Saturday, December 31, 2011

More Mission Impossible

HQ,

Cover has been blown.  Have "cleaned" the Alt safe house of all DNA, fingerprints, etc. Have moved to the "Chapel" Safe House and will collect documentation for new identity (Michel and Spidey don't want to play). Will communicate more later.

Sasha

Thursday, December 29, 2011

If This Title Could Hum, You Would Hear the Theme to Mission Impossible

So, the depression hit a high the night before last.  I did the mistake of going onto the University website and there is a job I would have loved to apply for but we are still 5-6 months from coming home. If I was sitting talking to Sandi the F-bomb would be dropping alot (think the Blitz on London during WWII).  But because I am in England I dropped the B-Bomb alot (bugger).

Poor Michel had to deal with me.  Over the last 2 days, my favorite saying has been "Don't poke the bear!".  He poked a little too hard a couple of times and things got kinda tense but then.............we got out of the house to do a little shopping and saw "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (American version) and the day ended with me feeling a little better and Michel's life no longer in danger.

There is a lesson in this for all that love me.  When confronted with the bear:
  • Give me a wide berth to allow the me to de-grumpify.
  • Encourage me to do a LITTLE shopping.
  • Get me to a movie!!!
After some contemplation, I think there have been many things bothering me:
  • Missing my family and friends
  • Missing a regular schedule (work)
  • A lack of anything interesting going on over the last couple of weeks (ok, I know this is my fault! Don't poke the bear!)
  • Feeling old and conservative (worst feeling)
Over Christmas, Michel and I watched all 3 Bourne movies (they will stand the test of time I think).  All that excitment and espionage has given me an idea to bring these feelings to a close.

Now, Rob may have an idea where this is heading (pun).....................I am off to get my locks cut and pick up hair dye. I AM GOING TO PLAY SPY!!!!!!!

I am not sure how we are going to alter Michel's and Spidey's appearances or if they even want to play along but stay posted.  For the next few days the blog will be all about my spy adventures.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Catchup

I don't really feel like writing today - am a little sad.  I think it was because we were alone for Christmas with no family around.  Don't get me wrong......we had a lovely day but it just wasn't the same.  I am hoping that by writing to all of you, it will put me in a better frame of mind.

So, I am just going to randomly talk about what we have been up to over the last week.

Before Christmas, Veve and I had a day to ourselves where we each headed into Manchester to go to a different museum.  Veve chose to go to the Imperial War Museum North.  This is an offshoot of the very large Imperial War Museum in London which he wants to go to when we are there.  He had a good time but I think he will like the London one better.

I thought this was an aesthetically pleasing picture of
the Imperial War Museum North.
Anyone who knows Veve will
understand why he liked this
museum!  TOYS!!!



And while Veve was off drooling over machines of war, I was at the Manchester Museum of Art.  Lately, I find myself drawn towards contemporary art (there was a time when I had absolutely no interest in this type of art) and particularly, functional art.  There were some interesting pieces. 

This chair is made from more than 200 pieces
of sheet metal, each individually cut.  The artist
somehow computer generated the chair in 3D and
then this was used to cut the sheet metal.
This chair (which is big enough to sit on) was
hand blown in 3 pieces.  Look at how thick
the glass is.  To blow this would have taken
incredible strength and stamina!


I have my own artistic moment.  One of the bathrooms in
the flat reflected in the doorknob.  Look close and you can
see me.
Christmas day was very quiet.  We slept in and then got some breakfast before heading to the living room to open pressies.  Spidey was guarding the presents.  He is so good to us - especially considering that we didn't get him any pressies!  Sorry Spidey, we are horrible friends.


However, Spidey did get a Xmas email from his two friends, Batman and Superman.  They are hanging out at Sharon's for the Xmas season and she helped them send the greetings (they are ludites - just look at Batman's weapon and why do they need help with email!!!!).


For Xmas dinner, we found a Turduken which apparently are much more popular in England than in Canada.  It was a small roast that came pre-stuffed and had a lovely orange marmalade glaze.  It only took 2 hours to cook so we didn't have to spend all day in the kitchen either.

