What do you love about me??

I started something new in my classes this week.  I decided that every Monday in each of my three English classes, I am going to pick a "Star of the Week".  Honoring each other, complimenting each other, and seeing the good in each other is not something that my students are good at.  I'm sure their parents do not practice those skills with them at home.  I want to build my students' self esteem and help teach them to see the good in each other.

So, each week the special person will be able to do things like be the line leader, erase the chalkboard, and get other special privileges throughout the week.  But to me, the most important aspect is the writing activity.

Monday morning, I explained to the students that we were going to make a classroom book about all the reasons we love our "Star of the Week".  At first they looked shocked.  I even heard some of the kids say, "I don't love him/her!"  After some explanation and encouragement, the kids seemed to be understanding the concept.  However, they were still struggling to come up with reasons that they love their peer.  I decided to give them some examples:

     "I want you to tell me some of the reasons that you love our Star of the Week: Claudia.  For example, I love each of you.  Each of you has special characteristics that I love." I enthusiastically told my students.
     "You do?!?!  You love us?" several of the kids asked me in surprise.
     "Of course I love you!" I replied.  "I tell you guys all the time that I love you!"
     "Well, why do you love me?" David asked with a disbelieving smile on his face.
      I smiled back and replied, "I love you because you are funny and you make me and the kids in our class laugh."  He beamed with pride.
     "Ok, ok!  Me!  Why do you love me, Katie?" asked Chelda.
     I smiled again.  "I love you, Chelda, because you are gentle and kind to all the other students in our class."
     "My turn!" shouted Ifocoeur with his hand in the air.  "Why do you love me, Katie?"
     My heart was about to burst as I saw how happy they were to hear the compliments.  I looked at Ifocoeur and said, "I love you because you are so trustworthy.  You always tell me the truth and you help others whenever you get the chance."

Hands continued to fly into the air with excitement as they waited to hear why I love them.  They were so proud and happy to hear that I could name specific reasons that I love each of them, and I was more than happy to explain those reasons to them.

The idea of telling kids why you love them might sound simple to most of you.  However, here in Haiti, it is huge.  I'm certain that most parents here don't tell their kids that they love them very often.  I think that giving my kids the opportunity to write nice things about each other is going to be way more meaningful to them than I had expected.  For the first time ever, I now look forward to Monday mornings so that I can hear my little ones speak words of love to each other.

Thanksgiving 2012

One might think that spending holidays away from my family would be depressing.  While I do miss my family in the states, my last two Thanksgivings here in Haiti have been pretty unforgettable.

On the actual Thanksgiving day, I taught school.  After school, we played 7 on 7 tackle football with both Haitians and Americans on the salt flats behind our school.  It was a blast and I've got the bruises to prove it.

That night, we celebrated by eating rice, beans, and goat with the two teams that were staying at Mama Kathy and Papa Beaver's house.  It was a full house with 40 people gathered around the table and sitting on the couches and floors.

Our "tribe" wanted to have our own family Thanksgiving together.  So, we decided to have a traditional Thanksgiving feast on Friday at our friend Jake's aka JTP's house.  I asked my paraprofessional to cover my classes for me so that I could help cook and run errands as needed. 

It was a busy day, but it was all worth it when our crazy family of 25+ people gathered together.  Most of us "dressed up" in our nicest clothes.  Since we are usually sweaty, dirty, and dusty, it was fun to have a reason to look nice.  The evening started with coloring Thanksgiving pictures and a photo booth that Becca, Emma, and Kara set up.  

Needless to say, we had so much fun.

I've always loved Thanksgiving food, but eating it in Haiti makes it a million times better tasting.  Ben and Josh's mom, Gayle, came to visit and help cook everything.  She brought suitcases full of ingredients.  We had mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, green beans, cabbage salad, avocado, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese, fruit salad, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, apple strudel, cheesecake, cookies, and brownies.  It was incredible.  As I ate the delicious food, laughed with my friends, and looked around the room at the many people I've grown to love, I looked across the table and said to Kez, "It is impossible to stop smiling."

