Another one of my adventures before I got struck down with typhoid...
"Pye, pye, fe bak... pye, pye, fe bak," David repeated and grinned at me over Esther's head. We were doing it! We were actually teaching our first swing dance lesson together, and it happened to be in Haiti... with explanations in Creole! Esther looked delighted!
And David pointed out to me a universal truth of dancing... Women everywhere love to dance, and male shyness crosses international borders! David's taught many beginner lessons before, but this was my first time helping him teach a group. And what a fun group to start with!! Esther had invited us to church that morning for David's only Sunday in Haiti, and after seeing lots of pictures on my fridge of David and I swing dancing, Esther asked us to teach the youth group how to dance. Swing is how David and I met a year and a half ago and something that we still love to do when I don't have a broken arm or typhoid. :)
The girls loved it! I think God planted a dancing gene into almost every woman's DNA. And there's something about the creativity and smoothness of lindy hop that beckons to that gene. Even in another language. Even if the boys hang back shyly.
The pastor and some of the younger guys bravely repeated our little mantra (foot, foot, go back; my attempt at translating step, step, rock step), and they picked up the steps rather quickly. David was the perfect teacher, and I loved watching him communicate through the international language of dance. All we need now are some good swing dance instructor names, as all the best instructors have names with a cool ring to it. How do you feel about Dangerous Dave and Dancin Di? Coming to a country near you soon!!! :D
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Alo? This is Diane speaking....
A typical week of phone calls in the States consists of things like a call from my mom with an invitation to dinner, a call from David about when he’s picking me up for a date, calls from friends to set up coffee chat-fests, and maybe a long distance call to faraway friend or sibling who’s still close in my heart.
My typical Haitian phone calls in a week go something like this:
Monday morning, Mme. Soliet called to tell me that they were out of food. Completely. She sent the orphans to school without any breakfast and had nothing to serve them when they return. Is there any way that I could help them?
That led to a brief cry over orphans going hungry and then more phone calls around to see if there was funding available. Thankfully, the last team that was here left a generous donation that will get her through for a few more days, and another phone call lined up some things for the orphanage after that.
Next, Monday afternoon was phone call from Mis Vero, my dear Haitian nurse friend. She was calling to see if I felt any worse and to let me know that she was coming by to take out my IV, the one that she had put in that morning when she visited me at home. I’m so thankful that she makes house calls!
That night, I made a call to my family to tell them I have typhoid.
Tuesday consisted of calls from missionaries to see how I was and to discuss some upcoming visitors, a call from a Haitian buddy to tell me about the LaGonave soccer team playoffs on Sunday and how I should go if I’m better, and a thank you call from Mme. Soliet.
Wednesday, there were calls to set up a missionary flight in a 4-seater plane to Port in a few weeks, calls about hiring someone to cook and clean for me since I can’t get up off the couch, and calls to pray that God would protect the food distribution from rain and violence. The good thing about being sick is that you have lots of time to pray!
Today has had more calls from the orphanage (with a report that the kids are all healthy and playing, and sometimes playing too rough and Mme. Soliet gets to be referee), a call from Caleb about keys for somewhere and how the police on the mainland may have been looking to appropriate some of the food from his distribution and to please keep praying.
So, my phone’s been busy this week! And sometimes the calls feel a little bit like lines from episode of Burn Notice. Just another normal week here in Haiti….
My typical Haitian phone calls in a week go something like this:
Monday morning, Mme. Soliet called to tell me that they were out of food. Completely. She sent the orphans to school without any breakfast and had nothing to serve them when they return. Is there any way that I could help them?
That led to a brief cry over orphans going hungry and then more phone calls around to see if there was funding available. Thankfully, the last team that was here left a generous donation that will get her through for a few more days, and another phone call lined up some things for the orphanage after that.