English people also have funny stuffing.  I could not find bread cubes to make stuffing (no way was there enough in the roast for dinner let alone leftovers - my favorite) (My Mom will find this funny since I hated stuffing most of my life).  So, I think to myself "Not a problem.  I will find boxed stuffing and doctor it up."  Well, apparently there is only one type of stuffing in all of England and a box the same size that couscous comes in will somehow feed 6 to 8 people!!!!  When I opened it, it was bread crumbs!!!!! It did smell good though.  I added pecans, butter and water and hoped for the best.  It would never feed 6-8 people but it tasted good and was enough for Michel and I (with a bit leftover).

Our Turducken
Boxing Day saw us go to another Manchester United game.  They were playing Wigan Athletics.  It was a sad little game (my mood may not have helped) because Wigan was greatly outmatched.  It was like watching a high school team play professionals.  I don't play football/soccer but even I know you don't randomly kick the ball somewhere where there are no players on your team or to a team member that is being swarmed by the other team.  Wigan didn't even make one goal and if I had to guess, I think they only got about 4 attempts on goal.......very sad.

Very festive police horse on Boxing Day.
Today, I will be finalizing the details for the next few weeks and will update you once I have the accommodations booked.

Love and miss you horribly!!!!!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Fibre in Our Future

I am absolutely thrilled!!!!!!!!!  We have been accepted to Rosevine Farm where they raise a small herd of alpacas.  A big thank you to David and Angela for saying yes to us!

We start on January 20 and Angela has already said that she will share as much information with me as I want regarding the fibre process (care of the animals, shearing, carding, spinning, you name it).  I know many of you would not peg me for a farm girl but I am intensely interested in the process of creating yarn.  And you never know, maybe there is a recessive farming gene in me - Dad comes from farming folk after all.

Our backyard is definitely too small to have an alpaca or two! Monique has a pretty big yard.  May have to talk to her.  Sue has a new house, I wonder how big her yard is?   Oh, my god..............my Mom and Dad have a huge yard!  But I would have to move to Carmen and that's not in the cards.  I need to make friends with someone who has an acreage around Calgary! I will have to ponder this one to come up with some solutions.

So now the question is "What we will be doing from December 31 until January 20?".  Well, don't think we haven't pondered that for the last 2 days!

We have decided to do a little bit of touring in London, Paris and go to Vimy Ridge.  We need to take the next week and put some structure around it and when we do, make sure you check out the "What's Coming Up" section of the blog as I will be updating it.  We are not sure that this will take us 3 weeks but if not, we will find other things to occupy our time.

Maxing on the Relaxing!

As mentioned earlier, we have done a lot of relaxing and just boobing around Altrincham for the past week and are really enjoying the down time.  Although a part of me feels guilty for coming this far and not going to see all the sights (only a small bit though).

Dali is the most affectionate cat I have ever met!  Like most cats, his attitude is that we are his servants and in many ways, we are but we are very much enjoying it.  He is actually quite light on the maintenance side.  He needs feeding (not hard) and loving (enjoyable) and that is about it.  He is an outdoor cat so there is no litter to take care of.  I wish our cats were this easy to take care of.

On one of our first mornings, Dali joined Veve in bed for some cuddle time.  Aaaaawwwwww!



Dali and I are also getting along famously!



And yes, that is a tetrahedron you see dangling from the light!  It was a tough go finding pipe cleaners and straws at the Pound Stores (they don't have craft sections like our Dollar Stores do).  It is not as big as our traditional one but is perfect for here!


Monday, December 12, 2011

A Letter to My Uncle Les

Because of you, Uncle Les, I have Sandi and Jac and your grandchildren, in my life.  And for this you have my unending gratitude.

Sandi and I are cousins but since moving to Calgary, Sandi has become my bestie and the most amazing friend.  We have gone through some hard times together but are stronger for it, I think.  She has an endless well of giving and she continues to draw strength from where I know not but she is a rock! I have seen most of her children grow since birth and you should know that your daughter is doing an amazing job of raising wonderful, thoughtful, responsible children. 

Jac has become a wonderful friend as well and being able to be involved in Abbey's birth was one of the best memories I have, right next to being able to tell Abbey about it this past fall.  I just hope that I can stay involved in their lives even though they are so far away.

I have these memories and more because of you, Uncle Les........thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love

Mitzi

Manchester.....Actually, Altrincham

It was a good trip from Miami to Manchester and Tim was kind enough to come pick us up at the airport.  We are actually located in Altrincham which from my best understanding is a small town on the outskirts of Manchester.

