Your Life Will Change

At the end of the year the 6^th grade classes go on a retreat with a youth pastor from the states. She’s been coming down for years…I don’t know much about it really. It is called the FROG retreat (Fully Rely On God) and they sing lots of songs…I’ve been asked to teach them the songs since they are in English—that way they have some more understanding of the words and better pronunciation…so that is what we’ve been working on. I don’t know most of the songs (well I kind of do now) but we put the words on the board, translate them, repeat them, read them and then Wahite Frick (translator/English teacher) sings for them. The first one we did was Your Life Will Change.

From the page to your heart 

God’s Word is where you are; 

Read it now and your life will change! 

It’s exciting, surprising each and every day-

Read it now and your life will change! 

God’s Word will surprise you; 

God’s Word will amaze you! 

God’s Word will surprise you! 

Read it now and your life will change! 

Oh, how your life will change!

younger than the ones I was singing with but very cute!

Toffee

When I left Haiti to go to South Africa one of the guys who works for HOM asked me to bring him back an elephant…then he changed it to two elephants so he could breed and raise them. Then he changed his mind to lions and finally said even a snake would be fine…well I knew that wasn’t going to happen by any stretch of the imagination…I also knew that I couldn’t get something for just one or even a couple of people…so I thought about it and thought about it…when I got to Bloemfontein I asked Reinette about something like candy that is typically or at least quite South African…she suggested biltong which is kind of a meat jerky with special spices. I like it a lot but I wasn’t sure about getting meat—even dried meat—through customs. Then she suggested toffee made by Champions. Sounded good to me so we went to buy some. The store we went to is bulk store and the only way to buy toffee was to buy at least 120 pieces of it (already boxed). There were many different flavors. We were so indecisive that we ended up buying one box of the original, going outside to open and try it, and then going back in to buy more…I bought 3 boxes—there are a lot of people to give to…and so far it has been a big hit! (I’ve shared with all of my teachers and staff) But something I’ve noticed when watching different people eat it…those of us from US, Europe and SA put the whole square in their mouths in one bite…about the size of a Laffy Taffy and much stickier it is a real work out for your mouth and feels like you might pull your teeth out. (Dentists don’t like this stuff too much). When I got back to Haiti and gave it to people, they would unwrap it and take a small bite of the piece and continue to kind of nibble at it…This way it didn’t really hinder conversation or wear the person’s jaw out…just an observation (this observation has not changed the way I eat the toffee)

2 of the 3 boxes

Concrete

This is actually a couple of months late but this is a good time as any to share it.

Half of what was poured as seen from the roof of the existing building

The school out at Repatriate started 3 years ago (I think). It has 2 PreK classes, 2 K-1 classes and 1 K-2 class…and the building they have isn’t big enough for next year when they will add another 2 classes of children. So they started building the second building in February. A long-time friend of HOM’s came down to oversee the pouring of the foundation concrete. He is a mason and has poured most of the foundations for HOM buildings. First they had to dig very large trenches to pour the concrete into and when that was done they filled it with iron rebar for strength and support…bent and tied together and sticking up for the columns…strong enough to walk on. 

I'm in the background in red--watching!

All the concrete was mixed by hand (no big trucks for us-though I think they are available here). 7 small mixers placed around the square foundation…over 150 Haitians working carrying buckets of sand, cement, water, gravel to the mixers then shoveling it around to even it out under all the rebar. I went out with the team as it was one of my mornings off. I thought I would just watch and see what was going on with the team as some of them were headed to different worksites but we all wanted to see what was going on. It was such a hive of activity! People moving everywhere and no one running into any one else (until all of us visitors showed up) and then I was asked to hold something so they could measure to make sure a column wasn’t out of place…and then I was helping shovel the concrete flat…and me in my flip flops! They loved it (I was pretty happy with it—not having to wear shoes) Many Haitians wear flip flops or go barefoot on a construction site as they do not have proper footwear…I think they were getting a kick out of me in my flip flops.

Grace and I stirring and moving the concrete

Back in Haiti

Fear God and observe his commandments, tat is what is all men must do.