Next, Monday afternoon was phone call from Mis Vero, my dear Haitian nurse friend. She was calling to see if I felt any worse and to let me know that she was coming by to take out my IV, the one that she had put in that morning when she visited me at home. I’m so thankful that she makes house calls!
That night, I made a call to my family to tell them I have typhoid.
Tuesday consisted of calls from missionaries to see how I was and to discuss some upcoming visitors, a call from a Haitian buddy to tell me about the LaGonave soccer team playoffs on Sunday and how I should go if I’m better, and a thank you call from Mme. Soliet.
Wednesday, there were calls to set up a missionary flight in a 4-seater plane to Port in a few weeks, calls about hiring someone to cook and clean for me since I can’t get up off the couch, and calls to pray that God would protect the food distribution from rain and violence. The good thing about being sick is that you have lots of time to pray!
Today has had more calls from the orphanage (with a report that the kids are all healthy and playing, and sometimes playing too rough and Mme. Soliet gets to be referee), a call from Caleb about keys for somewhere and how the police on the mainland may have been looking to appropriate some of the food from his distribution and to please keep praying.
So, my phone’s been busy this week! And sometimes the calls feel a little bit like lines from episode of Burn Notice. Just another normal week here in Haiti….
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Note from the Sick Bed and How to Eat a Coconut
Some Follow Up on Being Sick:
Typhoid. {sigh} And anemia. {sigh again} Once again, I am thankful that none of this takes God by surprise, even though I had not been planning on getting sick this year. It's nice to finally have some answers on why my stomach still bothers me and why I'm exhausted, but I still covet your prayers.
While I've been convalescing in my home for the past week, I really have no new adventures to report. So, I've been working on reporting an older adventure. A few weeks ago, I learned how to prepare coconut here, and my experience is as follows...
How To Eat a Coconut in Haiti:
"Knock, knock!" someone called to me on evening a few weeks ago. It was Jon Bena, who was standing outside my door with 3 other Haitian friends and Caleb. Here, it's rare to actually knock on someone's door, and much more common to call out. Another typical greeting is for the visitor to say "One" (honor) to which you answer "respe" (respect). This particular evening, they had come to visit and see if I wanted some coconut.
In America, for me, coconut comes sweetened, shaved, and in a plastic bag. In Haiti, it comes from Jon Bena's 13 year old friend climbing the coconut tree in the yard outside my door. In an amazing feat of acrobatics, this boy climbed the 40 foot tree to throw down some coconuts for me.
After that, we walked over to a stump so that the buys could hack off the outside covering with a machete. Ben, Jon Bena's twin brother, is teaching the younger guys who to use a machete and still keep all of your fingers. Ben and jon Bena learned how to use one when they were 11 or 12.
After the thick outside layer was off of the coconuts, we migrated back to my house, found a drill, and made a small hole in the top of each coconut. That allowed us to extract the yummy coconut water. We poured all the coconut water into a pitcher, added sugar, and stuck it in the fridge for a couple of house until it was ready to be a nice, tasty, chilly treat for us!
Next commenced coconut smashing... which means going outside to my front patio and dropping the coconuts onto the ground to break the brown outer shell. It was then ready to pry out of that dark brown shell with a small spacula. After that (and sneaking a few small pieces to taste :), the coconuts were ready to peel the outside skin off. While I enjoy nibbling on it with the light skin still on, it's best for cooking and pies if you peel the rest off. I've found that a small paring knife is quicker than a potato peeler, but either way it's still a time consuming task. After that, the final step in the process is grating the coconut. At long last, your coconut is ready to be munch or added into granola or made into a delicious coconut cream pie!
Typhoid. {sigh} And anemia. {sigh again} Once again, I am thankful that none of this takes God by surprise, even though I had not been planning on getting sick this year. It's nice to finally have some answers on why my stomach still bothers me and why I'm exhausted, but I still covet your prayers.