Liezel and Tim have a lovely flat in a very old house and it is very close to shopping and trains, trams and buses so getting into Manchester will be quite easy.  It only took us about 30 minutes to go from the flat to the Old Trafford Station (where Manchester United play).

I am afraid that you probably won't be seeing lots of exciting postings for the next 3 weeks as we are very much in the mind set to just relax for a bit. 

The excitement of today was that I got my hair cut (ooooooooohhhhhhhhh, thrilling isn't it!).  It was getting a little scraggy after 5 months but that is still not very exhilerating. Oh, we also went to see the movie "Hugo" which was cute but slow.

We went to "A Taste of Trafford" at the market in Altrincham on Sunday.  It was quaint and we bought a nutloaf for dinner but that was about it.

Saturday saw us at the Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers game. It was a good time and we got a work out walking up to the nosebleed section (only 8 rows from the top of the stadium).  It was just us and 75,645 other fans!  See below for Michel's take on his first professional football game:




By the way, we did indeed manage to get tickets for the December 26 game.  It will be a nice way to spend Boxing Day instead of sitting around missing all of you.  I am starting to get a little homesick for my friends and family so if you want to email me, I would love you even more!!! 

Photo Montage from Haiti

Well, we have been safely ensconced in Manchester for several days - busy sleeping, boobing around Altrincham (the area we are in) and our first Manchester United game. However, I see much more cacooning going on as we are very much loving the time alone.

Now that we have relaxed a bit and have a good internet connection, I am sending pictures from Haiti.

School 16 & 17
I am really disappointed because I had pictures of what the kids are using for a school right now but somehow I have lost them.  You will need to use your imagination.........as you come towards the front of the property where the new schools are, you see a "tent" made many different types of tarps (IRD Aid, Blue, Samaritian's Purse, etc) cobbled together to create a 3 room tent that is about half the size of one of the new schools.  Now you look inside and there is nothing but a dirt floor, some of the desks that didn't get destroyed in the earthquake and some cement blocks that some of the kids are using as seats (on the floor).  The only thing dividing the 3 rooms are portable blackboards.  Now imagine sending your child to learn in this environment for the last 2 years!  No wonder everyone was excited to see us working on the buildings.
Sarah and I attaching chainlink to the frame - one of the
many new skills I acquired.

Wilbur supervised much of the work.  However,
at some point during rendering, Wilbur disappeared and we
never found out what happened to him - perhaps he was rendered as well.



Ti Chat (in Creole - little cat) was the other favorite on site.
He was very tiny and extremely skinny.  You can see that one
of his ears has been mangled.  We started feeding and petting him and he
fell in love with us.  If we had been going home after Haiti,
Ti Chat would have come with us.

Spidey was on the cement mixing team.  Sometimes cement was
mixed by hand.  Michel's back ached quite a bit when this
happened cause he was always one of the mixers.

Cement rendered walls.  Once they dried, the tarp
covered boards were taken off and then we would
render the outside of the walls.
Adriana - by day 2 of rendering our fingertips
were raw so we took to putting duct tape on
our fingertips - Jen was kind enough to
bring blue tartan duct tape - very fashionable!




Interior walls painted - starting to look good!

Me, Henrietta, Jennifer and Brooke painting outside - I became
Queen of Straight Lines and was the "finisher" to ensure lines
looked as straight as possible.

I hate to say this but Spidey was a bit of a "Fabrice".  Fabrice
was the name of a previous volunteer who was incredibly lazy
and found many ways to avoid work.
Some of the kids helping paint the schools.



Valcine is happy with our finished product - thanks boss!
The landscaping and room names were added after we left Haiti.

Our Week Off
Michel enjoying the amazing bean bag hammocks!

One of many stunning Haitian sunsets.

Looking from the hammock area towards the
diningroom/bar area.

The Beach
Out for dinner at Trois Table where we got to know the
owner/chef/server.

Hockey Night in Haiti
Miso, one of the staff, organized a hockey tournament.  See below for how hockey is played in Haiti. 


A Better Sense of Communal Living
Made a video on one of the days I was sick just to document the lack of privacy. Amazingly, it was not that much of a hardship.


Odds & Sodds

During WOFW (Week of Fun Week), there was a
tarp toga competition.  Miso won!

When is a brick not a brick - when it is
Lily's dog, Brick - who thinks he is a lap dog.