When I got back to Haiti I had a great welcome (besides being left at the airport because they couldn’t remember which day I was coming back). Everyone was happy to see me. Those who didn’t really know I was gone knew that I hadn’t been seen in a while. I didn’t work on Monday as that was my return day…I met the team that was here and I did go to the staff meeting but other than that I slept and unpacked and slept some more. Tuesday’s are my off mornings…I was put to work picking up rocks in the soccer field since many Haitians play barefoot. Um…that would be ok if the whole field didn’t seem to be made of rocks…it would have made much more sense to me to bring in more dirt to cover the field but it wasn’t up to me.  So I helped the team move a lot of rocks (but didn’t see too much difference in the end). For my teachers’ classes I was going to just have a talking day…they would have to tell me about their holidays. I knew it would be hard to get them to talk, for everyone to try it has to be a very specific question and even then. And I would tell them about my holiday with plenty of time for explanations (I hope). So I arrived for the Pre-K teacher class…they all walked in. I was greeted in high fashion…hugs and we missed you and so glad you are back and then—we know you are tired so there is no class today if that is ok with you…um ok with me. I went back for another nap. Not so for the grade teachers but they are a little easier to get to talk anyway…I was a good way to be greeted backJ

Travel

It takes ages to get from Haiti to South Africa…and a lot of mileage covered. From the Caribbean I flew to NYC, then over to London (where I met Rhona) and then all the way south to Cape Town. I tried very hard to find a flight through South America but they actually took even longer! Coming back to Haiti is no less difficult. From Jo’burg to London to Miami (overnight) and finally back to Port-au-Prince.  But the upside is that one of the long flights I was with friends. Rhona, Isabelle and I were on the same flight from Jo’burg to London…and we were able to fix it that we sat next to each other! The agent who checked us in looked at us like we were crazy when she said the only 3 seats available were at the very back but we didn’t care where they were as long as we had that much more time together. Even after 2 weeks we were still talking…not too surprising I suppose. We chatted all through dinner and after dinner a flight attendant came and asked us to hold it down. About 7 minutes later another came and told us to be quiet…I asked if we were really being loud and she said ‘You don’t think so?’ and then she said that someone three rows up was complaining…(I’m so sure that is not true because if I can barely hear the girls next to me unless they have supersonic hearing… and then the In charge came told us that this is our third and final warning…the next time she would have to give us a written charge and we would no longer be welcomed on British Airways again. I asked if she had ear plugs and she was confused as to why I wanted ear plugs but I told her it was for the man in front of me who was doing all the complaining…She wasn’t impressed. But we weighed our options and decided that for us to travel to see each other we would probably have to use BA again so we stopped talking…not the nicest way to end but we still got a few laughs out of it. I wonder what the man would have done if we’d snored—I think that would have been much worse than our chatter…

South Africa finale (almost)

Tuesday us girls went shopping at the mall…sounds just like me doesn’t it?! but really the people make all the difference (and the fact that I really didn’t need anything). Then to pick up Jamie who had been at camp since we’d arrived. Then we met up with the others to visit the War museum (Anglo-Boer War) but it was closed for renovations so we wandered the grounds and saw a women’s memorial and statues of men going off and returning from war. As we were leaving we found that Jamie had locked the keys in the car…Oops! James and I went home to get the spare set and then we all stopped for ice cream on the way home. Dinner was pasta with a ratatouille sauce and salad (specially for me as I only get spaghetti for breakfast in Haitiand oh so nice). We played games almost every night—Carcassonne, Ubango, Jungle Speed, Skipbo, Uno.

Wednesday morning Ute had to leave early to return to Jo’burg/Zimbabwe. Later in the morning we went to a cat farm called Zanchieta where we saw white lions, regular lions, cheetahs, servals, spotted cats, leopards, a meercat that thought it was a Rottweiler and more.

White lion named William Wallace

Leopard cub

lion cub

Cheetah who stalked us on our way in

brothers

The next morning was spent getting ready for a 3 day adventure on our way to Jo’burg. I think I was lucky in that I’ve been a part of this before…getting 4 boys ready to go is no walk in the park with the high energy and the minimal amount of space. This also includes making sure we have food for the car and for our meals (we would be camping/cooking for ourselves). When James got home from work we loaded up in the bus (10 passenger) with a trailer attached and headed out. Now we had those 4 boys in a car (less space to ride off their energy) but they are used to it from their trips from Malawi to South Africa. We played the alphabet game (looking for letters on signs we passed) which was greatly helped by a police block that was trying to slow down holiday traffic (SA has a very bad rate for wrecks especially over holiday weekends). Then the boys put a twist on it and we had to look for things out the windows that started with the alphabet in A, B, C order…that used some imagination and more time. We ended the first night in Rosendal at a farm on a hill. A large place that easily accommodated us and had space for quite a few more. We arrived in the dark and so couldn’t see much until the next morning but had a great braai of liver (a special South African dish) and snook (fish).

