I was up early this morning with some gastro issues, not sure what would’ve caused it, perhaps the sugar cane we bought off the street…Caryn gave me some electrolytes and it must’ve worked because I felt fine during the day. Jasmin, one of the kids that walked with us yesterday and helped me practice Kreyol was there this morning. Last night on their walk back to their homes he stepped on a shell or rock and sliced open his heel pretty badly, so we cleaned and bandanged him up. For breakfast I had the Haitian oatmeal and bananas and toast. I made a pb and papaya preserve sandwich to take to the orphanage. We didn’t have too much trouble getting our stuff up the hill, but we didn’t have as much help because it wasn’t a market day and the kids were all in school. When we got to Soeur Flora’s I was so excited to see all kiddos, I saw Enrico first! He gave me a big hug! I looked around the room, but I couldn’t find Christien to get my fist pump, so I asked Stevenson where was Christien…oh, il est mort. Just like that, we had only been in the orphanage for 2 minutes and I was ready to sit down and cry. I guess he had a seizure in June and passed away, I visited his grave in the backyard and saw that they spelled it Crisien. Because we had so much to get done for the day I had to push that sadness way to the back, I am sure when my mind has time to think about it I will be upset. Caryn and I did some tag teaming and we started with Robert and Gondelson since we had the wheelchair there for someone. We went over the stretching routines with the therapist’s and tried them both out in the chair…we decided Robert was the best candidate because we couldn’t get Gondelson to flex at the hips when it was time to sit. We had to adjust the cushion and I added a foam pommel to prevent leg scissoring, hopefully it was enough. We removed the laterals because he was too short and they would not adjust, but we had a butterfly chest strap that will work perfectly. I showed the therapists how to make any adjustments. The car seats we had left for the 2 guys were nowhere to be found, from what I gathered from the caretakers they pointed down the hill and I said far and they nodded. So who knows. I guess they had outgrown them and they were back in the strollers we had originally found them in.
Debi brought in a baby that they say was born 2 weeks ago, and Debi estimates that the baby was 30-32 weeks. I have never seen a baby this small, ever. When I first saw him I had thought that Jean had been close to that small, but when I got back to the resort I looked at the pictures and he mustve been about 4 times his size. Jean by the way is doing amazing! He is sitting on his own, looking around and smiling! He is adorable, yet still has his asymmetrical head, little guy. The new premie’s name is Serge and his mother died during the cesarean. Soeur Flora keeps him in the back room that is used for worship, all by himself for quiet…and she feeds him periodically throughout the night…she said she falls asleep while she is sitting there…it was funny listening to her tell the stories. In what I could get of the French she was saying her very first child when she started the orphanage was a boy named Antoine who was premature and he is now 27 or so! She was very proud.
Beatrice is almost walking, she can pull herself up from sitting very well when she grabs onto your finger, and from there can walk…I also watched her furniture walk (holding onto wheelchairs!)
Daniel is also doing great, he is sitting on his own and so loves attention! We did notice that the soft spot on the top of his head has not closed over, likely we didn’t really note that last time because he had so much hair! I am more in love with Daniel after spending time with him on this visit, great kid. I told Soeur Flora I would take him home.
Enrico and I had some fun with a tickling game, and I gave him the light up ball that mom found at the museum…as predicted he loved it! We made a little video for Karen saying Bonswa Karen! He has such a cute laugh! We asked where his speech board was when we arrived and he was able to point to where they kept it. Red Karen says the new board she made was nowhere to be found. Red Karen took his speech board and trialed it with Watson…I never found out how that went, but she had me calm him down because he thought she was giving it away.
There was another young girl, Djeulency, that was sharing a kidcart with Beatrice, the kidcart was missing all the back padding, and the padding for the L lateral, the head rest was much too low and there were no foot supports so she dangled. I picked up the seat cushion and it was absolutely soaked in urine…it was disgusting. I adjusted the head rest but I need to figure out something to do for the back. Caryn is hoping that she wouldn’t need the kidcart and could just walk. I decided to clean the chair, and gave the cushion cover to someone to have it washed and took everything else out onto the front step with a bucket of water. The cushion had maggots all over it and there were cockroaches in the chair, and when I lifted up the cushion for the first time after we moved the little girl…there was the biggest spider I had ever seen sitting right there on the seat!! AHHH gag.
We went over to visit Travis and his mural, but all he was able to get done today was paint the background white because so many kids were hanging off him in the school. They are going to do a theme of S' unir pour Servir.
We did a lot of work today, hard to pinpoint everything, helped Naida walk on the bars and with her walker. Helped Tada at the bars and hand held. Fixed the chair that had been sent over for James because someone had added a wooden pummel that was ineffective and just a danger to his skin. The foot rests are gone and he is cutting his ankle on something that needs to be further investigated. Debi cleaned his wound.
We got back to the resort at about 5:30 and when we were just getting to our rooms Jasmin was saying he had the coconuts for us. So we gathered up $1 each and Travis was going to run down to the edge of the resort to grab them, but then Wadson yelled for him because they were going to meet the voodoo priest. So, we thought Jasmin had coconuts waiting at the edge so I said I would run down and get them while the rest went to the pool. When we got to the edge though they kept going…so I kept walking, and we gathered a bit of a crowd. There was me and a bunch of the local Haitians walking into the village and I get this feeling like, should I be doing this?, but then feel guilty for worrying about it…that’s the conflict in your brain a lot of the time. Anyway, it was fine, we walked a bit into the village until we got to a palm tree grove and one of the guys starts scooting up the tree! So I yell to Jasmin that he didn’t tell me I was going to need my camera! He said they would do it again tomorrow for pictures :)
Back in the room I washed all the clothes I had worn at the orphanage and hung them out to dry, but it was getting dark so I missed the sun power. I met the girls just as they were leaving the pool so Caryn turned back so I could take a quick dip and clean off slightly. Then we both showered quickly and went to supper, fried chicken, veggies, French fries and citron icecream. We then skedaddled down to the village because we could hear that the voodoo ceremony had started without us! We again, as usual, gathered a crowd as we walked through the village and then all of a sudden this kid was walking near us and he asked Debi if she was going to the beach…I was like who is that! And it was Adense!!! I doubt he remembered me but he stuck close to me all night, and said he would meet us at the beach on Thursday. The voodoo ceremony was something else…what I was most impressed with was the elderly women dancing! Oh boy, did they dance! The crowd oohed and awed everytime the voodoo priest did anything and most of his act seemed more like a drunken show for the crowd…but I really enjoyed being in the midst of it all and watching the crowd more than the priest. Near the end the priest cleansed our group of all evil spirits. Glad to have that done with. I hate carrying around baggage like that! The priest did spit fire a few times, but obviously the gods did not want me to get a picture of it because my camera went dead, but then worked again later! I hope I got some good shots! Over all a jam packed, fun day!
Friday, November 20, 2009
November 9, 2009
I had to pack my stuff up again this morning because I had to take some of it out in order to function for a night at PaP, and in the process forgot my alarm clock on my bed. We had thought that Cyril was picking us up this morning at 7am so Caryn and I were all ready to go with breakfast eaten by that time. We figured that since he had been late picking the group up on Friday, then perhaps he was also running behind today. But then I heard the cell phone ringing and it was him to say that he had sent a text the night before that we were to go to the airport with the team van and his driver would pick us up there. So we loaded up the van that Joel was driving to the airport and tried to get Haitians to rush! At the airport we found our Tour Haiti driver, Jean Jacques Solage, and loaded the bags onto his van and waited for the 8 new members to our team. We also put more minutes on our phone, because that Jolyane kept eating up all the minutes calling her man back home! ;) The team members arrived and we separated the bags and split the group for who was going to Ile a Vache and who was going to the guest house. For Ile a Vache we have myself and Caryn, plus red Karen, Debi the nurse, Travis the painter and Wadson the psychotherapist and Haitian- who by the way is extremely extroverted. I was the unlucky one in the van who didn’t have an opening window, I don’t know why they even had one like that. We had sugar cane, that Wadson bought in PaP, so my first time for that…I don’t overly care for it, I only had a wee bit. The drive seemed longer today with the different group, and with the extrovert :P It started pouring rain I think around grand goave but had stopped by the time we reached Les Cayes…which is also the point where all the girls were about to burst their bladders. It was funny to see how different the wharf situation went this year because the boat was there and waiting for us, and we had all our people ready to go so we weren’t on the wharf more than 5 minutes this time, instead of hours like last time. I had asked the driver to stop along our 4 hour drive to buy plantain chips (papitas), but he isn’t as good as Cyril at finding our snacks I guess, because he didn’t stop once.
The boat ride to Port Morgan was longer than last time because we took a different boat that drove very slowly, so not as fun. I would say about half way across to the island the people sitting at the front of the boat started pointing over to the side, so I thought they saw something cool like a porpoise…but all I saw was a faint rainbow…and then all of a sudden the Haitians are running into the cabin and the captain is telling us to get in…a few moments later it starts a torrential down-pour! Maybe Haitians smell rain? It rained for quite awhile so we had to postpone our trip to sister Flora’s because our boat had no cover. We left the bags there and were told we would have lunch up in the dining area right away. After some Haitian time we had Haitian sandwiches which were just as gross as last year. Then as the rain continued to beat down we figured the bags might not be that protected under the tarp…turns out they were sitting in quite a bit of water…I hope nothing is ruined.
After our lunch we went in the pool which was pretty green and had a little ozoney smell, hard to explain…so we went down to the beach to swim instead. I was a little creeped out at the beach because I think I remember Brendan saying last year there were those spiky urchins…and it was dusk when we were there so hard to see. We made some preliminary plans for our next 3 days: tomorrow voodoo ceremony, Wednesday island beach, Thursday beach hike to anse dufour. Of course, all this for our evening plans because all day will be spent at sister Flora’s. After our swim and a quick change of clothes, our group, minus red Karen, hiked down into the village. We had Wadson and then 2 locals as our guides and protection. It was pitch black down there and we just had small flashlight to light our feet so it was pretty interesting. It was odd to run into a group of people because it was so dark you had to wonder what they do in the evenings and how they get around so well. I made sure to stick close to our local tour guides because if we were seen with them we would be more accepted…it also helped that it was so dark you couldn’t absolutely tell we were white…except we spoke English along the way. I did practice a little little kreyol with one of the guides. I am trying to find Adense from last year. Anyway, we were hiking into the village so we could find a voodoo priest and arrange for the ceremony tomorrow, and we accomplished just that. ALong the way as I was walking along next to Debi, Wadson thought it would be fun to sneak ahead and hide behind a plam tree...as we passed he came running out with this growling scream and tried to grab us! I think I just about landed in Debi's arms!
Back at the resort it was time for supper: salad, rice with the djean djean mushroom sauce, and boiled plantains which are gross, some other white vegetable that was really just plain and a beef legume thing that I just picked at and the beef was really chewy…so, so far the food is not comparing well to Jacmel. :) When we finished supper everyone was feeling pretty worn out, well except Wadson of course, so we planned for bed. I tried to get on the internet but Wadson had beat me to it, and while I was waiting the owner, Didier came in and said he was closing up…so I haven’t been on in a couple days.
The boat ride to Port Morgan was longer than last time because we took a different boat that drove very slowly, so not as fun. I would say about half way across to the island the people sitting at the front of the boat started pointing over to the side, so I thought they saw something cool like a porpoise…but all I saw was a faint rainbow…and then all of a sudden the Haitians are running into the cabin and the captain is telling us to get in…a few moments later it starts a torrential down-pour! Maybe Haitians smell rain? It rained for quite awhile so we had to postpone our trip to sister Flora’s because our boat had no cover. We left the bags there and were told we would have lunch up in the dining area right away. After some Haitian time we had Haitian sandwiches which were just as gross as last year. Then as the rain continued to beat down we figured the bags might not be that protected under the tarp…turns out they were sitting in quite a bit of water…I hope nothing is ruined.