Sitting on Garry's deck over looking Port au Prince.  Not
all of PAP is captured in this photo. 

Maryse, Zita's goddaughter, and her mother.

The blue tarp is my egg sandwich lady!
Some houses in Haiti have the family crypt in their front yard.
It is a little creepy by Canadian standards.

Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Photo Scanvenger Hunt
So, for American Thanksgiving, I paired up with Dylon (base manager), Kristen (his significant other), and Miso (Joint Logistics Base manager) to undertake the challenge of the Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Photo Scanvenger Hunt.  We were given specific photos challenges (with some creative interpretation allowed) and these are the photos we submitted.  Unfortunately, we were not nearly as creative as some of the other teams so did not win.
Challenge - Picture of a team member wearing one of the local
merchant's mesh t-shirts.  Thank god, Dylon spoke decent
Creole otherwise many of these pics would not have happened.

Challenge - Team member must make an
egg sandwich at one of the local stalls.

Challenge - Picture of entire team behind Maritas' counter.

Challenge - At least one team member bathing
like a local at one of the wells outside base.

Challenge - team praying outside "The Blood of Jesus" Boutique.
I insisted that Dylon's belly button remain in the picture.

Challenge - A team member must wear
Miso's Mickey Mouse ears.  Miso gave all the
other teams only 2 minutes to use the ears - we,
of course, had all the time we wanted.


Challenge - Team member wearing a JLB security guard's hat.
We got carried away with this one as Miso is in charge of
these guys so we got access to their shirts, hats, gun (they unloaded
the bullets) and billy clubs.
Challenge - get entire team on a moto.
This is one of the most common "taxis".  I have
seen as many as 6 people on a moving moto.
That would not fly in Canada!
Challenge - Team picture with the base's cutest couple.
This made for interesting interpretation.  We chose the baby goats.
One team chose Michel and I as the cutest couple - we were
very touched.

Challenge - Team on the tightrope.
The problem was that the first team to use the tightrope took
their picture and then stole the tightrope so all the other teams
had to improvise.

Sorry this took so long.  Loading all the pictures/video took about 3 hours.  I need to learn how to decrease their size so they load faster.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Past Week

Premonitions
So the weekend that Michel and I decided to just relax, a bunch of the international volunteers decided to go to Bassin Bleu (see earlier post for the time we went).  At intermittent times on Saturday, my mind would wonder to the idea of them and I would get this feeling of dread. At which point, I would say to myself “Get a grip Mitzi!  You know you are a worrier.  They are fine.” 

Well, when they got back on Sunday, we found out that one of the volunteers had been treading water and gotten very tired.  He had tried to attract someone’s attention but failed.  Shanna, a staff member, just happened to see his fingertips as he went down for the last time.  She dove into the water as he was sinking deeper and deeper.  She pulled him out with the help of the guides.  Within minutes of that, another of the volunteers was jumping from the high rock area when he slipped in the process and although he missed hitting all the rocks, he hit the water on his stomach.  Shanna dove back in and grabbed him – he had the wind knocked out of him.

So, am I just a worrier or should you start calling me “Jojo, the Psychic”.

School 16 & 17
We spent Monday thru Thursday finishing up the paint job at 16/17.  Unfortunately, the opening ceremony is happening this week.  We are quite sad that we aren’t there for the ceremony but such is life. 

We did get to have some of the students come help us paint.  Paul, in a moment of clear thinking, decided not to let the kids paint with their hands!  Instead, they got to use the paint rollers and brushes while the volunteers supervised.

Baby Shower
Wednesday was Berlyne’s, one of the Haitian translators, last day as her contact had come to an end.  She is very pregnant so some of the girls decided to have a baby shower for her.  Now, baby showers are foreign to Haitians so it was a bit of a spectacle.  First, there were both men and women at the event which is not common – even in Canada.  Then, some of the games they played – not even I was familiar with. 

The first one involved 6 diapers and 6 different chocolate bars.  Each diaper has one chocolate bar smooshed up in it and then it is passed around and you have to figure out which chocolate bar it is.  Now, this requires smelling and tasting but the mere fact that it is in a diaper and looks like poo is a bit of a turnoff – even if I haven’t had chocolate for weeks!!!

The other game was a drinking game!  They had 6 baby bottles with drinks ranging from coke to beer in them and it was a race to see who could finish their bottle first.  One smart guy bit the end off the nipple of the bottle and won first place!

