Planning for our future

Recently, lots of energy at our school has been put into figuring out exactly what the goal of our school is and how we are going to reach that goal.  Up to this point we've been a trilingual school with the priorities  1. English first 2. Creole and 3. French.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that order, and our students have been holding their own with the three languages.  However, we have been trying to reevaluate and determine what is best for the kids.  French is the official language of Haiti.  The problem is that the language of the people is Creole. The less educated you are, the less French you know.  Therefore, in Jubilee (where most people cannot read and write) virtually no one can speak French.

We think that the priorities of our school need to be rearranged with French as the top priority.  We are not raising our students and teaching them English so that they grow up and leave Haiti.  We want them to be educated members of society that will be strong leaders for their country.  So, why not put the focus on their official language?  Makes sense right?

It all seems easy in theory, but there is so much that needs to be figured out.  Curriculum, finding qualified teachers, training teachers, what do we teach in English, what do we teach in Creole and what do we teach in French?  The list goes on and on and on.  I'm thankful that most of my time is spent in my classroom while Lala and April work to figure out all the answers to these questions.

I'm sure to most teachers in the states, the thought of teaching in a bilingual school would seem terrifying.  I know it did to me the first time I ever heard of one.  But, three languages...now that's just crazy.  But, we're doing it.  We don't necessarily what we're doing, but we're researching and using trial and error to figure this beast out.

On top of that, we decided that if we are going to put more emphasis on French, then we should probably be able to speak it.  So, the plan is for April, Lala, and me to begin French classes next month.  Luckily for us, our good friend Keziah studied abroad in France and is fluent in French.  She has so kindly agreed to be our teacher!  I am excited, but also slightly scared because I know that French is much more difficult that Creole.  Also, unlike Creole we will not be using it on a daily basis so it will be harder to remember.  For all you prayer warriors out there, you can start praying for a supernatural ability to learn French!

While my head is spinning today trying to figure it all out, I'm excited for the future of our students.

My Motorcycle!!

It's official.  I am now the very proud owner of a motorcycle!!  We didn't have school this past week.  So, I finally had the time to go motorcycle shopping.

I had a certain motorcycle that I liked in mind, but one of the dealers was running a special on a different brand.  The price was too good to pass up.  My color choices were orange or green.  I went with green!

It cracks me up that it is a "Kayak" brand.  

Does anyone know what a nelmet is???

It has been so awesome having my own wheels for the first time since I moved to Haiti over two years ago.  I can get places faster and come and go anytime that I please.  I no longer have to pay a taxi every morning to get to school.  I never envisioned myself actually owning my own motorcycle, but I have to say I LOVE IT!

Thank you so much to everyone that donated to help me purchase this great moto!  I feel so very blessed to be able to get where I need to go!

Backpacks full of Rice

I was going to write my own blog post about this incident, but then I saw that my friend, Keziah, had beaten me to it.  Click here to read her great post!

Le séminaire

From 8 AM to 5 PM the past four days, I have been attending a seminar at l'Institut Haitien de Formation en Sciences de l'Education.  The seminar was an introductory course in school management and was worth two credits towards a diploma in school administration.

We paid for all of our teachers to attend.  Not only did we learn lots, but we also bonded as a team.  April, Lala, and I were the only people in the class that were not Haitian.  In addition, we were the only people in the class that did not speak French.

I speak Creole, but I do not speak French.  What does that matter you might ask?  Well, the ENTIRE seminar was in French.  Yes, you read that correctly....French.

Knowing how to speak Creole did help me understand a little of what they were saying in the seminar. Thankfully, the professor gave many hand outs.  With the use of google translate, a French/English dictionary, and some help from our teachers, we were miraculously able to keep up with the class.  After hearing French for four straight days my brain is ready to explode.  

We had three exams during the course of the seminar and we passed with flying colors!  At the end of the class, those of us that passed were presented with certificates.  During that time, one of the instructors stood up and gave a small congratulatory speech.  At one point during his short speech, he specifically spoke to us Americans and told us that he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw us in class the first day.  He said he didn't think that we would pass because we couldn't speak French so he was very surprised when he saw our exam scores.  He thanked us for being a part of the class.

I was very proud of our teachers.  My hope is that they enjoyed the seminar and learned a lot.  I want them to know how much we value them and how much we care about their professional development.  I can't wait until we get to so something like that again.  In the meantime, I think I should start learning French!

Haitians really know how to congratulate you on your achievements!  At the end of the day, they gave us dinner, cake and beer. 

They even had a band come to the school and play music for us.  

We managed to convince April to dance with Pierre, the professor that lead our seminar!  So, we ended the four days by dancing, laughing, and having fun.

Was it difficult?  Yes!  Was I glad that I did it?  Absolutely!

Moments that Matter

Sometimes I fear that people at home think I am out saving the world every single day or that my life is vastly different from theirs.  I won't deny that there are HUGE differences in my daily life vs. life in the U.S.  But, just like moving from one city to another, you adjust to the differences.  You learn the dialect/language, you settle in, you learn your way around, you work, make friends, you struggle, and you persevere.  Over time, what was once so foreign becomes second nature.

It's true that the people I work with are extremely poor.  They have a different skin color.  They speak a different language.  But, they have the same blood.  They go to sleep and rise in the morning.  They work.  They laugh.  They cry.  They seek status, education, money, love, religion, and relationships just like anyone else.

All of our time, whether in the states or in Haiti, is made up of moments.  We savor special moments with friends and family.  Our hearts warm in the moments of joy.  Our hearts break in the moments of injustice.  And for most of us, the mundane moments in life get overlooked.  They come and go without being noticed.  

Haiti has taught me that life is precious, the special moments and the mundane.  I want to be more aware.  I want to go through my life with my eyes and heart open to capture these moments and remember them.  Sometimes what might seem like an unimportant moment to one, could be a life changing moment to another.  

For the past several weeks, I have been trying to live by the phrase, "wherever you are be wholly there".  That can be especially hard at times when you have friends and family in two different countries.  But, I'm trying to capture special moments from each day.  Because of that, I've noticed a lot of wonderfully beautiful moments in my daily life that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

• a first grader sharing her lollipop with a crying pre-schooler
• one student offering to give his hard earned "good behavior tickets" to another student who had none
• a father agreeing to sit in 6 hours of class per day with his son for an entire week, so that his son's behavior can improve and he can stay in school
• Haitians complimenting me on my Creole
• seeing my students take pride in their grades
• my friend buying a Coke for me at the exact moment that I was in need of caffeine 
• my trouble students sitting quietly in class
• a teenage boy taking the time to talk to a 2nd grade girl about why it is important for her to use kind words and not curse at others
• my roommate making sure she bought my favorite produce when she went to the market
• parents coming to a parent meeting and listening intently (not a common occurrence)
• bandaging my landlord's knee after he was struck by a motorcycle while walking
• my student's eye infection getting better after a full month of giving antibiotics
• realizing that the man we buy drinking water from has never tried to hit on me or ask for my phone number 
• a fellow teacher thanking me for the advice that I give him on teaching
• observing my students learning to see the good in each other
• hearing the 2nd grade students speaking sentences in a mixture of Creole and English (Crenglish as we like to call it)
• seeing my students faces light up as I read them stories
• and so many, many other similar moments.

It is these simple moments that we all have that make our lives special.  Whether they occur in Haiti or in the US.  Whether they occur in English or in Creole.  The simple moments matter.

Use your precious moments to live life fully every single second of every single day. -- Marcia Wieder