After dinner, we went into our "Recovery Star Food Coma" position.  In other words, we laid down on the floor to recover from eating too much food.  

Our laughter turned into singing our favorite show tunes and Disney movie songs,  Then once we sang ourselves out, we went outside for a campfire.  It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

Hating the World

For several days, I've been wanting to sit down and write about some beautiful stories of things that my students have done in school.  There are wonderful things that show me pictures of Jesus.  But, I didn't get around to writing about it.  And now, something else has happened that for the moment, has overshadowed that.

Unfortunately, the recent happening has broken my heart yet again.  I'm not actually ready to write about it.  Its fresh and my thoughts are not composed.  Right now, I'm a crumpled broken teary mess.  Not for myself.  I'm crying because I'm sharing the pain of others.  I'm crying because things that I see here should never be experienced by anyone, let alone precious children.

I'm crying because this world is so incredibly broken.  I'm crying because I'm angry, and at the moment I really hate this world.  I don't know if that is ok, but its the truth.  There is so much pain and suffering around me that sometimes I cannot take it.  Haiti rips my heart out and stomps on it on a regular basis.  Just when things seem to be going well, something else comes along that makes just brings me to my knees.  I am glad to share the burdens of those around me.  But, the truth is it is not easy.

Talking about wanting to share the burdens of others is one thing, but when you do it.  Man....it hurts.    In fact it is absolutely miserable.  In these situations, I usually have no idea what to do.  But, I can hurt with people and I can cry with them.  Often, I don't know what else to do.

I've never wanted God's Kingdom to come more than I do now.  This world is not fair.  Babies should not die.  Fathers should not abandon their children.  Children shouldn't be orphaned.  People should not have to suffer from AIDS, or TB, or other diseases.  These things are not of God.  It makes me angry.  That's where I am right now.  I'm broken and I'm angry at this world.

What is Heaven like?

        "I don't want God to come back!  If he comes, I'm going to hide!" I hear Lorisena, one of my precious little first graders say.  I was taken aback, and I decided to take a few minutes of our class time to explore this topic a little.
        "When Jesus comes back, we won't be able to hide.  No one will get to choose what we do.  Why don't you want God to come back?" I asked her.  She smiled and covered her face with embarrassment.  "I can't wait for Jesus to come back," I said.  "I want to go to Heaven with him."  The students started listening with interest.  Lorisena uncovered her face to hear what I was saying.  "Heaven is perfect.  It is better than any place on Earth.  In Heaven, no one is ever hungry." I told them.  "In Heaven, there is a huge long table so long that you can't even see the end of it.  And it is filled with all the food that you can imagine!"
        Their eyes widened with surprise.  One of the students asked, "Is there a market in Heaven?"
        I chucked and said, "I don't know if there is a market, but if there is one, everything in the market is free!"  The kids looked at each other in disbelief.  I went on, "Not only is there food for everyone, but there are green trees and plants, and the rivers are clean and crystal clear.  There is no trash anywhere!"
       "Mademoiselle Katie, are there houses in Heaven?" someone asked me.
       "Yes!" I said with excitement.  "God has a mansion and it is filled with rooms.  We all have our own special place to live.  It is clean and rats and mice never come inside.  The rain water and mud never leaks inside of it either."
        "How do you know all this?  Have you been to Heaven already, Mademoiselle Katie?" one of the students asked in all seriousness.
        "No, I haven't been there yet.  It says this in the Bible.  Do you want to hear some more?"  I asked them.
        "Yes!" they said.
        "Well, in Heaven all the streets are made of gold.  The walls have precious stones and gems all over them.  There are animals of all kinds and they live together.  It never gets dark in Heaven, and you never ever cry.  Heaven is perfect so there are no tears.  We get to be with God forever."  The students sat in silence as if they were mesmerized by what I was saying.  "So, do you still think that you want to hide when Jesus comes back?" I asked them.
        "No." They said.
        "We can all go to Heaven to be with God.  We just have to love God and follow Him during our life and have a relationship with Him.  When Jesus comes back to Earth, if we love Him, we get to go with Him."
        Lorisena who had been silent since I started talking suddenly decided to speak again.  "When its time for me to go to Heaven, God is going to throw a rope down for me and I'm going to climb up!"