Accident
Friday saw Michel and I on School 18 doing rendering.  It was very sad to not be on 16/17 but they didn’t seem to want to finish it up (painting of names over the classroom doors and some landscaping).  We ended up only working a half day because there was a major traffic accident right by School 19 and the entire work group there witnessed it and some of them tried to assist the injured. 

The accident involved two dump trucks, a school bus (used like a city bus so not packed with kids) and several motorcycles (they are a major form of transport here).  The two dump trucks were racing and one had to pull in and in the process clipped the other one which sent it off course.  It hit the school bus which then hit a power line (it came down and snapped the electrical lines).  I am not sure where the motos got involved.  10 people died and we don’t know how many injured there were.  This is because in Haiti, when an accident occurs, ambulances are not the first on the scene.  So, many people put the injured into tap-taps and have them taken to a local hospital.

We heard from one of the volunteers that people threw dirt on the live electrical lines to insulate them and that they were so “hot” that the dirt started to liquefy and bubble like a baby volcano.  We did not get many details about the injuries and fatalities – of which I am glad – but many of the volunteers where very upset. All Hands was trying to arrange counselling for anyone that needed it and there were definitely several that did.

As well, Saturday was designated a “light” workday and anyone who didn’t want to work would not be made to work and no work would be done on School 19 to give the volunteers and community members some time to process the events.

Marie-Michelle in the BioSand Filter area lost her cousin in the accident.

It was a sad note on which to leave.

Saying Goodbye
Most nights, there was a meeting for all the staff and volunteers and one of the usual topics is the opportunity for those leaving before the next meeting to say goodbye.

On Friday before the meeting, I asked Michel if he had thought about what he wanted to say.  He said he would “wing it”.

When it was time, he caught me off guard.  He was overcome by emotion and was very sad to be leaving and thanked everyone for making his homecoming to Haiti a beautiful experience.  He got a large applause from everyone which made me happy for him – it was clear that he had made the difference he was hoping to make.

In our relationship, I am the organizer and have a few control issues (please, family and friends – do not guffaw too loudly!) but I had told Michel before we arrived that once we got to Haiti, I would relinquish control and would look to him to take care of any business that needed to be done.  I have to say that he rose to the occasion and took great care of us.  As part of this process, he seemed to become more outgoing and was very interactive with the Haitian staff, volunteers and community members at School 16/17.  It was fascinating to have our roles reversed and see him thrive.  

Name Calling
At School 16/17, one of the community members was named Papi.  He also worked at the schools as a disciplinarian.  He and Michel struck a bond after Papi made fun of Michel by calling him “President Martelly” (Michel Martelly is the current President of Haiti and is an ex-pop singer), in return, Michel would call Papi “Papi Doc” (a take on Papa Doc – one of Haiti’s past dictators).  This went on for weeks as they got to know each other.  Papi even gave us a tour of his family farm which is beside the schools.

Once the Haitian’s found out Michel and I were married, they stated to call me “Madame Michel” and I kinda liked it so got used to responding to them when they addressed me this way.  It got to the point where it was even a bit of a joke.  Everytime Papi walked past me, he would call me “Madame Michel” in a funny voice to which I would answer “Papi Doc” also in a funny voice.  In all the weeks we were at 16/17, we never said anything else to each other, other than these names.

Lighting Our Way
In PAP on Saturday, we went to a Xmas craft/art show that Tante Mary and Garry were in and ended up buying one of Garry’s lamps that we had admired at the last show!  Garry is going to arrange for it to be shipped to Zita.  (Regine & Mona – if you are reading this – don’t you dare touch the lamp!  I don’t want to come back to Montreal to find it in one of your livingrooms!)

Miami
The flight to Miami was uneventful and we got to Tante Marie-Terese and Oncle Gerard’s without any problem.

We had a great couple of days visiting with them and Patrick while we unpacked, packed and repacked all our stuff for the trip to Manchester. 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Have I Mentioned It is Hot Here?

Although I seem to have aclimitized and the evenings are actually quite pleasant, parts of my body are not adapting.

