As I stepped off the plane the hot, humid air hit me. I left Virginia early that morning as the sun was just rising. There, it had been overcast and damp, about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A few hours later, I arrived in the tropics with temperatures in the 90s. What a reprieve from the chilly late November weather I had experienced in the Midwest and east coast! I was back in Haiti after two months away. Due to funding issues…
My neighbors are blasting Ed Sheeran’s Perfect. Our bedroom windows are only feet apart and in the two months I’ve been here, the neighbor’s musical tastes have gone from their native Haitian tunes to mimicking the pop US songs I play. It’s just a little bit of home and because their speakers are much louder than my laptop’s, our whole compound can hear those sweet acoustic melodies. The situation in Haiti however is far from perfect. For the past four…
There are many times this virtue seems just beyond my grasp. I’m sure many of you struggle with patience too. We have Google, text messages, Netflix, and fast food. Most things are available right now. But sometimes we are forced to wait. For some, maybe it’s waiting on the next vacation and the days drag, or maybe you’re waiting on the job or school you applied to, but haven’t heard back yet. Those who have patience wait well. They have…
Each week I try to do a few things to both improve the site and also make life more comfortable. This week that entailed wiring a light to my bedroom. Previously I’d use a headlamp or flashlight at night. After a trip to CK Hardware, the premier Haitian hardware store, I had my wire, box, light fixture, and bulbs. After about an hour, my room had light! It’s even up to code. Haitian code. The wire runs outside the walls…
7:30 PM. It’s my favorite time of the day. It’s the time that the sun dips below the horizon and the earth begins to cool. The scorching heat of the day is over. If we’re fortunate, we have electricity and I can set out a fan, pull out a book, and read by the light over our table on the concrete patio. There are four broken chairs to choose from. Two are without backs. The other two have damaged legs. …