After our lunch we went in the pool which was pretty green and had a little ozoney smell, hard to explain…so we went down to the beach to swim instead. I was a little creeped out at the beach because I think I remember Brendan saying last year there were those spiky urchins…and it was dusk when we were there so hard to see. We made some preliminary plans for our next 3 days: tomorrow voodoo ceremony, Wednesday island beach, Thursday beach hike to anse dufour. Of course, all this for our evening plans because all day will be spent at sister Flora’s. After our swim and a quick change of clothes, our group, minus red Karen, hiked down into the village. We had Wadson and then 2 locals as our guides and protection. It was pitch black down there and we just had small flashlight to light our feet so it was pretty interesting. It was odd to run into a group of people because it was so dark you had to wonder what they do in the evenings and how they get around so well. I made sure to stick close to our local tour guides because if we were seen with them we would be more accepted…it also helped that it was so dark you couldn’t absolutely tell we were white…except we spoke English along the way. I did practice a little little kreyol with one of the guides. I am trying to find Adense from last year. Anyway, we were hiking into the village so we could find a voodoo priest and arrange for the ceremony tomorrow, and we accomplished just that. ALong the way as I was walking along next to Debi, Wadson thought it would be fun to sneak ahead and hide behind a plam tree...as we passed he came running out with this growling scream and tried to grab us! I think I just about landed in Debi's arms!
Back at the resort it was time for supper: salad, rice with the djean djean mushroom sauce, and boiled plantains which are gross, some other white vegetable that was really just plain and a beef legume thing that I just picked at and the beef was really chewy…so, so far the food is not comparing well to Jacmel. :) When we finished supper everyone was feeling pretty worn out, well except Wadson of course, so we planned for bed. I tried to get on the internet but Wadson had beat me to it, and while I was waiting the owner, Didier came in and said he was closing up…so I haven’t been on in a couple days.
November 8, 2009
We had another early morning and were on the road for Bassein Bleu by 8am. I had French toast for breakfast and fruit. Cyril was unable to arrange for horse transportation due to the short notice so we were back aboard the rache pwel and headed up the mountain. At the section where they were constructing the cement runways (no workers there today because it is Sunday) we walked up but the truck was able to drive over it so we got to drive all the way to the start of the hiking trail this time. Too bad we werent able to do that yesterday! Our driver Toto blames the road wash-out for Karen's accident. We stopped at the spot where Karen fell, and ToTo got out and was pointing at the ground saying she fell exactly here! We took pictures and tried to measure it, my tape was too short but it was longer than 2 of them so we guess 13-14 feet. When we got up to the tourist bureau, yeah I said it, there was a small building up the mountain for tourists! At this area there was a group of guys who just wait for people to come looking to hike up to bassein bleu and they act as our tour guide and we pay them at the end. The hike was pretty decent, some good hills but nothing we couldn’t handle. There are 3 basseins, and we were headed for the third one. From what I remember the first one was bassein yes, then bassein providence and then bassein bleu where the water fall is the largest. Right before you get to the last pool you have to rope climb down and then cross the stream. One of our guides wanted to be our photographer, it was funny. He was super impressed that my camera could go in the water! As we crossed the stream he would keep saying no slipping ok, no slipping. They all had a bit of English. The water was amazing, clear blue and just cool enough to be refreshing (although they referred to it as ice cold, it most certainly was not) The guide Joseph, who is known as the stunt man, brought us over to the waterfall and had us climb up under the water fall and then scale up through the rushing water and dive into the water. It was quite the rush! I didn’t even hesitate for long to jump as I would usually, since there was such an audience :P When I hit the water though and was rushing to the water I felt that my bathing suit had shifted, luckily I noticed and was able to re-adjust before coming to the surface. I must have gone pretty deep because it felt like it took a long time to come up, I was kicking and kicking. I really loved bassein bleu, definitely a place Chris would have wanted to be. As we started our hike back we felt probably our best of the trip because we were all cooled off, but it didn’t take too long for that refreshed feeling to fade and the sticky sweat feeling to replace it. Along our hike we saw avocado trees, coffee trees, coco trees and of course palm and mango. We stopped at the craft shop in the area where we parked and we tried the coco bean, well they told us just to suck on the white slimy stuff, and we had a fresh mandarin orange off a tree and then a lady had cooked us a breadfruit, right in the coals and made a spicy water to dip it in; it was really good! At the craft shop I bought a mask painted on a carrabasse and a drum made out of goats skin and I believe a carrabasse. It was really dim lit in the shop so I didn’t examine the drum as closely as I should’ve, even though I thought enough to ask about what the skin was…long story short when we got down the mountain and really looked at it we saw that there were tiny ants crawling around the skin. Driving down the mountain we had some rum punch and we were picking up people like a real tap-tap, a father and son were taking their grain to the mill. And another guy was headed to the market in town. Whenever little kids would run along side the truck to ask for money, Cyril would turn right around and ask them to give him money! It was funny. When we got back to the Cyvadier I took the drum down to the beach and found Karen and Nath sprawled out on their beach chairs surrounded by a mini market. I took the drum for a swim to drown the ants, but they were resilient little buggers and the skin started to get soggy so I just went up to the people selling things and asked for a knife to cut off the skin, because otherwise I would never get it past customs. The woman started cutting it and she was saying she would’ve kept it, and she even drummed a good beat with her hand and the knife…but then she saw the ants and understood, it was funny because she seemed insulted that someone would even make that drum and sell it! She kept tsk’ing and showing the other merchants, she said they didn’t dry it enough and put it on too fresh so it attracted bugs. I still need to get out a knife and make sure I get each piece off around the rim incase it starts to smell. Nath said she could send me leather to replace it.
We had a lunch before leaving the hotel, Jolyane and I split a salad with fish, carrots, egg, beets, eggplant etc. We tried again to find coffee, but the cooperative was closed because it was Sunday. We got back to the guesthouse at about 5 maybe and had supper before the rest of the team arrived. It was fried chicken, white rice with a sauce and very very hot tabouli, then fruit salad for dessert.
The team members arrived just as I was getting out of the shower, we now have 8 new people. We had to have a mini team meeting to organize people, which was odd, to have new people show up and then start telling people what to do. I am missing both a trip to Notre Maison and Mephiboshet that they are doing tomorrow. I got a chance to explain the kids to the people going though, I hope I get to see them. We were all trying to get on the internet, but no such luck. It would let you get so far as to type in your password, but then would just stop functioning. Fairly frustrating since it had been working well enough before we left for Jacmel.
Karen emailed Colleen to let them know about the accident, they seemed calm about the situation.
I went to bed a little early to prepare for an early rise and a day full of travel.
We had a lunch before leaving the hotel, Jolyane and I split a salad with fish, carrots, egg, beets, eggplant etc. We tried again to find coffee, but the cooperative was closed because it was Sunday. We got back to the guesthouse at about 5 maybe and had supper before the rest of the team arrived. It was fried chicken, white rice with a sauce and very very hot tabouli, then fruit salad for dessert.
The team members arrived just as I was getting out of the shower, we now have 8 new people. We had to have a mini team meeting to organize people, which was odd, to have new people show up and then start telling people what to do. I am missing both a trip to Notre Maison and Mephiboshet that they are doing tomorrow. I got a chance to explain the kids to the people going though, I hope I get to see them. We were all trying to get on the internet, but no such luck. It would let you get so far as to type in your password, but then would just stop functioning. Fairly frustrating since it had been working well enough before we left for Jacmel.
Karen emailed Colleen to let them know about the accident, they seemed calm about the situation.
I went to bed a little early to prepare for an early rise and a day full of travel.
November 7, 2009
We got up today with plans of full day of Jacmel adventure and fun. After I showered and saw that breakfast was not ready yet, I grabbed my camera and went down to check out the hotel beach. There were 2 little boys there with paintings, so I took some pictures. For breakfast I had crepes, a little too sweet this morning for my mood I think. We headed off to Basin Bleu at around 8 ready for a full day out in the sun. A rache pwel turned out to be a tap tap sort of transport, seats in the back of a truck. We drove that through town and it was a neat experience to be going down the street but more in the open, we even drove across a river! Up the mountain we got to a spot where the road had washed out and they were building cement tracks for two tires to make it more stable…so we could not drive any farther. We got out for a 3km hike to begin our actual hike. Karen was saying she must have lost a lung somewhere along the way and was finding it a challenge. We had not been walking for very long, less than a km when Cyril asked if we wanted to take a picture on the edge with the valley behind us. Of course we did. So he leads us up this embankment and we all held hands, me between Jolyane and Karen, Karen took a step backwards maybe because she was off balance and slipped down over the cliff. I still had a hold of her hand so I fell over too and I really really thought that she was going to stop on the next small ledge but her momentum pulled her right out of my hand and she fell to the road below about 14 feet! It was one of the worst moments of my life, to feel her slip between my fingers and then watch her bounce off the rocks and crash onto the ground below. She says that the look on my face will haunt her. Cyril and Nath went running down and Jolyane and I were standing there looking down at her in complete shock! We got down to the bottom and she actually stood up and was walking around in circles, like when someone is trying to “walk it off” it was probably the shock that allowed her to move so well. She was in a lot of pain and you could tell it was taking a lot out of her to maintain composure…I was feeling somewhat the same way. I wanted to cry. I felt responsible, like I should have been able to hold on.
The plan had been that Cyril and Nath would go with Karen back to the truck and the driver would take Nath and Karen to the hospital. Cyril called Christophe and he recommended the best MD he knew who was going to meet them down there. Then Cyril was going to lead Jolyane and I on the rest of the hike. We stood under a tree out of the sun and were to wait for him to come back. It was taking them a long time get back up this small hill we had just descended because the pain of her injuries was starting to set in. We got very lucky and a group of young guys came along and they had a mule, so they picked her up and got her on the mule to get her to the truck faster. At this point Nath motioned for Jolyane and I to come up to them, at first Cyril had not been too worried about her injuries because she had seemed so calm, alert and with manageable pain…but as she got further up the hill she began to experience excruciating pain and was nearly passing out. So we all went with her to the hospital because it became more serious. On the back of the truck on our way down I was beginning to lose my battle with the tears and a few sneaked out under cover of my sunglasses. The place we went to was a private clinic and we had a bit of a wait for the doctor…he checked her over and did not believe she had any fractures, but recommended x-rays to make sure. Karen remained in fairly good spirits throughout all this, although curse words were emitted because she was so upset that her trip was getting ruined, that and the pain and all the other complications that would come from being injured in another country. While we were standing there waiting Karen looks at me and says “are you ok?” I guess the look on my face was evident of my guilt and concern and she gave me that look and I just started to cry, I couldn’t help it, and I was apologizing for not being able to have held on. So big hugs all around and then we pulled ourselves together again. We went to the hospital and had a long wait there. It was a very hot and worrisome day . I took some pictures to show mom the radiology dept. She may like the Aberdeen more after she sees them, they even had to fix the generator so the machine would work. I was quite impressed though with how quickly we had her films after they were taken. We looked at the xrays and our untrained eyes did not see any fractures. We went back to the clinic and Cyril took the films in to show Dr. Nelson and we all stayed in the van, expecting to head off for some lunch. He came back out and said you have to come in with me Karen because he thinks you have a fractured pelvis. So in she goes because the MD had called his friend an orthopod to do a full exam because he was not confident in his xray reading. He gave her a very full exam and confirmed that there were no fractures, just very bad contusions. So arm, ribs, pelvis, and hip were still intact which was really good news. He recommended she stay non weight-bearing on the L leg for 24 hrs and see how that went. He had concerns that she may develop a hemothorax or whatever but we are to keep an eye on her breathing. The whole time she kept getting us to give her cognitive questions because she had hit her head and wanted to make sure she was ok.