For the past week, I have been slowly losing the battle against heat rash!!!!  And where on my body is this lovely item.........................exactly where you would find diaper rash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And when I asked one of the female staff members for any tips/tricks on how to deal with this, what wisdom does she spout..........................."Use lots of baby powder and try not to sweat."  TRY NOT TO SWEAT!!!!!!!  She has been here a year and knows it is impossible to not sweat!  Sometimes, the staff get a little too much pleasure in seeing the volunteers suffer!

I realize I should not complain because one of the other long-term volunteers just got over having stomach parasites only to come down with scabbies!!!!  At least my issues are mundane!!!!!!

Other than the cold, Michel has had to suffer the mosquitoes.  They absolutely adore him.  They hardly even bite me and when they do, I get a little red and don't itch but Michel suffers from much itchitude!!!!

Wish us luck in our last week!  I would hate for either of us to come down with some exotic affliction!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Week in Review

When we got back from our time off, it seemed we were not the only ones that had been sick – many had come down with the same cold or other ailments so the energy level on base was pretty low this week.  This worked out well for some of us as our jobs were low key (painting) but some people were prepping a foundation for School 19 which involves digging trenches and pulling up tree roots.

I was surprised at how excited a bunch of people were when we got back from our time away.  Sometimes we have no idea of the impact we have on people’s day to day lives.  It was a great feeling though!

Michel and I have been on the same crew for a couple of weeks now and we continue to work on Schools 16 & 17.  This week we painted the inside of the classrooms and a little bit of the outside.  I am really looking forward to Monday as about 30 of the students from the school have volunteered to help us paint!!  Paul, head of school construction, mentioned that since we don’t have enough brushes and rollers for everyone, we might get the kids to do hand painting!  It is going to be lots of messy fun!!! Yah! I should have some good photos for you once I have the bandwidth to upload them.

This past Thursday was American Thanksgiving and we had the day off.  One of the staff members organized the cooking of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 140 people!!!!  I volunteered to help in the kitchen so spent most of my day either doing that or participating in the Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Photo Scavenger Hunt.  I will definitely post my teams photos when I can!!!!  The meal was fabulous!

Since before we went on our week away, I have been off rice and beans.  We get this twice a day and my body has reached it’s limit.  I realize it is kinda like potatoes to North American’s but I don’t eat potatoes that often either!!!!  So I have been eating a little at lunch (because it is our only option) and either avoiding it at dinner or buying egg sandwiches from the street vendor.  I have to ask the nice lady what her name is because I have become like Norm on Cheers.  She doesn’t even ask anymore, she knows I like 2 eggs instead of 1 and hotsauce, hold the ketchup!  With only one more week to go, I may be off egg sandwiches by the time we leave as well!!!!

Last night several of the long-term ladies decided to have a girls’ night movie so we got to watch Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – it was exactly what the doctor ordered.  Amazingly enough, by the end of the film there were a fair number of garcon’s watching as well!

We ended up having Saturday and Sunday off this weekend too.  Because we have been so low energy, we opted to stay at base and just max on the relaxing.  We went to the local market today (very interesting but I didn’t take pics cause I don’t think that would be welcomed) and will be making couscous with vegies in a lime dressing (yummy).  Other than that, we have napped quite a bit and that is about it.


Monday, November 21, 2011

The Glorious Week Off

We are actually back at base from our week off and I feel remotely human again.

I had gotten sick with a cold just before we left for our time off and unfortunately, Veve picked it up.  We spent most of our week being sick but Port Salut was the perfect place to spend it.

The trip there was interesting in itself.  We went to PAP to find the elusive air conditioned bus for the 5 hour trip to Les Cayes (close to Port Salut).  We found it and it only cost us $10/pp!!!! But is was crowded.  When we got close to Acquin, there were 5 or 6 people on the road throwing bottles and rocks on the road and at the bus.  The bus driver stopped the bus and he and 3 of the male passengers got out to kick ass.  They gave chase to the hooligans but in the process left the door to the bus open.  Had they been robbers, this would have been the perfect time for one of them to board the bus and take action - but luckily, it turned out they were demonstrators.  It seems there was some issues with several politicians in the area that had people angry.  Anyway, the bus driver and male passengers got back on and we went on our merry way.  The talk on the bus was quite annimated though!!!!!!

When we got to Les Cayes, it was 5pm and it turned out that we had missed all the tap-taps and were forced to take motos (motorcycles with drivers).  It was the craziest hour ride of my life and if possible, I never want to do it again.  These guys are insane, they will pass cars on the shoulder and follow other vehicles with only feet or inches to spare.  This cost us $40 - it just doesn't make sense - a 5 hour bus drive is $10 and a 1 hour moto ride is $40.

