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!