ARTICLE: Haiti could see the deadliest effects of Sandy...

Please read this article and take time to pray for the situation here.  It seems like our poor country never gets a break.  I've already noticed this week that in the market some of our food staples are more expensive and more scarce.  

The original article is found online here.

Haiti could see the deadliest effects of Sandy as food dwindles and cholera spikes

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Wednesday October 31, 2012 – As if the mud, misery, loss of life and homelessness in Hurricane Sandy’s wake weren’t bad enough, the worst may yet be to come for disaster-ravaged Haiti.

Massive crop damage throughout the southern third of the country, as well as the likelihood of a spike in cases of cholera and other water-borne diseases, could mean that the impoverished country will experience the deadliest effects of the storm’s havoc in the days and weeks ahead.

Sandy claimed the most lives in the Caribbean in Haiti, as swollen rivers and landslides resulted in a death toll of at least 52 persons, according to the country's Civil Protection office.

Over three days of continuous rain left roads and bridges heavily damaged, cutting off access to several towns and a key border crossing with the Dominican Republic, moreover.

According to Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, "the economy took a huge hit" and the hurricane’s impact was devastating, "even by international standards". He added that Haiti was planning an appeal for emergency aid.

"Most of the agricultural crops that were left from Hurricane Isaac were destroyed during Sandy," Lamothe said, "so food security will be an issue."

The widespread loss of crops and supplies in the south, both for commercial growers and subsistence farmers, is a source of grave concern.

A series of nationwide protests and general strikes over the rising cost of living rocked the country even before Hurricane Sandy hit, and Jean Debalio Jean-Jacques, the Ministry of Agriculture's director for the southern department, said he worried that the massive crop loss "could aggravate the situation."

"The storm took everything away," he said. "Everything the peasants had in reserve - corn, tubers - all of it was devastated. Some people had already prepared their fields for winter crops and those were devastated."

On Haiti's south-western tip, the Abricots community was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Tomas and a recent dry spell when Sandy struck.

"We'll have famine in the coming days," said Abricots Mayor Kechner Toussaint. "It's an agricultural disaster."

The main staples of the local diet, bananas and breadfruit, were ripped out by winds and ruined by heavy rains.

In Camp-Perrin, a mountainous region in the southwest peninsula, coffee planters lamented the loss of a harvest they were weeks away from collecting.

"Coffee is the bank account of the peasants," said Maurice Jean-Louis, a planter and head of a coffee growers' cooperative in Camp-Perrin. Rain flooded many storage areas as well, soaking coffee beans that were set aside for export. He called the damage "incalculable."

In Port-au-Prince, Sandy destroyed concrete homes and tent camps alike, where 370,000 victims of the 2010 earthquake are still living. Authorities said 18,000 families were left homeless in the disaster.

Adding to the despair, a sharp rise in suspected cholera cases has been reported by aid organizations in several departments.

At least 86 new cases have come from Port-au-Prince's earthquake survivor camps alone, according to Dr. Juan Carlos Gustavo Alonso of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Many communities are still cut off and only accessible by helicopter, he said, so the broader rise in cholera was "still too early to tell."

Cholera has sickened almost 600,000 people and killed more than 7,400 since October 2010 in Haiti.

The state and international aid organizations have been distributing food, water and other items to affected camps and communities, including personal distributions by President Michel Martelly.

"These stocks are running dangerously low," said George Ngwa, spokesman for OCHA, a humanitarian coordinating body in Haiti. "After Tropical Storm Isaac in August, these stocks have not been replenished. What we're doing is scraping the bottom." 