The hotel was great!  It had a small private beach and a nice little restaurant but my favorite thing was the hammocks.  They have 2 hammocks under a gazebo but the hammocks are actually 2 large retangular bean bags - they were incredibly comfortable so if we weren't in bed watching movies recovering, we were laying in the hammocks listening to the surf.

We were feeling good enough by Tuesday to venture out for dinner.  It was at this quaint restaurant that only had 3 tables and the owner was the chef and server.  His name is Walter and he is an expat from Switzerland.  We had a great conversation with him.  We ended up having a bottle of wine and a drink with dinner and low and behold, the next day we felt like crap--------it was not a hang-over though!!!!!!!!! Cause it lasted 2 days!!!!!!!

Friday was a national holiday and we had to leave paradise as the hotel was sold out for the weekend.  Another guest was also leaving and he offered us a ride so we traveled in style and ease.  He ended up taking us all the way to Tante Mary's in PAP.

We had the chance to meet more family.  Oncle Edvar came over for a short visit on Sunday morning and then we headed out to see Zita's god-daughter, Maryse and her mother.  They were incredibly nice and once I have a better connection, I will post pictures.

And now, we are back at base for another 2 weeks.

Mea Cupa, Mea Maxima Cupa

I have been so bad on the blog front, sorry.  The internet at base got even worse than it was when we first arrived and now there are more people here trying to access it!  I thought I could get a bunch done when we went to the nice hotel in Port Salut (more about that later) but shortly after getting there, their internet went down and wasn't restored before we left!

So, through the magic of modern electronics, I am going to try and catch up over several posts.

Three Sundays ago, saw us get into a tap-tap with 19 other people (one of them being the driver).  A tap-tap is a Toyota truck (the small ones) that have been modified to have 2 benches that run the length of the box on either side.  Some also have little benches to go down the middle to fit more people in.  Ours had a roof - thank god because several people rode up there leaving a smidge more room for the rest of us.  It also rained on the way home so those of us inside only got slightly damp.

You may ask how we got a total of 19 people into this...........creatively!!!!!!!  There were 2 people on top, 2 in the front seat (with the driver) and 15 people in the back in various contorted poses.  It does not make for a comfortable ride.  We were off to Bassins Bleu..........only 3 hours away!!!!!  And we, of course, had to get back after our visit, so that is 6 hours squeezed into the truck.  My butt still hurts.

However, the trip was sooooo worth it.  We even had to cross a river (going there....in the truck......coming back......we had to walk through the river). Once we got to the head of the trail, it was about a 20 minute walk to get to the water falls.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

This is the lower pool.  It was quite slippery coming down the
stone steps (you can see Adriana coming down them in the
 middle of the pic) to get to the middle pool.

This is what you see of the middle pool when you enter it.

And an aerial view - yes, it is stunning.  Brian gained
his senses and did not jump from this perch.  There were several
lower perches to jump from and several of the kids did - not me,
I am in the water somewhere below.
On the following Monday, we started rendering the inside of School 16 and 17.  I was going to post pictures of the rendering process but I think I will save them for a separate post when we finish the school.  Today, we started painting the inside of the schools.  There is going to be a celebration this upcoming Saturday to mark the opening and I am not sure we will have the outside painted!!!  I hope they add some volunteers to our crew.  I am very excited to see these schools through to completion and am thrilled that I get to go to the celebration.
Here are some of the students that will be attending Schools 16 and 17.  They generally come visit us on their breaks to see the "blancs" and what we are doing. Today, Veve spent most of our lunch break making paper airplanes for many of the kids.


The following Tuesday and Wednesday were national holidays so we headed up to PAP via bus.  It is amazing, a bus ride to PAP cost us the equivalent of $1.25.  However, we hired a driver to bring us back on Thursday morning for 7am, that cost us $60.  We visited with Tante Mary to just relax, however, I got a migraine so I was in bed most of the time we were there.

The following weekend, we only had Sunday off and since rendering really took it out of us, we just hung out at base, did laundry and went to the local market and made dinner.  I have a new respect for frontier women cause at base we wash our clothes in a basin with a washboard - yes, an actual washboard.  I have to say that I can handle many of the daily issues here but I absolutely hate doing laundry - I can't wait to get back to civilization!!!!!!!  

