Finally back to Haiti! I have missed this place SOOO much! I knew I missed it, but did not realize how much, until I got to see all the beautiful faces of these children! I left Canaan in the middle of their fair. It was an absolutely crazy time, and I was looking forward to coming back to a somewhat more peaceful place, as peaceful as Canaan can get. Oh was I wrong!
I came back in time for school training. They are putting the teachers through the official training course, I believe they do it once a year. I changed my flight so that I could make it here in time for this course. What a surprise I was in for.
My trip started at 430 am on Sunday, leaving Tennessee. I arrived at 11 am in Haiti and was SUPER excited to take a nap. Wrong. There was someone else arriving at 330, so we had to hang out in Port until she arrived. Devastation. Also actually brought back Chick-fil-a for dear Caroline, who might be slightly obsessed with the place. I was totally counting on her picking me up from the airport....wrong again. Sad day, however, the food did make it safe and sound back to her, it was kinda like Christmas haha. So hung out in Port for about four hours, sat in the car with the windows down in the blazing hot sun...WELCOME BACK! It was all worth it though when finally around 6 pm I arrived at Canaan! I missed these kids more than anything!!!
Kendall and I were hoping to get our old room back. Still wrong. I totally do not mind where I am living now though, but the first night was rough! Cassie and a visiting girl were already in our room, so Kendall and I had to sleep on the top bunk....zero fun. Thankfully I was totally exhausted from my day, but I am not a fan of the top bunk. The rats are really loud on our roof and I thought they were just going to come through the ceiling and on my face...Things are settled now and we are both on the bottom bunk thankfully!
So day two begins...we are supposed to be at breakfast at 7 and training at 745. So bright and early after a pretty rough nights sleep, I show up to breakfast...745 rolls around and still no breakfast. Luckily no one could start until we all ate, so it all worked out. So we get to training around 845. We sit in Naomis office until about 1030, I have to remember I am on Haitian time now...always a few hours behind schedule!
So this training class, it has turned Canaan upside down. I thought the fair was rough, this is a whole other evil. This school training has put me as the student...its really not fun. We are treated and expected to act as the children should. Which wouldnt be as bad, except two of the students are helping out. So here I am sitting at my desk asking "my" students if I am allowed to go use the restroom....quite the experience. The first day really felt like a total slap in the face, and I was not the least bit impressed. I was actually quite angry, and it definetly showed. I did not mean to act this way, it was just very hard to be put in that position. To make things even more difficult, our eating schedule was turned all upside down. Since all of the missionaries have our own work throughout the day, mealtimes are when we get to relax and talk about things. I assumed after my first morning in "class" I would be able to vent a little at lunch and ask for some prayer...andddd wrong! Sister Gladys told Cassie and I we were no longer missionaries this week, we were "students" and we were to act like the students all week. This was not helping my frustration. So here's the thing about Haitains. They eat their big meal "dinner" at lunch time. Guess how we are having meals this week, biggg meal at lunch. Fried chicken, rice, plantains, beans, sauce. Great meal, but weird for lunch. Dinner time and its Labouyi, kind of a sweet plantain mush. Not bad, but weird for dinner. This is how they eat around here. Usually all the missionaries sit around eating such great meals for dinner, while everyone else eats this. So its been quite the humbling experience. Breakfast today, spaghetti. Thank goodness I was late and didn't get any, God knew I wouldn't be able to stomach it. Spaghetti and 7 in the morning, not happening. Lunch was rice and meat and beans, the usual. Then there was dinner. It has been the most interesting so far. Bread, butter, cake and hot chocolate...Quite the combination. Mind you this hot chocolate was the BEST I have EVER had! However its about 95 degrees outside, and probably even hotter than that in the cafe with its tin roof. Hot Chocolate...in Haiti, rough!
On to the good news though. I finished all my work today before lunch, and am mostly free from sitting in the boiling hot classroom all day! I still have a few group activites to work throughout the week, but finished 5 PACEs in a day in a half...my kids totally have NO excuses anymore! I took five tests, wrote a report and memorized my bible verse and also read it backwards woot woot. Which gives me E privledge, meaning I would not have to ask permission every time I needed to score, or use the restroom, etc. Doesn't matter much since I am finished. However happy to say I was the first to complete the course and the first to recieve the privledge :o). Wish I had been such an overachiever in High School or College!!
Three days in, rough at times, but This is Haiti! Beyond happy to be back. We will see where this week takes me!
1 comment:
Hey Amber. You really get a good idea of what the students go through and have much better understanding of everything when you do the training that way. I had to do it in the DR last year. Lots of fun. Although I dont fully understand the meal reasoning but whatever...not overly surprising that SG decided to do that :) Praying for you during this time of testing :)
Teri
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