While I've been convalescing in my home for the past week, I really have no new adventures to report. So, I've been working on reporting an older adventure. A few weeks ago, I learned how to prepare coconut here, and my experience is as follows...
How To Eat a Coconut in Haiti:
"Knock, knock!" someone called to me on evening a few weeks ago. It was Jon Bena, who was standing outside my door with 3 other Haitian friends and Caleb. Here, it's rare to actually knock on someone's door, and much more common to call out. Another typical greeting is for the visitor to say "One" (honor) to which you answer "respe" (respect). This particular evening, they had come to visit and see if I wanted some coconut.
In America, for me, coconut comes sweetened, shaved, and in a plastic bag. In Haiti, it comes from Jon Bena's 13 year old friend climbing the coconut tree in the yard outside my door. In an amazing feat of acrobatics, this boy climbed the 40 foot tree to throw down some coconuts for me.
After that, we walked over to a stump so that the buys could hack off the outside covering with a machete. Ben, Jon Bena's twin brother, is teaching the younger guys who to use a machete and still keep all of your fingers. Ben and jon Bena learned how to use one when they were 11 or 12.
After the thick outside layer was off of the coconuts, we migrated back to my house, found a drill, and made a small hole in the top of each coconut. That allowed us to extract the yummy coconut water. We poured all the coconut water into a pitcher, added sugar, and stuck it in the fridge for a couple of house until it was ready to be a nice, tasty, chilly treat for us!
Next commenced coconut smashing... which means going outside to my front patio and dropping the coconuts onto the ground to break the brown outer shell. It was then ready to pry out of that dark brown shell with a small spacula. After that (and sneaking a few small pieces to taste :), the coconuts were ready to peel the outside skin off. While I enjoy nibbling on it with the light skin still on, it's best for cooking and pies if you peel the rest off. I've found that a small paring knife is quicker than a potato peeler, but either way it's still a time consuming task. After that, the final step in the process is grating the coconut. At long last, your coconut is ready to be munch or added into granola or made into a delicious coconut cream pie!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
David's Amazing Missions Blog :D
I'm so excited for him!!! My amazing boyfriend David got accepted into a missions internship program in Costa Rica for this fall! I can't wait to read all about his adventures there! He'll be doing civil engineering projects and speaking a ton of Spanish.
You can follow him too at: www.engineeringhope.blogspot.com
You can follow him too at: www.engineeringhope.blogspot.com
p.s.
Hi, again!!!
Just a quick note of enormous thanks to my dear friend Bethi for my lovely blog makeover!!!! While waiting for the arrival of her second adorable baby girl, Bethi made my blog look gorgeous! Thanks a million, my dear friend! And welcome to the world, baby Madeline! I'm so glad you're here!
You can follow her adventures at her amazing blog: http://www.bethibook.com/
Thanks, Bethi!
Just a quick note of enormous thanks to my dear friend Bethi for my lovely blog makeover!!!! While waiting for the arrival of her second adorable baby girl, Bethi made my blog look gorgeous! Thanks a million, my dear friend! And welcome to the world, baby Madeline! I'm so glad you're here!
You can follow her adventures at her amazing blog: http://www.bethibook.com/
Thanks, Bethi!
My Life as a Haitian
Hi, blog friends!
Sorry about the long absence! It's been a really busy but neat month! I feel like I've gotten to experience a lot of distinctly Haitian things, and it's been wonderful. Are you interested in some details on my adventures as a "blan" (white girl) pretending to be Haitian?
First, I got back into the country 3 weeks ago after a nice little rest in the US. Since life has been a bit more intense for us post-quake, our mission board asked us to work a certain number of weeks and then rest. So, I was up on the respite cycle again, and it was nice to see my family, some friends, and my David again. So sweet!