We were now starving because it was about 2:30pm, so Cyril’s assistant took Jolyane and I to Hotel Florita to get some appetizers before lunch, and they would join us after Karen finished at the clinic. The hotel was a very nice place, and by that I only mean great architecture, not fancy…it was quite old. We took a tour of the hotel and had some rice that is flavoured with a mushroom called something like djean-djean that grows on dying mango trees, it was really good and had some lentils in it as well. Then the group arrived and our meal was served. I had fish, but it looked so gross when they put it in front of me, and when you are very hungry your stomach is sore to begin with, plus that gut feeling I had all day with the worry. I ate a few of the plantains but they felt too heavy in my stomach and I ate about half of the fish, but did not enjoy it. It was not as good as the red snapper, it was much more fishy tasting, but again, not nearly as bad tasting as it had looked. The lady brought out more of the rice so I had more of that and was satisfied. After our meal we walked over to the art school, but everything there was really expensive, and mostly voodoo style. I did like one painting, the colours were great and it had those coral fans painted onto it (the real fan with paint dripped over) but it was $2000 US.
We continued shopping at a few smaller places and we would park right in front of the door so Karen could see in, and then hold stuff up for her at the door. We even modeled Karnaval masks for her! I bought a tete zeb (a papier mache zebra bust), a small wooden fish and a stone carving of a man kneeling that was made out of an orangey stone. I think overall I spent $32 US. We stopped at a place that Cyril thought had homegrown coffee, but they did not have any. We got back to the hotel at about 6:30 and I was able to pick up an internet signal and I wrote home about the accident, letting them know that we were all ok, incase the team sent out a message. Then we went swimming in the ocean while Nath helped Karen shower to get ready for the evening. While we floated in the ocean Cyril said we could do the Basin Bleu hike again tomorrow and this time he will try to arrange that we go up the mountain on horseback, that is exciting! Nath is not going to come because she has been there before and would rather lay in the sun with Karen, and keep her company. I feel bad, because Karen had really been looking forward to Basin Bleu.
Now that Karen is injured, she cannot go to Ile a Vache, because there are too many stairs and we have to walk up a big hill to get to the orphanage. It was supposed to be her and I that left for there tomorrow at noon, so now I cannot go alone because no one there speaks English, and it is likely not wise for me to go off there all by myself. So we will all go back to PaP tomorrow and maybe I can go to Ile a Vache just a day later. It would have been fun for Karen and I to be on the island with just us, and to visit Soeur Flora without the rest of the group, but-what can you do. I figure I can suck up my disappointments because I did not fall off a cliff…consider my blessings counted. Another unfortunate aspect of today was we paid $375 US for this weekend and ended up spending our one full day at the hospital. Karen feels horrible because she thinks she ruined our trip, I am sure Cyril feels awful because he suggested the picture, I feel awful because I was not able to hold onto her etc…so our mood was up and down today, but we tried hard to keep the mood light and make jokes.
For supper I had grilled fish, I believe it was red snapper again, very good. I had papaya sorbet for dessert but I did not like the papaya flavor. Tonight’s conversation centred mostly around people’s accident stories, I didn’t really think of any to tell.
The plan had been that Cyril and Nath would go with Karen back to the truck and the driver would take Nath and Karen to the hospital. Cyril called Christophe and he recommended the best MD he knew who was going to meet them down there. Then Cyril was going to lead Jolyane and I on the rest of the hike. We stood under a tree out of the sun and were to wait for him to come back. It was taking them a long time get back up this small hill we had just descended because the pain of her injuries was starting to set in. We got very lucky and a group of young guys came along and they had a mule, so they picked her up and got her on the mule to get her to the truck faster. At this point Nath motioned for Jolyane and I to come up to them, at first Cyril had not been too worried about her injuries because she had seemed so calm, alert and with manageable pain…but as she got further up the hill she began to experience excruciating pain and was nearly passing out. So we all went with her to the hospital because it became more serious. On the back of the truck on our way down I was beginning to lose my battle with the tears and a few sneaked out under cover of my sunglasses. The place we went to was a private clinic and we had a bit of a wait for the doctor…he checked her over and did not believe she had any fractures, but recommended x-rays to make sure. Karen remained in fairly good spirits throughout all this, although curse words were emitted because she was so upset that her trip was getting ruined, that and the pain and all the other complications that would come from being injured in another country. While we were standing there waiting Karen looks at me and says “are you ok?” I guess the look on my face was evident of my guilt and concern and she gave me that look and I just started to cry, I couldn’t help it, and I was apologizing for not being able to have held on. So big hugs all around and then we pulled ourselves together again. We went to the hospital and had a long wait there. It was a very hot and worrisome day . I took some pictures to show mom the radiology dept. She may like the Aberdeen more after she sees them, they even had to fix the generator so the machine would work. I was quite impressed though with how quickly we had her films after they were taken. We looked at the xrays and our untrained eyes did not see any fractures. We went back to the clinic and Cyril took the films in to show Dr. Nelson and we all stayed in the van, expecting to head off for some lunch. He came back out and said you have to come in with me Karen because he thinks you have a fractured pelvis. So in she goes because the MD had called his friend an orthopod to do a full exam because he was not confident in his xray reading. He gave her a very full exam and confirmed that there were no fractures, just very bad contusions. So arm, ribs, pelvis, and hip were still intact which was really good news. He recommended she stay non weight-bearing on the L leg for 24 hrs and see how that went. He had concerns that she may develop a hemothorax or whatever but we are to keep an eye on her breathing. The whole time she kept getting us to give her cognitive questions because she had hit her head and wanted to make sure she was ok.
We were now starving because it was about 2:30pm, so Cyril’s assistant took Jolyane and I to Hotel Florita to get some appetizers before lunch, and they would join us after Karen finished at the clinic. The hotel was a very nice place, and by that I only mean great architecture, not fancy…it was quite old. We took a tour of the hotel and had some rice that is flavoured with a mushroom called something like djean-djean that grows on dying mango trees, it was really good and had some lentils in it as well. Then the group arrived and our meal was served. I had fish, but it looked so gross when they put it in front of me, and when you are very hungry your stomach is sore to begin with, plus that gut feeling I had all day with the worry. I ate a few of the plantains but they felt too heavy in my stomach and I ate about half of the fish, but did not enjoy it. It was not as good as the red snapper, it was much more fishy tasting, but again, not nearly as bad tasting as it had looked. The lady brought out more of the rice so I had more of that and was satisfied. After our meal we walked over to the art school, but everything there was really expensive, and mostly voodoo style. I did like one painting, the colours were great and it had those coral fans painted onto it (the real fan with paint dripped over) but it was $2000 US.
We continued shopping at a few smaller places and we would park right in front of the door so Karen could see in, and then hold stuff up for her at the door. We even modeled Karnaval masks for her! I bought a tete zeb (a papier mache zebra bust), a small wooden fish and a stone carving of a man kneeling that was made out of an orangey stone. I think overall I spent $32 US. We stopped at a place that Cyril thought had homegrown coffee, but they did not have any. We got back to the hotel at about 6:30 and I was able to pick up an internet signal and I wrote home about the accident, letting them know that we were all ok, incase the team sent out a message. Then we went swimming in the ocean while Nath helped Karen shower to get ready for the evening. While we floated in the ocean Cyril said we could do the Basin Bleu hike again tomorrow and this time he will try to arrange that we go up the mountain on horseback, that is exciting! Nath is not going to come because she has been there before and would rather lay in the sun with Karen, and keep her company. I feel bad, because Karen had really been looking forward to Basin Bleu.
Now that Karen is injured, she cannot go to Ile a Vache, because there are too many stairs and we have to walk up a big hill to get to the orphanage. It was supposed to be her and I that left for there tomorrow at noon, so now I cannot go alone because no one there speaks English, and it is likely not wise for me to go off there all by myself. So we will all go back to PaP tomorrow and maybe I can go to Ile a Vache just a day later. It would have been fun for Karen and I to be on the island with just us, and to visit Soeur Flora without the rest of the group, but-what can you do. I figure I can suck up my disappointments because I did not fall off a cliff…consider my blessings counted. Another unfortunate aspect of today was we paid $375 US for this weekend and ended up spending our one full day at the hospital. Karen feels horrible because she thinks she ruined our trip, I am sure Cyril feels awful because he suggested the picture, I feel awful because I was not able to hold onto her etc…so our mood was up and down today, but we tried hard to keep the mood light and make jokes.
For supper I had grilled fish, I believe it was red snapper again, very good. I had papaya sorbet for dessert but I did not like the papaya flavor. Tonight’s conversation centred mostly around people’s accident stories, I didn’t really think of any to tell.
November 6, 2009
This morning was a busy one as we packed our bags for the week to follow and got ready to leave with Tour Haiti for Jacmel. After breakfast of fruit and toast Jolyane and I headed up to the clinic at 7 because we were told they would open the store room for us. We needed to gather up a few items for ile a vache and in our hectic clinic schedule did not think of it until last night. When we got to the clinic there was no one around. As we were about to leave we heard a noise so went back in, asked around but no one had a key. So we went back to the guest house and I helped Karen arrange our hockey bags for what was needed at ile a vache. Cyril arrived and we loaded the van, Jolyane and I decided to head back up to the clinic to see if they had arrived. No luck, but Jack was there and says he is feeling better after his motor accident, he laughed when he either recognized me or because I used kreyol "Koumon ou ye?" Again, as we were leaving, the storehouse clerk arrived so we scrounged around up there…it is really hurting, we had a hard time to find even simple things like a quad cane. We did not get much checked off our list so that is disappointing. I wish I had been better prepared on what we would need.
We set off for Jacmel and had a beautiful ride over the Chaine de la Selle mountains. Cyril announced when we were going up the steepest section and it was in this area that we had to pull over to allow a gas truck to squeeze past a tap tap that was stopped on a big turn and all the people were on the side of the road. We didn’t think much of it, but then as we passed the taptap we see that it is literally on top of a small car that it crashed into on the turn, and it appears that it was at fault because it was on the wrong side of the road. There was a girl crying and bleeding but it did not appear that anyone was killed. We did not stop because it was decided we would not be much help and we were running behind for pazapa.
At pazapa Marika led Jolyane and I to a room full of small children and said they were all new to her and needed programs designed for the year. Marika figured we would do one or 2 of the kids in the room. Jolyane did not feel comfortable doing a peds assessment, so we teamed up, she took notes and translated and I asked all the questions and made the treatment plan. We made it through 4 kids and when Karen came to get us saying it was time to go. Jolyane and I could not believe it because it really did not feel like we had been there that long! Time really flew. I literally had sweat dropping off me though, it was that hot in there. That and a few of my tests involved physical activity :P
We saw a young boy, who had autism quality symptoms, but fairly good eye contact. We also recommended he see Nath, about his ankles and Karen for his swallowing difficulties so a true team approach on our first kid. Karen thinks he likely had microcephaly. He was a sensory seeker for sure, vestibular, tactile and perhaps a little auditory but the mouth noises could have been an oral tactile thing. He calmed with activity and compression. I recommended a sensory diet and trying a weighted vest and taught them how to make one.
Then we saw a young girl, who absolutely broke my heart! She was found at 2mos. Lying in a field covered in ants. She had welts and lumps and bumps all over her face, her ears were swollen, her gums deformed, her nose sunken in, a malshaped chest and inflamed and contracted joints…she even had an ulnar claw. She is now 2, so quite some time since the ants…we were told it had been worse than this. She had difficulty breathing and her heart was absolutely racing! She calmed in my arms and I recommended she be seen by a MD for pain and distress. I also recommended gentle gentle slow ranging, and to dress her very cautiously and demonstrated.