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/haiti_news/629783.html#ixzz2BGTNN6WG

Meet Henry!

If you know me or have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have a Haitian dog named Jake.  I found Jake when he was only about a month old.  He had a broken leg, was covered in lice and mites, and he was nearly dead.  I rescued him, patched him up, and he's been my most loyal friend ever since.  He even moved with me to the United States.  Unfortunately, I came back to Haiti and he did not.  He now lives with my mom and dad.  Of course, when I'm visiting, he knows that he's still my boy.  Any dog lover knows how much they become a part of your family.  I miss Jake as much almost as much my friends and family when I'm here in Haiti.

Jake and I 

Here in Gonaives, I share a house with another American, Julie.  She and I talked about getting a pet for our new house.  She suggested a puppy, but I remember how much work and commitment dogs take.  With my busy teaching schedule and lack of free time, I didn't think I was up for all that.  So, I suggested a cat.  It would be great for catching rodents and cockroaches and good company.  However, Julie hates cats.  Unable to come to an agreement, we let the idea of a pet go for a little while.

The week of my birthday, April (the principal of our school) asked me if I could puppy-sit the school's ten week old "watch dog" for a weekend.  She needed to go to Port and had no one to watch Rex, the Haitian puppy.  Wanting to help (and being a dog lover), I agreed.  When I took him home, I specifically had to remind myself not to get attached to him since he was not actually my dog.  April's trip to Port kept getting extended and with each passing day, I got more and more attached to the feisty little guy.  I ended up watching Rex for a week and by the time that April got back to Gonaives, I was very sad to say goodbye to him.

He found a box to sleep in while I was teaching

Luckily for me, April and Lala heard how much I loved the puppy.  So, they came back from Port with a leash and collar, and they gave Rex to me for my birthday!  However, there was a slight problem.  The reason that April went to Port was to pick up HER birthday present from the airport.  Someone sent her a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy named Dexter.  She calls him Dex for short.  Having Dex and Rex play together was not only confusing for the puppies, but also for all the people around!

So, I decided to change Rex's name.  After lots of deliberation, Julie and I decided to name our puppy, Henry.  Why you ask?  No reason in particular.  All the names that I liked, she didn't like.  And all the names she liked, I didn't like.  Our little pup is sweet and loving but he has a feisty spirit about him.  Before we became his owners, he was accidentally dropped off of a second story building by a four year old (who shall remain nameless).  If that isn't bad enough, he was also stolen three times in Jubilee.  Thankfully, he was able to run away and find his way back to the school each time!  That being said, we thought that he needed a strong sounding name.  I didn't know the meaning of the name Henry until after I named him: home ruler.  I might be in trouble! So without further ado, I would like to introduce you all to the newest addition!  Meet Henry!

He is cuddly and very playful.  He is already mostly potty trained, and he has mastered the treacherous steps up to our house (this is no lie, our steps are steep high...everyone complains).

When I take him for walks, nearly everyone we pass says, "Blan, ba'm yon kado ti chen an"  Which means, "White person, give me your little dog as a gift."  I have several responses to that request such as: No, I love him, too much and I would cry if I gave him to you. or  No, he's a Haitian dog and there are plenty more exactly like him so just go find a different one in the street.  People usually like the humor and stop bugging me after they hear my response.

Henry rides on the back of a motorcycle with me almost everyday to get to school and rides home on a tap-tap after school.  Yes, I'm serious.  And yes, everyone laughs at us.  I even have a little cardboard crate that April made for him in my classroom, although he's not really a fan of it.

My students love him and whenever I don't bring him with me, they always ask about him.

Henry hanging out with his mama in my classroom.

I fell asleep on the floor and he decided to snuggle up with me.  Thanks to Julie for the picture!

I still miss Jake and no other dog will ever take his place, but it sure is nice to have the company of Henry and he is earning his own little place in my heart!