Since I've been back, it's been an adventure! On our way back out to the island, we stopped in a little town and bought pates, a yummy little deep-fried, homemade hot pocket. Then, we took the sail boat, The Wesleyanna, back to our island paradise. Shortly after I got home, I opened the cupboard door, and a tiny gecko ran out! Next, the water in my kitchen didn’t work, so I got just a little taste of Haitian life as I carried drinking water from the Guest House to my own (if I were really Haitian, though, I would have carried it on my head—the women here are amazing!!!). I am so thankful to have running water again!
I’ve also been exploring the local market. When we have short term teams visiting from other countries, I usually eat in the Guest House with them, so I haven’t needed to cook for myself very often. But this month, I’ve gotten to do so more. Matt (a friend of mine from SC who’s also here serving for a year), Caleb (a guy from NY who’s been here since the earthquake directing food distribution), and I all went to the market. Matt’s great at finding the stuff that we want, Caleb’s amazing at negotiating prices on mangoes and lobsters, and I am the coconut buyer (I made friends with a merchant and her daughter and they give me a good price ). Matt and Caleb also found (and tried) dirt cookies, much to the amusement of the women working in the market!). Dirt cookies are made from a certain type of clay, sold very cheaply, and are supposed to stave off hunger pangs when you’re starving. Matt says that they taste like—shocker—dirt! Please pray for those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from; for those who find that dirt cookies are their only option.
I’ve also been working in the hospital clinic. It’s been neat to get to know the nurses better, see patients on follow-up visits, and feel more comfortable in my Creole. It’s been slightly less neat that some of my patients share well, and I’m home sick today.
David’s here for a visit!! It’s been fun to have him (especially when I wasn’t sick ). We went to my friend Esther’s church on Sunday, and we were asked to sing a duet! That’s how they like to make visitors feel welcome!! And it really doesn’t matter how you sound as long as you make a joyful noise to the Lord (thankfully, since I’m not much of a singer!).
There’s a quick summary of some of my Haitian adventures! I’ll try to update again as soon as I have some more adventures!
Sorry about the long absence! It's been a really busy but neat month! I feel like I've gotten to experience a lot of distinctly Haitian things, and it's been wonderful. Are you interested in some details on my adventures as a "blan" (white girl) pretending to be Haitian?
First, I got back into the country 3 weeks ago after a nice little rest in the US. Since life has been a bit more intense for us post-quake, our mission board asked us to work a certain number of weeks and then rest. So, I was up on the respite cycle again, and it was nice to see my family, some friends, and my David again. So sweet!
Since I've been back, it's been an adventure! On our way back out to the island, we stopped in a little town and bought pates, a yummy little deep-fried, homemade hot pocket. Then, we took the sail boat, The Wesleyanna, back to our island paradise. Shortly after I got home, I opened the cupboard door, and a tiny gecko ran out! Next, the water in my kitchen didn’t work, so I got just a little taste of Haitian life as I carried drinking water from the Guest House to my own (if I were really Haitian, though, I would have carried it on my head—the women here are amazing!!!). I am so thankful to have running water again!
I’ve also been exploring the local market. When we have short term teams visiting from other countries, I usually eat in the Guest House with them, so I haven’t needed to cook for myself very often. But this month, I’ve gotten to do so more. Matt (a friend of mine from SC who’s also here serving for a year), Caleb (a guy from NY who’s been here since the earthquake directing food distribution), and I all went to the market. Matt’s great at finding the stuff that we want, Caleb’s amazing at negotiating prices on mangoes and lobsters, and I am the coconut buyer (I made friends with a merchant and her daughter and they give me a good price ). Matt and Caleb also found (and tried) dirt cookies, much to the amusement of the women working in the market!). Dirt cookies are made from a certain type of clay, sold very cheaply, and are supposed to stave off hunger pangs when you’re starving. Matt says that they taste like—shocker—dirt! Please pray for those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from; for those who find that dirt cookies are their only option.
I’ve also been working in the hospital clinic. It’s been neat to get to know the nurses better, see patients on follow-up visits, and feel more comfortable in my Creole. It’s been slightly less neat that some of my patients share well, and I’m home sick today.