Then we saw another young girl, she is 15 mos and likely has mild CP. Very bright alert cute girl who will sometimes drag her R foot and will not use her R hand though it is strong enough for her to hold my finger and pull herself up to standing with it! She has not began to speak many words as of yet, so I recommended they begin model prompts and singing things like tete appaule; also games that encourage bilateral hand use or more forced choice to use the R hand.
Lastly we saw a young boy, he was 13mos and very hypotonic, especially the neck muscles. The pazapa lady thought he was blind, but his mother assured us he could see…and after some attempts he did indeed track me all the way past midline but it was a struggle to have him really focus on you and you had to move slowly. He only tracked with his eyes, no head movement. We sat him up in a bumbo just to see what happened, we had to support his neck of course, but he seemed to look at more things. We are going to try and get a wheelchair together for him for proper seating for when the next team goes.
After pazapa we checked into our hotel, Cyvadier, and it turned out Jolyane and I got our own rooms. We had a welcome drink of rhum punch and then drove along the coast for supper on the beach. We took a quick swim before taking our seats right on the edge of the beach. I had red snapper and it was really good! I was hesitant at first because it was the whole fish, big teeth and all. But I braved up and dug in…I really enjoyed the seasoning and spices and how they BBQed it…and I did a good job of de-boning it! It was a little pique! After supper we went back in the water, and made a little friend of a Haitian dog. We were wary when it came running over to us, but it was just like any puppy…it wanted to play! I think it was so cute! It even guarded our bags while we swam. And would walk with us down the beach. I bought a lantern on the beach made out of a fruit casing that apparently does not taste good, they only use it for jars or bowls, Carabasse. I think it will be pretty, I remember seeing them in Petionville at a café. We had a tailgate party and had some rhum punch and then went back to the hotel where we changed and sat on the patio having drinks and appetizers (accra with piklis) and then supper (amazing fried chicken and frites and salad) and then talking late into the night about many things, like Haitian politics, kidnappings, tours, relationships. The hotel owner Christophe, who is german Haitian (haitian mother) joined us for drinks and provided 2 rounds of shots (a type of moonshine that is lethal). Cyril says he has a surprise for us for tomorrow, we are taking a rache pwel to the waterfall…we tried guessing but he will not tell us what that is!
We set off for Jacmel and had a beautiful ride over the Chaine de la Selle mountains. Cyril announced when we were going up the steepest section and it was in this area that we had to pull over to allow a gas truck to squeeze past a tap tap that was stopped on a big turn and all the people were on the side of the road. We didn’t think much of it, but then as we passed the taptap we see that it is literally on top of a small car that it crashed into on the turn, and it appears that it was at fault because it was on the wrong side of the road. There was a girl crying and bleeding but it did not appear that anyone was killed. We did not stop because it was decided we would not be much help and we were running behind for pazapa.
At pazapa Marika led Jolyane and I to a room full of small children and said they were all new to her and needed programs designed for the year. Marika figured we would do one or 2 of the kids in the room. Jolyane did not feel comfortable doing a peds assessment, so we teamed up, she took notes and translated and I asked all the questions and made the treatment plan. We made it through 4 kids and when Karen came to get us saying it was time to go. Jolyane and I could not believe it because it really did not feel like we had been there that long! Time really flew. I literally had sweat dropping off me though, it was that hot in there. That and a few of my tests involved physical activity :P
We saw a young boy, who had autism quality symptoms, but fairly good eye contact. We also recommended he see Nath, about his ankles and Karen for his swallowing difficulties so a true team approach on our first kid. Karen thinks he likely had microcephaly. He was a sensory seeker for sure, vestibular, tactile and perhaps a little auditory but the mouth noises could have been an oral tactile thing. He calmed with activity and compression. I recommended a sensory diet and trying a weighted vest and taught them how to make one.
Then we saw a young girl, who absolutely broke my heart! She was found at 2mos. Lying in a field covered in ants. She had welts and lumps and bumps all over her face, her ears were swollen, her gums deformed, her nose sunken in, a malshaped chest and inflamed and contracted joints…she even had an ulnar claw. She is now 2, so quite some time since the ants…we were told it had been worse than this. She had difficulty breathing and her heart was absolutely racing! She calmed in my arms and I recommended she be seen by a MD for pain and distress. I also recommended gentle gentle slow ranging, and to dress her very cautiously and demonstrated.
Then we saw another young girl, she is 15 mos and likely has mild CP. Very bright alert cute girl who will sometimes drag her R foot and will not use her R hand though it is strong enough for her to hold my finger and pull herself up to standing with it! She has not began to speak many words as of yet, so I recommended they begin model prompts and singing things like tete appaule; also games that encourage bilateral hand use or more forced choice to use the R hand.
Lastly we saw a young boy, he was 13mos and very hypotonic, especially the neck muscles. The pazapa lady thought he was blind, but his mother assured us he could see…and after some attempts he did indeed track me all the way past midline but it was a struggle to have him really focus on you and you had to move slowly. He only tracked with his eyes, no head movement. We sat him up in a bumbo just to see what happened, we had to support his neck of course, but he seemed to look at more things. We are going to try and get a wheelchair together for him for proper seating for when the next team goes.
After pazapa we checked into our hotel, Cyvadier, and it turned out Jolyane and I got our own rooms. We had a welcome drink of rhum punch and then drove along the coast for supper on the beach. We took a quick swim before taking our seats right on the edge of the beach. I had red snapper and it was really good! I was hesitant at first because it was the whole fish, big teeth and all. But I braved up and dug in…I really enjoyed the seasoning and spices and how they BBQed it…and I did a good job of de-boning it! It was a little pique! After supper we went back in the water, and made a little friend of a Haitian dog. We were wary when it came running over to us, but it was just like any puppy…it wanted to play! I think it was so cute! It even guarded our bags while we swam. And would walk with us down the beach. I bought a lantern on the beach made out of a fruit casing that apparently does not taste good, they only use it for jars or bowls, Carabasse. I think it will be pretty, I remember seeing them in Petionville at a café. We had a tailgate party and had some rhum punch and then went back to the hotel where we changed and sat on the patio having drinks and appetizers (accra with piklis) and then supper (amazing fried chicken and frites and salad) and then talking late into the night about many things, like Haitian politics, kidnappings, tours, relationships. The hotel owner Christophe, who is german Haitian (haitian mother) joined us for drinks and provided 2 rounds of shots (a type of moonshine that is lethal). Cyril says he has a surprise for us for tomorrow, we are taking a rache pwel to the waterfall…we tried guessing but he will not tell us what that is!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Kay Kapab part deux
We had a great time out last night. We went first to the Country Club for a drink and did some dancing in our chairs to some throw-back music to the 70's and 80's including Disco Inferno and Bad Girls. We then went to the Latin Corner which did not have a lot of people there, and was quite kitch. There were a lot of black lights so we all glowed. Noel was a great teacher of the Kompa! It is definitely a different style of dancing than in Canada. Jolyane and I, who are considered the young crew, tired more quickly of the evening than the older crew Nath and Karen, I believe they would have stayed out all night!
I slept in a little later and got up at 7 to make up for the later bed time and then got ready for another day up at Kay Kapab. Fresh fruit again for breakfast, and spicy peanut butter for the bananas. There were also pancakes and ham, but I stuck with the bananas, pineapple and watermelon. I think I am only a coffee drinker in Haiti, may have something to do with the added chocolate.
When Jolyane and I arrived at the clinic it was quite empty, but then the therapists arrived with big smiles- more used to us on day 2. We talked a bit about the plan for the day and what their thoughts were etc. They were excited to learn more about OT which is a good sign. I worked with the male therapist and Jolyane worked with the female and we split up to tackle the days clients as teams. I found a translator who said he was at the clinic in case there was work, but that I would have to check with the clinic manager because that is how he would get paid. We could not find Johnny so he stayed and translated anyways. I cannot even tell you what a difference it makes to have a translator! I think I need to take an intense French course so that I can get more done at the clinic ;) I was able to have some bonding time with the tech and get some background about where he is from and how he travels to the clinic (taptap and sometimes motorcycle from Carrefour). Our first client was a 2 year old boy, B, who the tech thought when he started therapy had CP, but then as he progressed believed it to be more of just hemiparesis. Potentially a head injury, hard to say. His mom says he had the weakness for as long as she could remember. He was there with his older brother O, who is 6. B was such a cutie, he laughed all through his ROM and was quite shy at first but by the end was singing for us. I found out that at home he enjoys playing with the ball, so we got out a soccer ball and I showed mom some fun games to play to help promote bilateral hand use, balance and strength. B had a great time, and I think a great session. Aterwards we looked at the charting and note taking. They find it difficult to do a lot of their charting because they do not have a photocopier for their forms, and usually the printer upstairs is not working. We think they would also find a great difference with an organizing system for all their papers, so all they had to do was go to the wall and grab the items they need for the session. Something to look into for the future.
While we prepared for the next client, Johnny arrived and I told him that I was benefiting from the translator. And it was at this point that we were informed that it was not in the budget to pay him, because he was told the team would have 3 francophones and would therefore manage. We tried to explain that we were much more efficient if we could split up, but undertsandably he did not want to change the plan without the team leaders say...I apologized to the translator, but he said he would stay and help me anyway as a volunteer- a very nice man. Later in the day he mentioned that he sold jewelry and I remembered him having it set out last time as well, so I said we would look at it during the break. I told Jolyane and we decided we would buy some jewelry and then he would get paid for the day :)
Next we had a woman, R-M, who was post CVA with a subluxed R shoulder and flaccid wrist, some tone in the digits. Her program was more PT based, but I showed the daughter how to best fit the sling for optimum comfort and I added some padding to the shoulder strap. We also discussed the use of a splint, but that will be for the P+O clinic. She wore an AFO and practiced weight transfers and mobility. While she worked on the stairs with the tech, the translator and I talked to the daughter about what assistance her mom required at home and we found out that she was not able to complete toileting independently because their set up was a hole in the ground and for mom a bucket. We were able to find a commode for her to take home. When we came around the corner with it, their faces lit up and they laughed because it was a simple idea and a great fix. R-M looked very happy to have that increased independence, and I imagine some dignity returned.
When we finished up there it was close to 1 and they were going on break so we went down to the guest house. The translator displayed his jewelry, I believe it was all made from coconut shells. I bought earrings, Jolyane a necklace and earrings set and Nath a hair clip. Probably a good day for him.
When we went back up to the clinic the place was empty and the techs were having siesta. We talked to them a bit about the forms and they would like us to add some more ADL sections. We asked them if they wanted to do any other teaching or if they had questions, but they were too tired. So we went for a swim instead. Jolyane and I played with our underwater cameras and have deduced that we do not look that good under water :P
For supper we had lambi (conch) and vegetables with a custard like dessert.
We then sat around in the living room and did some housekeeping in regards to what needs to be done for the weekend and next week in terms of what equipment we need to bring, who we need to contact and what we need to find. Nath and Karen took a nap and Jolyane is studying for her Yoga instructor course.
Not sure the plans for tonight.
Leave for Jacmel tomorrow am, have already let the staff here know we will be early for breakfast and will not need a big spread! Also gave them some of my laundry so that I have some clean pants for the week. Karen and I have talked about just wearing our scrubs at Ile a Vache regardless of how dirty they get day to day. Does stink keep bugs away? I doubt it. an A-bomb wouldnt keep the bugs away! I dont know how they find me but at some point between this morning and this afternoon they got my legs right through my pants and I now have some beautiful red spots scattered over the brilliant white.
I slept in a little later and got up at 7 to make up for the later bed time and then got ready for another day up at Kay Kapab. Fresh fruit again for breakfast, and spicy peanut butter for the bananas. There were also pancakes and ham, but I stuck with the bananas, pineapple and watermelon. I think I am only a coffee drinker in Haiti, may have something to do with the added chocolate.