Friday we traveled through Golden Gate Highlands National Park with its impressive scenery and views with rock formations and cliffs. We saw zebras and blesbok (a type of antelope which have white faces). It was stunning. We had thought to camp there but we’d brought Benka with us (the Rhodesian Ridgeback-dog) and I don’t think that would go over well in a National Park. So we continued on around to Phuthaditjhaba where James had grown up. It is now a guesthouse/meeting center that is backed up to the hills of the national park. It was a mission station before. We got 2 rooms there…braiied outside and played as long as the light stayed. Then the kids went to bed and we played Carcassonne on the floor, as cutthroat as ever.

Saturday was our last hurrah as the airport was our destination that night and we were all dreading it. But we made it a great day. Benka started off well by getting a hold of our leftovers and making short work of them. James led us in a short hike up to where he once wrote his name on a rock that overlooked the valley. Then we headed off. On the way we stopped at the Huski Romi Rescue and Wolf Sanctuary. I couldn’t really imagine what that was other than a bunch of dogs in cages like at a zoo…but the owner took us on a tour and told us all about Huskys and wolves and how he gets them, how to take care of them, and we were let in to pet and play with them. It was great. Most of them have been abandoned, people will get them as puppies (cute and cuddly) but don’t know how to take care of them or their natures and so when they are bigger they can’t control them or continue to take care of them. They are pack animals so being on their own isn’t good for them, but they are also very protective and totally gentle when not provoked. They are really big animals.

Then we had to go to the airport. It was sad. Very sad.

Bloemfontein

The next morning we continued on to Bloemfontein and arrived just in time for my birthday party!! (as though they would start without me) I had no idea such a thing was being planned!  We piled out of the car into hugs from all the Veitches and Ute who had made a surprise visit (having to leave Zimbabwe for her visa anyway)! Balloons, cake, cupcakes, milktart and friends…it was a wonderful time followed by a big water fight that no one was able to escape from no matter how hard they tried. It was like we had never been apart. We played backyard cricket and ate an amazing meal.

The next morning Will and Brian left us to begin their return journeys to England and Namibia. The rest of us headed out for a picnic at a local museum that had a great playing field in front. The field has become an art display entitled the Long Walk to Freedom. The final projection will have 400 statues of important people from SA history. Niki, Herman and I had a wrestling match. Then we headed up to the Nelson Mandela statue that overlooks Bloemfontein for some beautiful panoramic views.

On Monday James had to go to work (possibly happy for some peace and quiet even though we knew he was sad to have to work while we were there). The rest of us loaded up and went to the town of Kimberley to see the world’s largest man made hole and the place where so many of the world’s diamonds have been found…we got to go in the mine (or a replica of it) and to visit the old town after an informative film on what the history of the mines and the impact it had on South Africa. That night Reinette also had to work. She has gotten a job as a night nurse for an eye hospital. Mostly quiet nights as they have at most 5 patients but she wasn’t too happy about working while we were there. We went to visit her that evening to see where she was and it looks like a nice place.

Looking for diamonds!

Rocks

To God be the glory

1 John 4: 8-10

I’ll intersperse some of the Haiti experiences in with my SA storytelling. It might be confusing but maybe it will stay more up to date (ish).  I got back on Monday morning. I tried to mostly stay up during the day but I refused to work (and wasn’t asked). Tuesday it was jumping all in though. We had a group in from NC and I was asked to help with that during the morning since I don’t have class then. They were picking up rocks from the soccer field here at Terre Noire. It is true that many of the Haitians who come here to play often play barefoot and those rocks can’t feel very good but the whole field looked like it was made of rocks. Yes there is dirt too but seriously not a job I ever would have picked. (also, if this field was made anything like the one at Repatriate there is a layer of rocks underneath a layer of sand and dirt so it would have made more sense to me to layer more sand over the top than try to pick up the rocks out of the field.) We moved the rocks and I think we moved quite a bit of rocks but honestly when I look at that field I still don’t see much of a difference. Hopefully those playing on it feel a difference.

