (really all it is is a porch), she has lots of lizards running around her room. We found one floating in the dogs water bucket on his back. He wasn’t dead though… he ran away later. She also gets lots of cockroaches in her room at night as they venture out of the kitchen. At night the kitchen is a no-go zone because of all the cockroaches. Yesterday Ray sprayed bug spray in there and must have hit their "nest", as they were crawling out of every little crack, falling from the ceiling... one after the next... I wasn’t there, but I heard dozens of them were scrambling and flying for their lives.

The weather has cooled down to a more comfortable low-to-mid 80's. We survived hurricane Tomas, which was just a lot of rain, a little wind, and a bunch of thunder and lightening. The coastal towns had the brunt of it. 

We're still taking showers in the alley-way, with cold water, which is always fun.

Oh! And I'm trying to learn French. I just hired someone to give me lessons Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays for a couple hours a day for a couple bucks a day. We'll see how it goes.

Otherwise, all is well! Please let me know how you're doing! I love to hear about news from the states.

Best!

Posted by Hans