When Jolyane and I arrived at the clinic it was quite empty, but then the therapists arrived with big smiles- more used to us on day 2. We talked a bit about the plan for the day and what their thoughts were etc. They were excited to learn more about OT which is a good sign. I worked with the male therapist and Jolyane worked with the female and we split up to tackle the days clients as teams. I found a translator who said he was at the clinic in case there was work, but that I would have to check with the clinic manager because that is how he would get paid. We could not find Johnny so he stayed and translated anyways. I cannot even tell you what a difference it makes to have a translator! I think I need to take an intense French course so that I can get more done at the clinic ;) I was able to have some bonding time with the tech and get some background about where he is from and how he travels to the clinic (taptap and sometimes motorcycle from Carrefour). Our first client was a 2 year old boy, B, who the tech thought when he started therapy had CP, but then as he progressed believed it to be more of just hemiparesis. Potentially a head injury, hard to say. His mom says he had the weakness for as long as she could remember. He was there with his older brother O, who is 6. B was such a cutie, he laughed all through his ROM and was quite shy at first but by the end was singing for us. I found out that at home he enjoys playing with the ball, so we got out a soccer ball and I showed mom some fun games to play to help promote bilateral hand use, balance and strength. B had a great time, and I think a great session. Aterwards we looked at the charting and note taking. They find it difficult to do a lot of their charting because they do not have a photocopier for their forms, and usually the printer upstairs is not working. We think they would also find a great difference with an organizing system for all their papers, so all they had to do was go to the wall and grab the items they need for the session. Something to look into for the future.
While we prepared for the next client, Johnny arrived and I told him that I was benefiting from the translator. And it was at this point that we were informed that it was not in the budget to pay him, because he was told the team would have 3 francophones and would therefore manage. We tried to explain that we were much more efficient if we could split up, but undertsandably he did not want to change the plan without the team leaders say...I apologized to the translator, but he said he would stay and help me anyway as a volunteer- a very nice man. Later in the day he mentioned that he sold jewelry and I remembered him having it set out last time as well, so I said we would look at it during the break. I told Jolyane and we decided we would buy some jewelry and then he would get paid for the day :)
Next we had a woman, R-M, who was post CVA with a subluxed R shoulder and flaccid wrist, some tone in the digits. Her program was more PT based, but I showed the daughter how to best fit the sling for optimum comfort and I added some padding to the shoulder strap. We also discussed the use of a splint, but that will be for the P+O clinic. She wore an AFO and practiced weight transfers and mobility. While she worked on the stairs with the tech, the translator and I talked to the daughter about what assistance her mom required at home and we found out that she was not able to complete toileting independently because their set up was a hole in the ground and for mom a bucket. We were able to find a commode for her to take home. When we came around the corner with it, their faces lit up and they laughed because it was a simple idea and a great fix. R-M looked very happy to have that increased independence, and I imagine some dignity returned.
When we finished up there it was close to 1 and they were going on break so we went down to the guest house. The translator displayed his jewelry, I believe it was all made from coconut shells. I bought earrings, Jolyane a necklace and earrings set and Nath a hair clip. Probably a good day for him.
When we went back up to the clinic the place was empty and the techs were having siesta. We talked to them a bit about the forms and they would like us to add some more ADL sections. We asked them if they wanted to do any other teaching or if they had questions, but they were too tired. So we went for a swim instead. Jolyane and I played with our underwater cameras and have deduced that we do not look that good under water :P
For supper we had lambi (conch) and vegetables with a custard like dessert.
We then sat around in the living room and did some housekeeping in regards to what needs to be done for the weekend and next week in terms of what equipment we need to bring, who we need to contact and what we need to find. Nath and Karen took a nap and Jolyane is studying for her Yoga instructor course.
Not sure the plans for tonight.
Leave for Jacmel tomorrow am, have already let the staff here know we will be early for breakfast and will not need a big spread! Also gave them some of my laundry so that I have some clean pants for the week. Karen and I have talked about just wearing our scrubs at Ile a Vache regardless of how dirty they get day to day. Does stink keep bugs away? I doubt it. an A-bomb wouldnt keep the bugs away! I dont know how they find me but at some point between this morning and this afternoon they got my legs right through my pants and I now have some beautiful red spots scattered over the brilliant white.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
The Market
Just an update on our little venture to the market. On our way to the market a bus passed us "Uh, is that a public bus?" as I read the PetionV on the front. The answer: Yes. What! Public busses in Haiti! Mais oui! The government spent 30mil on them and gave them to different groups. Cyril does not think they will last long because they are not well maintained and travel routes that are not "bus friendly" You would be hard pressed to find many bus friendly routes in my opinion.
A la market I got some pringles (so many flavours that we dont have in Canada) and dried mango and coconut. We were the centre of attention and even had people trying to be secretive of taking our picture in the aisles. Jolyane was super impressed with the ergonomic set up of the cashier station, they are all seated and have the cash in front of them with a lift up lid, the screen is also very user friendly. They would not allow her to take a photo however. Oh, and if anyone is curious, the exchange rate is 41.75 gourdes per american dollar; so 20 dollars equals 835 gourdes. My snacks were 190 some gourdes.
I had some haitian ketchup in my hands and considered PB, but I imagine we will have another market trip at some point so I wont have to carry this stuff around in my pack.
A la market I got some pringles (so many flavours that we dont have in Canada) and dried mango and coconut. We were the centre of attention and even had people trying to be secretive of taking our picture in the aisles. Jolyane was super impressed with the ergonomic set up of the cashier station, they are all seated and have the cash in front of them with a lift up lid, the screen is also very user friendly. They would not allow her to take a photo however. Oh, and if anyone is curious, the exchange rate is 41.75 gourdes per american dollar; so 20 dollars equals 835 gourdes. My snacks were 190 some gourdes.
I had some haitian ketchup in my hands and considered PB, but I imagine we will have another market trip at some point so I wont have to carry this stuff around in my pack.
Kay Kapab
I woke fairly early this morning, and had to make myself stay in bed a little longer...that is rare. My earplugs must have worked wonders last night because the girls say the rain woke them through the night crashing down in buckets. I heard nothing. Through the night though I knocked one loose and could hear odd bird screeches, but no rooster.
We took a walk around the property before breakfast, down by the bidonville...it is always so lively there! Music was blaring and you could hear children playing, full of life.
For breakfast we had huge bananas with Haitian peanut butter, great Haitian coffee mixed with their amazing chocolate drink, papayas, watermelon and there was an omelette caserole dish that I did not eat.
Jolyane, Nath and I worked in the clinic today, and Karen worked with a student in the guesthouse who is a keen learner and is becoming a speech assistant. Nath was in the P+O shop, and Jolyane and I worked in the rehab section. We tried to work one on one with the rehab techs there, there were 2 working today. The female was receptive, the male less so :) The male was more interested in us taking clients on our own so he could get through the waiting room faster. So we compromised, because Jolyane is bilingual she observed the therapist, and I took clients on my own. I am getting better at sherades. The clients enjoyed my broken french and quizzical looks, they are all so sweet and patient with me, and all so appreciative of the work we do.
After lunch, Jolyane and I set up workshop on the patio and made a to-do list: so things we would like to work on for the clinic. We noticed that re-assesmment is lacking, and clients get stagnant with minimal progress, they maintain the same treatment program for even over a year! We want to improve that process. Because ultimately our goal here is to have the clinic self sustaining, so that our organization no longer needs to support them. The tech says that they would like to do more re-assessment but often they do not have the paper to record it. So what we did today was put together a re-assessment form that will guide them to ask certain questions and ensure they are being thourough and are understood by their clients in regards to at home exercises.
Tomorrow we will review that with them and walk them through it with some clients, which means we are not going to Wings of Hope- but I will hopefully go there next week.
After we finished our work and discussed tomorrows plans with the staff we jumped into the pool which was very refreshing!
Then for supper we had riz nationale, fried plantains, beef, white fish and pikliz.
Then we all re-showered and worked on updating our friends and family via the internet :)
We are now sitting in the guesthouse with Cyril from Tour Haiti, working out our weekend plans in Jacmel. We are going dancing tonight in Petionville at La esquina latina (the latin corner) which Cyril says is extremely kitch with mirrors on the ceiling and rooms to rent upstairs. Although he swears there are no postitutes :) He says that if you want to dance, and hear haitian music, then it is the place to go. We are trying to get him to tell us the smooth cool place to go for tomorrow. He says latina is very 80's and themey. Should be an event. He is thinking we could get live music tomorrow at the Montana- contemporary jam session, open mics on Thursday night. We are now having a discussion on the pros of paying in Gourdes because they charge you more when they see the american dollars. Also the best and worst places to change your money. Bars are not a good place, the street is even worse.
Oh, impromptu visit to the grocery store!
a bientot!
We took a walk around the property before breakfast, down by the bidonville...it is always so lively there! Music was blaring and you could hear children playing, full of life.
For breakfast we had huge bananas with Haitian peanut butter, great Haitian coffee mixed with their amazing chocolate drink, papayas, watermelon and there was an omelette caserole dish that I did not eat.
Jolyane, Nath and I worked in the clinic today, and Karen worked with a student in the guesthouse who is a keen learner and is becoming a speech assistant. Nath was in the P+O shop, and Jolyane and I worked in the rehab section. We tried to work one on one with the rehab techs there, there were 2 working today. The female was receptive, the male less so :) The male was more interested in us taking clients on our own so he could get through the waiting room faster. So we compromised, because Jolyane is bilingual she observed the therapist, and I took clients on my own. I am getting better at sherades. The clients enjoyed my broken french and quizzical looks, they are all so sweet and patient with me, and all so appreciative of the work we do.
After lunch, Jolyane and I set up workshop on the patio and made a to-do list: so things we would like to work on for the clinic. We noticed that re-assesmment is lacking, and clients get stagnant with minimal progress, they maintain the same treatment program for even over a year! We want to improve that process. Because ultimately our goal here is to have the clinic self sustaining, so that our organization no longer needs to support them. The tech says that they would like to do more re-assessment but often they do not have the paper to record it. So what we did today was put together a re-assessment form that will guide them to ask certain questions and ensure they are being thourough and are understood by their clients in regards to at home exercises.
Tomorrow we will review that with them and walk them through it with some clients, which means we are not going to Wings of Hope- but I will hopefully go there next week.
After we finished our work and discussed tomorrows plans with the staff we jumped into the pool which was very refreshing!
Then for supper we had riz nationale, fried plantains, beef, white fish and pikliz.
Then we all re-showered and worked on updating our friends and family via the internet :)
We are now sitting in the guesthouse with Cyril from Tour Haiti, working out our weekend plans in Jacmel. We are going dancing tonight in Petionville at La esquina latina (the latin corner) which Cyril says is extremely kitch with mirrors on the ceiling and rooms to rent upstairs. Although he swears there are no postitutes :) He says that if you want to dance, and hear haitian music, then it is the place to go. We are trying to get him to tell us the smooth cool place to go for tomorrow. He says latina is very 80's and themey. Should be an event. He is thinking we could get live music tomorrow at the Montana- contemporary jam session, open mics on Thursday night. We are now having a discussion on the pros of paying in Gourdes because they charge you more when they see the american dollars. Also the best and worst places to change your money. Bars are not a good place, the street is even worse.
Oh, impromptu visit to the grocery store!
a bientot!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Nous sommes Arrive!
We are all safe and sound in Port au Prince, tired, dirty and hungry but no worse for the wear. It was a long long day :) You somehow manage to forget what the heat feels like when you step off the plane, but it always hits you like a wall.
We went through the PaP airport fairly smoothly, all our bags arrived and in one piece for the most part. We did have to wait in the parking lot for a while for our driver, but you need to have a few hitches right? Standing there, you quickly remember the yells of BLANC! from the street. I didnt think we stood out quite that much from a distance, but I stand corrected.