The next day (and the day after that and the day after that) my legs were so sore that I didn’t want to go up or down the stairs (no choice in the matter)…I didn’t feel sore at all when we climbed Table Mountain in South Africa (2 hours up up up)…I let that go to my head too…

SA (cont)

Then out to Franschhoek (the wine lands around Cape Town)…we visited 2 wineries and had a lovely relaxing day. Vrede en Lust (peace and passion) was the first where they had a rosé wine called Jess (and a Sav Blanc called Casey’s Ridge)…other interesting wines were the Red Lady Merlot and the Boet Erasmus (my favorite). Then we went to La Motte winery where we tasted more beautiful wines also with interesting mixes of types of grapes (the Shiraz Grenache). That evening we went to a beach restaurant at Granger beach and met up with Kondwani (Malawian doctor who was at Nkhoma the first year and is now in Cape Town doing more studies).The next morning we left Cape Town headed to Bloemfontein with many different options for our day of where to go, what to see and where to stay…and then didn’t really use any of them but came up with another on the way! We drove along the coast (a beautiful drive) to Mosselbaai (Mussel Bay). It seemed that the entire world was there (Thursday was a public holiday as it was Human Rights Day so everyone made it a long weekend). It felt great to get out of the car and we walked along the shore (very rocky) and watched some surfers. We walked along to find sand but weren’t successful…so we went swimming anyway. Will didn’t swim (afraid of sharks we think) but he worked on our housing…everything was full at Mossel Baai so we continued on to Oudsthoorn which is inland and where we were headed the next day anyway.We stayed at Paradise Backpackers (which really was quite nice though I’m not sure about a paradise). Ostrich burgers for dinner and the next morning we went to Cango Wildlife Ranch where we saw lions, tigers (yes even if they don’t live in Africa normally), cheetahs, meerkats, lemurs, porcupines, crocodiles, and much more. Then we continued on our way to Bloemfontein with a stop by the side of an ostrich farm for a photo shoot. We landed in Hanover for the night which is a very small town with not much going on. We had a lovely dinner and then were invited in for coffee at the bar which turned into a dance party and the beginning of my birthday which was kicked off with a shot that had Tabasco in it!

South Africa arrival

An amazing 2 weeks spent in South Africa with great friends. As is normal for me, I do not do very much planning or research before visiting a new place…and South Africa was definitely a new place…I do so little planning that up until I arrived I had no idea what the plans were other than we were flying into Cape Town and at some point driving to Bloemfontein. That was enough for me until I realized that I had so many people to meet up with around South Africa (ok so they aren’t all that spread out surprisingly) but that some kind of plan or at least a way to get in touch would be smart…but by then it was too late and so we had to play it by ear (which we probably would have done anyway) and it worked (though maybe with more planning we could have gotten together more)…
I was 2 weeks late on my visa for Haiti…lucky me they don’t seem to care much (which is what I’d been assured before but still a bit nerve wracking when actually leaving the country late)…stamped and on my way no problem—security checked twice before leaving Haiti and again upon entering the US…Rhona (British doctor I lived with the first year in Malawi) and I were on the flight from London to Cape Town together…sadly we didn’t meet up until just before time to get on the plane (I’d been there all day but the London airport is huge and I didn’t hear the call for me over the speaker). In Cape Town we were picked up by Isabelle (optometrist from Luxembourg) and Will (ophthalmologist from England/SA) and driven to the apartment we had for a couple of days for showers before heading out to visit Bertus (SA who was in Nkhoma the first year). Bertus had a lekker braii (delicious grill out) for us with his girlfriend Anya. It was fun to catch up and see that he hadn’t changed all that much. The next day we were given a grand tour by Ken and Colleen Cross (SA couple who had come to Nkhoma to help out at Ebenezer my second year). From views of the Cape Town peninsula (somewhat shrouded in clouds) to the seaside towns for fish and chips and seal petting to the penguins at Boulder Beach. Then dinner with Natasha (SA doctor in Nkhoma my second year). Tuesday was spent climbing Table Mountain. Isabelle took the cable car up and met us at the top…2 hour hike up up up…beautiful views over Cape Town. A good breeze on top made it easy to forget that you were in some pretty strong sun as evidenced by the burns that the Europeans got (my being in Haiti I think helped as well as sunscreen though they did claim to put some on). We all took the cable car down and I think that helped in not feeling the muscle ache as much as we would have otherwise. We then met up with Will’s childhood friend Brian who is living in Namibia running a guesthouse and shop and had come down for a break. We went for sundown drinks at Camps Bay where Isa, Rhona and I went for a swim despite the warnings of sharks (from people not there). We went to dinner at the Waterfront which has a great feel to it (though I think they overcook their shrimp).