David’s here for a visit!! It’s been fun to have him (especially when I wasn’t sick ). We went to my friend Esther’s church on Sunday, and we were asked to sing a duet! That’s how they like to make visitors feel welcome!! And it really doesn’t matter how you sound as long as you make a joyful noise to the Lord (thankfully, since I’m not much of a singer!).
There’s a quick summary of some of my Haitian adventures! I’ll try to update again as soon as I have some more adventures!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
For Such a Time as This
We kicked up clouds of dust as we exited church two weeks ago. Not on purpose, but it's the end of dry season, and everything is covered in a layer of powdery, whitish earth. But not her...
The four year old's black patent leather shoes were still spotless. Her lacy socks were still a dazzling white. Socks and shoes that covered emaciated feet and legs that cannot carry their small charge around. The little one is a paraplegic.
Curled up in her mother's arms, she never even offered us a smile. Urgently, the mother presented her child to the group of visiting Scottish doctors and myself. A year ago December, the girl fell. She was taken into Port Au Prince for x-rays and diagnosed with cervical and thoracic spinal fractures. This January, she stopped walking. Desperate, the mother hoped that the foreigners would be able to do something for her child.
We prayed. And set up an appointment for her to see us in the clinic so we could review her chart.
Tuesday morning, we shuffled over to the hospital in the swirling dust. And we saw over little girl with the clean shoes again. And prayed again. And tried to figure out how to help.
Thursday night, another missionary, new to the field and just completing his first week on the island with us, rushed across the mission station, leaving small clouds of dust in his wake. "They'll see her!" he informed us excitedly! He had gotten in touch with the University of Miami Field Hospital in Port Au Prince, and they had a pediatric neurosurgeon who agreed to see our little friend. But there was a catch-- he was leaving Haiti on Saturday!
But God's timing is perfect-- the Scottish team was traveling back to Port on their way back home on Friday. Excitedly, we called the child's mother, and the following morning she trudged through the dust with her husband and the child to travel to their doctor's appointment.
Last I heard, the neurosurgeon was confident he could help the girl. He's scheduling surgery for her in the States. I cannot help but think of how timely the Scots' visit and the arrival of the new missionary are! Truly, they are in Haiti for such a time as this.
The four year old's black patent leather shoes were still spotless. Her lacy socks were still a dazzling white. Socks and shoes that covered emaciated feet and legs that cannot carry their small charge around. The little one is a paraplegic.
Curled up in her mother's arms, she never even offered us a smile. Urgently, the mother presented her child to the group of visiting Scottish doctors and myself. A year ago December, the girl fell. She was taken into Port Au Prince for x-rays and diagnosed with cervical and thoracic spinal fractures. This January, she stopped walking. Desperate, the mother hoped that the foreigners would be able to do something for her child.
We prayed. And set up an appointment for her to see us in the clinic so we could review her chart.
Tuesday morning, we shuffled over to the hospital in the swirling dust. And we saw over little girl with the clean shoes again. And prayed again. And tried to figure out how to help.
Thursday night, another missionary, new to the field and just completing his first week on the island with us, rushed across the mission station, leaving small clouds of dust in his wake. "They'll see her!" he informed us excitedly! He had gotten in touch with the University of Miami Field Hospital in Port Au Prince, and they had a pediatric neurosurgeon who agreed to see our little friend. But there was a catch-- he was leaving Haiti on Saturday!
But God's timing is perfect-- the Scottish team was traveling back to Port on their way back home on Friday. Excitedly, we called the child's mother, and the following morning she trudged through the dust with her husband and the child to travel to their doctor's appointment.
Last I heard, the neurosurgeon was confident he could help the girl. He's scheduling surgery for her in the States. I cannot help but think of how timely the Scots' visit and the arrival of the new missionary are! Truly, they are in Haiti for such a time as this.
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