We stored our bags in the outside cage and then had supper with Sourette, and now we are just settling down for what I imagine will be an early night! I am too tired to even attempt to translate the french and kreyol around me so a lot of the time I am in my own world with no idea what is going on around me. Until they all laugh and I dont, and then they realize they were speaking French.
My bug net is hung from the wall with care, and images of the clinic work tomorrow will soon be dancing in my head...unless we go for a swim first?
We went through the PaP airport fairly smoothly, all our bags arrived and in one piece for the most part. We did have to wait in the parking lot for a while for our driver, but you need to have a few hitches right? Standing there, you quickly remember the yells of BLANC! from the street. I didnt think we stood out quite that much from a distance, but I stand corrected.
We stored our bags in the outside cage and then had supper with Sourette, and now we are just settling down for what I imagine will be an early night! I am too tired to even attempt to translate the french and kreyol around me so a lot of the time I am in my own world with no idea what is going on around me. Until they all laugh and I dont, and then they realize they were speaking French.
My bug net is hung from the wall with care, and images of the clinic work tomorrow will soon be dancing in my head...unless we go for a swim first?
Monday, November 02, 2009
Dreaming of fresh fruit...
It is Monday evening and I am taking a break from packing. Our guest room bed is loaded with rolled up t-shirts, cameras, scrubs etc etc...all just waiting for me to shove them into my hiking pack. My mom is taking me to the airport and she will be here at 2:30 am, luckily my hockey bags are full, but light enough to manage! I just need to keep that streak going with my hiking pack! We had a lot of H1N1 meetings today, and I am really really hoping that we dont go into Pandemic mode while I am away, or I will be coming home to 12 hr night shifts of me answering peoples questions about the flu, instead of playing with my kiddos on the Autism team.
I had my Halloween fundraiser on Saturday and had a pretty poor turnout, despite all the PR and advertising I got for free from local media. I guess the flu scared people away. I hear the trick-or-treater numbers were low as well. We only had 2 kids come to the door during the time we were home inbetween decorating and dancing. Oh and speaking of dancing- I had 19 guests at Haunts for Haiti, and everyone was a dancing machine! That helped a lot, it's much less noticeable that your fundraiser is a flop when people are having a good time! All in all, after paying the DJ and accounting for the cost of the venue, I came out $400 in the red. I wrote a letter to the Town, which runs the venue, asking for their help in the matter, and they are going to meet tomorrow to discuss whether they will waive the fee for me. My fingers are crossed that they will throw me a life preserver because otherwise I will be left treading water until I can have a fundraiser, to pay for my fundraiser. I am not sure what I could have done differently, unless holding it on Halloween night was a bad idea. It worked in Fredericton, but the Organization is more well known, plus it is a university town. I may scrap these huge fundraising ideas for the future, and stick to the bakesales!
I will be in Haiti at around 4pm tomorrow, I am bringing my netbook with the intentions of updating the blog from the road...we'll see how internet access cooperates.
Until next time, this girl is Haiti bound!
I had my Halloween fundraiser on Saturday and had a pretty poor turnout, despite all the PR and advertising I got for free from local media. I guess the flu scared people away. I hear the trick-or-treater numbers were low as well. We only had 2 kids come to the door during the time we were home inbetween decorating and dancing. Oh and speaking of dancing- I had 19 guests at Haunts for Haiti, and everyone was a dancing machine! That helped a lot, it's much less noticeable that your fundraiser is a flop when people are having a good time! All in all, after paying the DJ and accounting for the cost of the venue, I came out $400 in the red. I wrote a letter to the Town, which runs the venue, asking for their help in the matter, and they are going to meet tomorrow to discuss whether they will waive the fee for me. My fingers are crossed that they will throw me a life preserver because otherwise I will be left treading water until I can have a fundraiser, to pay for my fundraiser. I am not sure what I could have done differently, unless holding it on Halloween night was a bad idea. It worked in Fredericton, but the Organization is more well known, plus it is a university town. I may scrap these huge fundraising ideas for the future, and stick to the bakesales!
I will be in Haiti at around 4pm tomorrow, I am bringing my netbook with the intentions of updating the blog from the road...we'll see how internet access cooperates.
Until next time, this girl is Haiti bound!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fundraising Plans
I attempted to host a charity concert that would highlight local artists with proceeds going to Healing hands...unfortunately I could not get any artists to sign on to this venture with me. Thus, I had to scrap that idea, as much as I loved it. Keeping in track with ideas that seem to be me biting off more than I can chew...I am now planning a halloween party that will be titled Haunts for Haiti on the posters. I am hoping to be abl eto put together a local celebrity judging panel to hand out the costume awards, and if all goes according to plan I will be able to "puppy dog eyes" some local vendors to donate some crowd luring prizes. I have put the feelers out on costs of a DJ, and it will be $500 to rent the venue (Glasgow Square has a special rate for charity functions).
Glasgow Square has been great, and I'm lucky enough that my friend's brother has been hired to try and arrange for the community to use the venue for events just like this. It's a nice space that isn't being used to it's full potential, so he is happy to help me arrange a party that may spark others' interest.
I can sell 200 tickets for the space, so to make a good donation for Healing Hands it would be ideal if I could find some corporate sponsors to cover the cost of the venue, the DJ, the advertising (which I know will be a key factor) and of course...spooky decorations!
I'll keep you update...I am so hopeful that this is a success.
And that it sets precedent...perhaps even become a yearly event!
Residents of Jacmel participating in Kanaval
photo from Getty Images
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
And we're off...again
image curtesy of usaid.orgMaybe this year I will be more "bloggy" about our Healing Hands adventures, and to put the ball in motion I will commmence with this post and exclaim "WE BOOKED OUR TICKETS!"
I just received confirmation that I will be flying out of Halifax on November 3rd for 2 glorious weeks in Haiti! I am so excited I wiggle in my seat. Karen M. (SLP) and I decided in May (probably as we sipped prestige poolside) that we were FOR SURE going to have to go to Haiti in November, and to add a little spice and thrill, we would stay longer than the main group and do a little exploring and treatment on our own in the South.
Here's why we made this decision.
Team Canada Healing Hands is related to Healing Hands for Haiti, a not-for-profit org. based in the USA. Our team leader extraordinaire Colleen began volunteering with them before Team Canada existed, and it is why we do exist today. She received enough experiential training to form her own team and make trips to Haiti, and called us Team/Equipe Canada. Colleen left out the "for Haiti" because she always had the dream that we would branch out and serve whatever developing nation had a need for us (and were open to us filling that need). Colleen has worldly experience when it comes to rehab training and programming, and I agree with her that it would be tough to limit yourself to one country. So, long story short, that dream is coming true next March with a planned initial trip to set up similar programming in Belize!! I am hoping to be a part of this ground breaking, but we'll save that for later. With this exciting news comes a tinge of sadness, because if we are planning a trip in the Spring of 2010 to Belize, we are unable to travel to Haiti in the same time frame...thus, if Karen and I wanted a taste of Haiti before November 2010 then we had to act quick and get on the next team for 2009. Once you have been to Haiti you will understand how this country gets under your skin and begins oozing through your veins...the thought of having to wait that long was almost unbearable (especially when you are having those thoughts in the midst of Haiti allure). We told Colleen our thoughts and "plans" and she gave us the thumbs up and a grin, and the assurance of Healing Hands Staff as we set up shop in Jacmel (necessities such as a driver, I am not sure if we will have a translator as Karen is bilingual).
So, our latest news is that Karen and I picked our dates and booked our tickets before the price jumped (it jumps tomorrow actually) and we made a rough draft of an itinerary that has us both tingling with excitement. We are still waiting to hear if Caryn (PT from my first trip) and her friend, as well as Nath (P+O from my first trip) will be joining us for the full 2 week jaunt; it would be so much fun if they jumped on board! As for the rest of the November team, they will be traveling between the 6ish to the 16th and I hear rumours of a cross border mission to the DR! So mant wonderful things are shaping up, and I cant wait to let you all know what happens next!
Our rough draft itinerary includes trips to Indigo, Jacmel and Ile a Vache...so you know it's going to be good :)
Side note: Chris had thought he would be able to join me this year to help with construction/engineering projects; but because we moved to new jobs he does not have the vacation time (or flexible manager as I have) to take the time off and also travel home for Christmas...so he had to make his priorities. I worked this trip into my terms for accepting the job, because I refused to give up working for this organization that means so much to me. I was really hoping Chris would be able to come on this trip, because of how much Haiti means to me, and how much Chris means to me...I wanted them to be able to meet and fall in love as well. Maybe in 2010
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Return from Haiti
Bonjou!
On May 1, 2009 I returned to Haiti with Team Canada Healing Hands and spent ten glorious days doing what I love: playing with children and taking pictures. I have completely fallen in love with Haiti, I think the re-visit was the clincher. I had such an amazing time and am so distraught by the idea that it could be over a year until I am able to return as there will be no spring trip in 2010, that I am signing up to go in November 2009, and possibly staying on for an extra week if all goes swimmingly.
On this trip I went to three orphanages that I had not visited last year, and re-visited one. I did not make it up to Wings of Hope this year and really missed the drive up the mountain. I worked in the clinic one morning and actually ran into Dorothy, who remembered when I had visited Peace, Love, Hope: Infant Rescue last April; she gave me a thourough update of all the kiddos I missed out on seeing this year! I feel like our trip was very very productive, we put together so many seating systems it would make your head whirl (so much more productive than waiting for DSD approval here!)
It seemed as though, that by having that first experience out of the way, you could really come into your own in Haiti. Having a better idea of the processes definitely helped with my direction on each visit, and it helped to have an underlying sense of comfort...having done it all before. I am really looking forward to returning in November. I find that it is extremely difficult to stop thinking about the children I worked with in the orphanages, constantly wondering how they are doing and what more could be done for them. It makes the adjustment back to your regular job that much more difficult, when your mind is often in other places. It is nice to know that the people I work with and treat are very understanding and supportive of the work we do with this group. I had a client today, who actually remarked, "and to think I was complaining about being able to grip my kayak paddle!" after viewing some of my photos
(in particular this one, a young boy who walks on his hands because of knee contractures)
But, for now, I must return to my Kreyol lessons with visions of the beautiful side of Haiti on my mind. Bonswa!
On May 1, 2009 I returned to Haiti with Team Canada Healing Hands and spent ten glorious days doing what I love: playing with children and taking pictures. I have completely fallen in love with Haiti, I think the re-visit was the clincher. I had such an amazing time and am so distraught by the idea that it could be over a year until I am able to return as there will be no spring trip in 2010, that I am signing up to go in November 2009, and possibly staying on for an extra week if all goes swimmingly.
On this trip I went to three orphanages that I had not visited last year, and re-visited one. I did not make it up to Wings of Hope this year and really missed the drive up the mountain. I worked in the clinic one morning and actually ran into Dorothy, who remembered when I had visited Peace, Love, Hope: Infant Rescue last April; she gave me a thourough update of all the kiddos I missed out on seeing this year! I feel like our trip was very very productive, we put together so many seating systems it would make your head whirl (so much more productive than waiting for DSD approval here!)