Friday, November 11, 2011

A Week Off

Veve and I have decided to take a week off!!!!!!!!!

It has already been a month in Haiti (how quickly time flies) and All Hands requires volunteers to take off at least 3 days for every month worked so we have decided to take an entire week and go to Port Salut and Cavaillon.

The first destination is Port Salut for what we hope is 5 glorious days all by ourselves in the lap of luxury (flushing toilets, decent food) and I actualy get to sleep in the same bed as my husband!!!!!! We have booked a room at Dan's Creek Hotel, check it out!!

Then, it is a little backtracking to Cavaillon to visit with Michel's uncle.

I, of course, came down sick last night though!  With all the interesting sicknesses various people are getting on base, what do I get...............the common cold!!!!!  No interesting bowel movements, pustuals or drama of any type.  Just lots of sleeping due to low energy and a sore throat!!!!

The internet connection at base has not been good this week so I haven't been able to upload any pics or video but I am hoping to do this while we are at the hotel so stay tuned!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

When traveling in a developing country..........

It is so incredibly important to follow some basic rules:

1) Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.

2) Wash your hands before eating.

3) Generally, don't eat street food.

That being said, Veve and I have broken rule #3.  The other rules we have abided by strenuously.

Today, upon getting back from the field, we had our regular daily meeting. Except today was a little different.

It seems that one of the volunteers had been ill during the night and was taken to Medecins Sans Frontieres and was diagnosed today as having Cholera.

Mom, Dad and Sandi, before you freak out! Don't worry.  Cholera only kills if it goes untreated - you die from dehydration from diareah and vomitting.  If caught in time, it is actually quite easy to treat.

The volunteer is apparently recovering quite well and is expected back at base either tomorrow night or the next day.  Isn't that amazing!

Once the diagnosis had come back, the staff of All Hands went into action.  The bathroom, kitchen and the volunteer's belongings and bedding have been sanitized.  Everyone (staff, local volunteers and international volunteers) have had a presentation by MSF about the signs, treatment and fallout relating to Cholera.  Everyone is very cognizant of the importance of Rules #1 and 2 now and the impact of not following them. 

Many of the volunteers are quite young and I believe they have that sense of invincibility that is very common in the young.  However, I think this incident has brought some gravitas to the fundatmental rules of cleanliness for them.

Don't worry about Veve and I.  Our bowels are good!!!!!!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Spidey

My nephew, John (the one that recently asked Janice to marry him but has not shared any details of the plans as of yet - small dig) asked me what was with Spidey being in some of the pictures of our adventures and suggested that I do a post to explain his story.

Several years ago, Michel and I took a vacation to Baja, Mexico to do some kayaking.  On one of our first nights, we went for a bit of a romantic walk down the beach.  On our way back to camp, we came upon Spidey, fighting for his life.  It seems he had been out for a swim in the ocean when he was attacked by a giant squid. 

Spidey, although familiar with fighting Dr. Octopus, had never come across a squid before and so was at a disadvantage of how to best fight this dreaded new foe.

Although he bested the squid, it came at a cost. Poor Spidey lost a leg in the encounter.  It was a horrible sight but Michel put his EMT skills to use and flew into action. Afterwards, we nursed him back to health and even helped him acquire some prosthetic devices (see below) but in the end, it seems Spidey prefers to work with just his natural abilities.




During his recovery, Spidey became attached to us, and we to him, so we invited him to live with us in Calgary (we were so happy when he agreed) and we have such a good time with him, we general ask him to travel with us as well.

He can be quite independant when we travel as a threesome so this is why he only shows up in some of our pictures.

Spidey ran into Orville, a distant cousin, during our kayak trip
on the Rideau Canal last September.  They had a great time
catching up and were up until the wee hours of the night!
Spidey had a drinking problem for a short
period after the accident but he worked through
it and is better now.

As you can see, he is not letting being
one-legged keep him from enjoying life.

Spidey originally decided that he didn't want to come to Haiti with us and instead went to New York to visit with his Aunt May.  However, yesterday he emailed to say he is feeling a little restless and after talking with All Hands, they have agreed to let him join us and help volunteer as well.  He will be taking a flight on Wednesday to join us so you should him in some pictures of Haiti shortly.