It seemed as though, that by having that first experience out of the way, you could really come into your own in Haiti. Having a better idea of the processes definitely helped with my direction on each visit, and it helped to have an underlying sense of comfort...having done it all before. I am really looking forward to returning in November. I find that it is extremely difficult to stop thinking about the children I worked with in the orphanages, constantly wondering how they are doing and what more could be done for them. It makes the adjustment back to your regular job that much more difficult, when your mind is often in other places. It is nice to know that the people I work with and treat are very understanding and supportive of the work we do with this group. I had a client today, who actually remarked, "and to think I was complaining about being able to grip my kayak paddle!" after viewing some of my photos
(in particular this one, a young boy who walks on his hands because of knee contractures)
That is precisely the side- effect that I have difficulty dealing with upon each return, re-finding the empathy for people who seem to be complaining about something trivial (in comparison). A clerk at the Health Centre said to me today, I wouldnt be able to do it, but I am glad that there are people like you, that can do it for me. Sometimes I am surprised at how well I do handle it. There are certainly moments when I am standing in an orphanage, just barely holding everything together, with tears welled up in my eyes...but more often than not...they are tears of joy and hope. I cant describe the feeling of being a part of helping someone move about their world on their own for the first time, or watching someone discovering the art of effective communication, or teaching a skill that will allow for increased independence- in a region where perhaps hope is often lacking. But that I believe is completely false, for hope is something in Haiti that always surprises me. That, and how they always look so immaculately clean and put together! No matter where you go, down the street in Port-au-Prince, into an orphanage, or a small village in rural Haiti...you hear laughter, you see smiles, and you get a big hug. I believe that is part of the charm of Haiti that really draws you in.
Each year I make memories that will stay with me forever. And, it never seems to fail; at each orphanage there is always that one (or more in my case) child that stands out to you and grabs right onto your heart strings!
But, for now, I must return to my Kreyol lessons with visions of the beautiful side of Haiti on my mind. Bonswa!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A Year later...almost
Well, I just got a quick reminder of why I dont blog very much. I had an entire post ready to publish after slowly working on it all day...as it took forever to load pictures...and every time it put in pictures the formatting would add large blank spaces, and as I was trying to delete the blank space above one of the pictures it somehow deleted the entire first half of the post and then autosaved 2 seconds later losing it forever. Needless to say I had a mini flip out and am in the I HATE YOU COMPUTER PHASE. It is lucky to still be sitting on my desk. Autosave is the devil. My least favourite thing to do is to try and remember what you wrote and recreate it.
I had returned to this online journal after someone wanted to post a comment on one of my NZ entries. I saw that my last post had been around this time last year as I was getting ready to go home for Christmas. I am not nearly as prepared and organized as I was last year, shopping in July for gifts did not happen in 2008. The family reinstated Craft Day, but we did not stay for it this year because we wanted to have a day of rest before returning to work rather than getting in late after a long drive and heading off to work the next morning. We had our own little crafty day in NB with Chris woodworking in the basement and I at the sewing machine working on a top secret project.
Kenzie has become a full blown cat. We had been worried for a few days that it wasnt going to be a successful transition into our little family, because everytime Nanuk came in to investigate the new creature, he tried to put her in his mouth. We never left them un-supervised for fear that she would really get hurt. After a few days though we began to let our guard down and as we were working away in the office, it dawned on us both that we had left them alone together for quite some time...we rushed out imagining a scene of flying fur, only to find them snuggled up together for an afternoon nap. They have been great pals ever since. So much so that I am pretty sure Kenzie believes she is a dog.
They have the most hilarious wrestling matches I have ever seen. This picture seemed to have captured a moment of ferocity...yet somehow they always come out unscathed. I cant get over how gentle Nanuk is...
Last winter in Fredericton we got more snow than I cared for. Locals say it was the worst winter in ages (and I have to take their word for it, and hope that means this winter will be an improvement). We were running out of places to throw the snow in our attempts to clear the driveway, and we broke 2 shovels in the process. The driveway was my nemesis last winter. We share a drive with the house next door, and it slopes toward the neighbours, coat that in a thick layer of ice and you have a great little winter game of chance. The people there last winter would park at the end of the driveway to avoid the need to shovel the entire length...so their car became an expensive obstacle. I had the great joy of having to park a rental car at the top of the driveway 2 days a week, a rental car that lacked winter tires. I spent many mornings and afternoons spinning my tires and slamming on the emergency brake trying to avoid that car at the end. Lovely way to start or end your work day I tell ya! I had been very excited the past few weeks because the students who were renting next door moved out over the summer and noone filled their space...however a few days ago we noticed lights on in the house and now today...a car at the end of the driveway. sigh. Let the games begin. :)
A tap tap, a very colourful form of public transit. Entrepenuers buy into the truck like a franchise.
Driving up into the mountains
This serenity was found at Wings of Hope, a home for children with special needs who could not be provided/cared for by their family
A sailboat on our trip north
The gang! Taking a break on Sunday.
With a little girl Melisse outside P-au-P (knee flexion contractures)
We (Caryn a PT from Ottawa) met a fisherman on our walk along the beach, he had clawless lobsters, red fish and conch...Coconut milk is too sweet for my tastes!
The boys performing at St. Josephs, a school that teaches the arts to boys who had been living on the streets. It was a great show, and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling through Petionville.
Bartering for a painting in Delmas...that piece now hangs in my living room...I'm so glad I had a translator and a staff driver there with me! What a HUGE help!
Playing with sound
A little footie with some children affected by HIV at Arc en ciel.
I had returned to this online journal after someone wanted to post a comment on one of my NZ entries. I saw that my last post had been around this time last year as I was getting ready to go home for Christmas. I am not nearly as prepared and organized as I was last year, shopping in July for gifts did not happen in 2008. The family reinstated Craft Day, but we did not stay for it this year because we wanted to have a day of rest before returning to work rather than getting in late after a long drive and heading off to work the next morning. We had our own little crafty day in NB with Chris woodworking in the basement and I at the sewing machine working on a top secret project.
Kenzie has become a full blown cat. We had been worried for a few days that it wasnt going to be a successful transition into our little family, because everytime Nanuk came in to investigate the new creature, he tried to put her in his mouth. We never left them un-supervised for fear that she would really get hurt. After a few days though we began to let our guard down and as we were working away in the office, it dawned on us both that we had left them alone together for quite some time...we rushed out imagining a scene of flying fur, only to find them snuggled up together for an afternoon nap. They have been great pals ever since. So much so that I am pretty sure Kenzie believes she is a dog.
They have the most hilarious wrestling matches I have ever seen. This picture seemed to have captured a moment of ferocity...yet somehow they always come out unscathed. I cant get over how gentle Nanuk is...
Last winter in Fredericton we got more snow than I cared for. Locals say it was the worst winter in ages (and I have to take their word for it, and hope that means this winter will be an improvement). We were running out of places to throw the snow in our attempts to clear the driveway, and we broke 2 shovels in the process. The driveway was my nemesis last winter. We share a drive with the house next door, and it slopes toward the neighbours, coat that in a thick layer of ice and you have a great little winter game of chance. The people there last winter would park at the end of the driveway to avoid the need to shovel the entire length...so their car became an expensive obstacle. I had the great joy of having to park a rental car at the top of the driveway 2 days a week, a rental car that lacked winter tires. I spent many mornings and afternoons spinning my tires and slamming on the emergency brake trying to avoid that car at the end. Lovely way to start or end your work day I tell ya! I had been very excited the past few weeks because the students who were renting next door moved out over the summer and noone filled their space...however a few days ago we noticed lights on in the house and now today...a car at the end of the driveway. sigh. Let the games begin. :)
There really isnt one iota of me that is looking forward to a rough winter
But then again, I can only speak for myself ;)
I spent the winter fundraising for an organization I joined called Team Canada Healing Hands. We are a rehabilitation medicine group, including orthotists and prosthetist who work with the "teach a man to fish" philosophy in bringing medical aid to countries in need. The organization owns a guest house and clinic in Haiti and travels throughout the year to provide support and training to the Haitian rehab techs and prosthetitians who were trained initially by the organization. When our teams are not there (teams go from Canada and across America in spurts throughout the year) they are self sufficient.
The trip was amazing, not what you would call an eye opener, because I like to believe my eyes are mostly already open. It was educational and fulfilling, challenging and a lot of fun. Haiti is a beautiful country, driving through the country side you get the chance to really see Haiti's potential...hidden underneath it's problems, you can see what Haiti once was, many many years ago. Haiti has been hit hard, again and again. The day after I arrived in the country manifestations (protests/riots) broke out in the southern regions. Long story short: rising food costs are a problem we ourselves are facing, rising costs of fuel etc etc vicious circle. Only for us, it's something to be annoyed and frustrated by...but we still get to eat, we still drive to work. The average Haitian earns $1 a day, that's enough for some rice, cooking oil maybe an egg and the tap tap home. What that means is the average Haitian lives day by day. So what happens when the price of a cup of rice rises to $3? That is what happened in April 2008. And thus ensued...the Food Riots of 2008. To make that even worse there are theories about how it all began, and why unrest seems to always occur. A nation that is constantly at unrest, chaotic and frenzied...is a hot spot for low lifes trafficking drugs in and out of the country. If the authorities are tied up trying to keep the streets safe from the average citizens...that creates one big playground for...well you get the picture. Theories finger point at one man in particular who rallies the people to believe that the president increased the cost of food, and that this is something only happening in Haiti. Who wouldn't be upset by that?
The trip was amazing, not what you would call an eye opener, because I like to believe my eyes are mostly already open. It was educational and fulfilling, challenging and a lot of fun. Haiti is a beautiful country, driving through the country side you get the chance to really see Haiti's potential...hidden underneath it's problems, you can see what Haiti once was, many many years ago. Haiti has been hit hard, again and again. The day after I arrived in the country manifestations (protests/riots) broke out in the southern regions. Long story short: rising food costs are a problem we ourselves are facing, rising costs of fuel etc etc vicious circle. Only for us, it's something to be annoyed and frustrated by...but we still get to eat, we still drive to work. The average Haitian earns $1 a day, that's enough for some rice, cooking oil maybe an egg and the tap tap home. What that means is the average Haitian lives day by day. So what happens when the price of a cup of rice rises to $3? That is what happened in April 2008. And thus ensued...the Food Riots of 2008. To make that even worse there are theories about how it all began, and why unrest seems to always occur. A nation that is constantly at unrest, chaotic and frenzied...is a hot spot for low lifes trafficking drugs in and out of the country. If the authorities are tied up trying to keep the streets safe from the average citizens...that creates one big playground for...well you get the picture. Theories finger point at one man in particular who rallies the people to believe that the president increased the cost of food, and that this is something only happening in Haiti. Who wouldn't be upset by that?
Since I have left, Haiti has been hit hard by several tropical storms, and as you can see in one of the pictures, a large storm could effortlessly destroy many of the homes, not to mention the surges that easily engulf many of the towns.
Well, jumping down off my soapbox...some quick highlights! ;)
A tap tap, a very colourful form of public transit. Entrepenuers buy into the truck like a franchise.
Driving up into the mountains
This serenity was found at Wings of Hope, a home for children with special needs who could not be provided/cared for by their family
Our neighbours at the guesthouse and clinic.
A sailboat on our trip north
The gang! Taking a break on Sunday.
With a little girl Melisse outside P-au-P (knee flexion contractures)
We (Caryn a PT from Ottawa) met a fisherman on our walk along the beach, he had clawless lobsters, red fish and conch...Coconut milk is too sweet for my tastes!
The boys performing at St. Josephs, a school that teaches the arts to boys who had been living on the streets. It was a great show, and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling through Petionville.
Bartering for a painting in Delmas...that piece now hangs in my living room...I'm so glad I had a translator and a staff driver there with me! What a HUGE help!
Playing with sound
A little footie with some children affected by HIV at Arc en ciel.I am currently fundraising for my next trip with Team Canada Healing Hands, and my co-workers are such great supporters of this effort. The OT Dept even hosted a bakesale during OT month with all proceeds going towards purchasing a one-arm drive wheel chair for a little girl in Isle a Vache.
When I got back from Haiti all our snow had melted, which was a nice homecoming. The adjustment back to routine was a process, to say the least.
Over the summer my best friend Colleen got married, and shortly after that my travel buddy from NZ, Jo Anna, who you will be quite familiar with if you have been following along, also got married.
Colleen and Jacob
JoAnna and Eddie
Where I get my adventurous streak?
When I got back from Haiti all our snow had melted, which was a nice homecoming. The adjustment back to routine was a process, to say the least.
Over the summer my best friend Colleen got married, and shortly after that my travel buddy from NZ, Jo Anna, who you will be quite familiar with if you have been following along, also got married.
Colleen and Jacob
JoAnna and EddieAs I was pulling into the hotel for Colleen's wedding I received a call from dad, letting me know that my Grandfather had been rushed to the hospital and things did not look good. He didnt know much more than that, and I spent the rest of the evening trying to pretend everything would be fine, with minimal success. I went home directly afterwards and stayed there for a week, as we all tried to pick up the pieces. He passed away before making it to the hospital, it was all very sudden and unexpected, which makes it so much harder to accept. Last year, with my dad's dad, it was very hard, but I had a chance to go see him, tell him I love him and say goodbye...this time...I felt...cheated. It has been three months and I still cant think about it without tearing up. I was blessed with wonderful grandfathers, caring and gentle, intelligent, down to earth grandfathers. Both of them loved nature and worked hard their whole lives. I didnt volunteer to speak at the funeral this time, I knew I wouldnt be able to get past one word. My sisters both got up and spoke, and I cant believe they were able to do it, they were great...even the choir cried. It is in times like this that you appreciate growing up in a small community in rural Canada...what amazing people.
My last image of Grampie is him standing in his yard waving and blowing kisses at me as we pull out of his driveway, after we stopped in for a visit on our way through to NB. A big hug and an "I love you, I love you more"
My last image of Grampie is him standing in his yard waving and blowing kisses at me as we pull out of his driveway, after we stopped in for a visit on our way through to NB. A big hug and an "I love you, I love you more"
...it's as good as a goodbye as I could ask for.
I just always thought that I would see him again.
Where I get my adventurous streak? I can remember standing in his basement, shortly after my dad's dad passed away, faced with an overwhelming amount of grief, current grief and thoughts of what could come if I had to say goodbye to the man who stood in front of me. I really didnt think that I would lose both of my grandfathers before I had a chance to start my own family. I think I was spoiled because I had great-grandparents in my life for so long, I just thought that would be how my own children would grow up. I think the 5 stages are more of a cycle, because I keep returning and revisiting certain emotions even after I thought I was finished with them.
As we prepared for the funeral we spent hours and hours digging through old photos, and I found a new hobby...restoring old photos. This was my first attempt at colouring along with the restoring. So many great pictures in the collections, mesmerized for hours. It is times like that where you smack yourself for not doing this with your loved ones while they were there to tell you all the great stories to go along with the stills.
As we prepared for the funeral we spent hours and hours digging through old photos, and I found a new hobby...restoring old photos. This was my first attempt at colouring along with the restoring. So many great pictures in the collections, mesmerized for hours. It is times like that where you smack yourself for not doing this with your loved ones while they were there to tell you all the great stories to go along with the stills.
It provides some comfort knowing that they are reunited.
Now we are beginning to get ready for another Christmas...and I have picked up yet another crafty hobby, but I cant speak of it just yet because its a christmas present if I finish it in time. That and I borrowed a fiddle from my cousin, I have to fit lessons in there somewhere. Maybe over the long snowy winter...
Now we are beginning to get ready for another Christmas...and I have picked up yet another crafty hobby, but I cant speak of it just yet because its a christmas present if I finish it in time. That and I borrowed a fiddle from my cousin, I have to fit lessons in there somewhere. Maybe over the long snowy winter...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
'Twas the week before Christmas...
and I am so glad that I began my gift shopping in July! There is something to be said about knowing your family will be happy with your finds...Christmas is a whole new shopping experience when you finally have money coming in, instead of only going out! Therefore this whole employment thing ain't half bad! :)
I did make it home for "craft day" our annual Remembrance weekend tradition where we gather at the Patterson's for a day full of crafting, tea, treats and Christmas music. I, however, use the words Craft Day lightly when I state that I made it home for this event, because they neglected to inform me that *gasp* Craft Day had been cancelled! I was in shock...it just couldn't be. I had been planning for this day for weeks...deciding what projects I would work on, what I needed to pick up etc. So, I revolted...and I stowed away by myself in the sewing room and I hemmed a bunch of pants and made the bedroom curtains. Having all these pants finally fit me was like Christmas in itself because before this they had been lonely in my drawer and unworn. I am also happy with how the curtains turned out. The day was not a bust completely though, we did have tea and treats, and played some games to boot.
I also was able to stop in home the next weekend as I was travelling near the area to attend a Rehabilitation of the Hand course in Halifax. I am very glad I was able to stop in because it gave me the opportunity to visit my grandfather and say goodbye to him in the hospital before he passed away the next week. The palliative care unit at the hospital was amazing, so well done, they should be proud.
The Hand course was not all I expected, because there was no real "hands on" learning, from which I really benefit. I did get to spend the night at Katie's apt though and have some catch up time with her which is always nice. We also ate lunch the next day at the cafe she works for, and I had the most amazing soup ever! Curried cauliflower chowder...I couldn't stop talking about it. Katie says the girl who makes their soup is a soup guru and needs to open her own soup shop, and I second that motion. After the course I was able to spend some time with Becky, a friend from school working in Hali, strolling around the city and shopping...a nice afternoon! The next night I spent out at Colleen's and we went to a Halloween party hosted by work friends of her fiance. I didn't really know anyone there but it was really neat to see all the different costume ideas (especially since her fiance works in an animation studio!) It was a quick visit but its always great to see Colleen, so I take what I can :P
I was back home the next weekend to attend my grandfathers funeral.
My grandfather was an amazing man, and inspired me as I grew to love nature and to remain curious about the world around me...because no question was too silly or naive...and he had an answer to all of them. I can only hope that I can provide the same for my own children and grandchildren some day...I better start studying now :) The weekend was a mini family reunion and it was good to be able to catch up with family who has been away, and to listen to the stories of relatives I wish I knew better; like my grandfathers Brother. He told a story about when they attended the one room school house (which we were all seated in at the moment having lunch and socializing), he said grampie was never afraid to debate with the teachers and on one such day he was in a disagreement over a math equation, after awhile the teacher finally gave in and said yes Billy you are right. Later as grampie and his brother were walking home, grampie turned to his brother and said, 'part way into the argument I realized that the teacher was in fact right, but I couldn't back down after all the effort I had put forth'! I guess it just goes to show that stubborn is a family trait that cant be easily rubbed out. He also told me about how much grampie loved to read, and how they had enjoyed British humour most of all (which must be where my Dad gets it). Grampie would read them stories out of a book and then well after the lights had been turned out would continue to make up stories to entertain his siblings. One of my favourite things to do when visiting my grandparents growing up, was to sift through grampies library that he had made up for us...a box full of nature books. We even had little library cards so we could sign the books out and take them home. I also loved walking through the woods with grampie and my dad...probably chattering non stop with whats that, how does that work, what is that made out of, what do you call this...And now, the land has been passed on to my father so that I can continue to stroll through the woods and teach my children how to identify trees and bird calls.
I was becoming slightly spoiled getting home every weekend for awhile, so I havent been back since, but mom will be up to get me this Friday for the holidays! I am so excited to give everyone their gifts! I think I might be turning into my mom...who has passed on her love of finding the perfect gift :)
I also did pick up the knitting needles again and I made Chris a touque, which he loves so much I am sure the reason he doesnt wear it is to protect it. haha...I also havent finished the ear flap ties so I will let him use that as an excuse. We have an enormous amount of snow so it is definitely touque weather...even if he says boys dont wear touques and scarves :P
A few weeks ago we added to our 'family' and rescued a kitten from CARMA, I think she is adorable, if not slightly hyper and rambunctious...she makes up for it with snuggles. She is striped grey and we named her Kenzie, after James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie!
I did make it home for "craft day" our annual Remembrance weekend tradition where we gather at the Patterson's for a day full of crafting, tea, treats and Christmas music. I, however, use the words Craft Day lightly when I state that I made it home for this event, because they neglected to inform me that *gasp* Craft Day had been cancelled! I was in shock...it just couldn't be. I had been planning for this day for weeks...deciding what projects I would work on, what I needed to pick up etc. So, I revolted...and I stowed away by myself in the sewing room and I hemmed a bunch of pants and made the bedroom curtains. Having all these pants finally fit me was like Christmas in itself because before this they had been lonely in my drawer and unworn. I am also happy with how the curtains turned out. The day was not a bust completely though, we did have tea and treats, and played some games to boot.
I also was able to stop in home the next weekend as I was travelling near the area to attend a Rehabilitation of the Hand course in Halifax. I am very glad I was able to stop in because it gave me the opportunity to visit my grandfather and say goodbye to him in the hospital before he passed away the next week. The palliative care unit at the hospital was amazing, so well done, they should be proud.
The Hand course was not all I expected, because there was no real "hands on" learning, from which I really benefit. I did get to spend the night at Katie's apt though and have some catch up time with her which is always nice. We also ate lunch the next day at the cafe she works for, and I had the most amazing soup ever! Curried cauliflower chowder...I couldn't stop talking about it. Katie says the girl who makes their soup is a soup guru and needs to open her own soup shop, and I second that motion. After the course I was able to spend some time with Becky, a friend from school working in Hali, strolling around the city and shopping...a nice afternoon! The next night I spent out at Colleen's and we went to a Halloween party hosted by work friends of her fiance. I didn't really know anyone there but it was really neat to see all the different costume ideas (especially since her fiance works in an animation studio!) It was a quick visit but its always great to see Colleen, so I take what I can :P
I was back home the next weekend to attend my grandfathers funeral.
My grandfather was an amazing man, and inspired me as I grew to love nature and to remain curious about the world around me...because no question was too silly or naive...and he had an answer to all of them. I can only hope that I can provide the same for my own children and grandchildren some day...I better start studying now :) The weekend was a mini family reunion and it was good to be able to catch up with family who has been away, and to listen to the stories of relatives I wish I knew better; like my grandfathers Brother. He told a story about when they attended the one room school house (which we were all seated in at the moment having lunch and socializing), he said grampie was never afraid to debate with the teachers and on one such day he was in a disagreement over a math equation, after awhile the teacher finally gave in and said yes Billy you are right. Later as grampie and his brother were walking home, grampie turned to his brother and said, 'part way into the argument I realized that the teacher was in fact right, but I couldn't back down after all the effort I had put forth'! I guess it just goes to show that stubborn is a family trait that cant be easily rubbed out. He also told me about how much grampie loved to read, and how they had enjoyed British humour most of all (which must be where my Dad gets it). Grampie would read them stories out of a book and then well after the lights had been turned out would continue to make up stories to entertain his siblings. One of my favourite things to do when visiting my grandparents growing up, was to sift through grampies library that he had made up for us...a box full of nature books. We even had little library cards so we could sign the books out and take them home. I also loved walking through the woods with grampie and my dad...probably chattering non stop with whats that, how does that work, what is that made out of, what do you call this...And now, the land has been passed on to my father so that I can continue to stroll through the woods and teach my children how to identify trees and bird calls.
I was becoming slightly spoiled getting home every weekend for awhile, so I havent been back since, but mom will be up to get me this Friday for the holidays! I am so excited to give everyone their gifts! I think I might be turning into my mom...who has passed on her love of finding the perfect gift :)
I also did pick up the knitting needles again and I made Chris a touque, which he loves so much I am sure the reason he doesnt wear it is to protect it. haha...I also havent finished the ear flap ties so I will let him use that as an excuse. We have an enormous amount of snow so it is definitely touque weather...even if he says boys dont wear touques and scarves :P
A few weeks ago we added to our 'family' and rescued a kitten from CARMA, I think she is adorable, if not slightly hyper and rambunctious...she makes up for it with snuggles. She is striped grey and we named her Kenzie, after James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie!
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