Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Women's Health with Some Vinegar on the Side
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Candidate Clef?
Friday, July 30, 2010
Getting Ready, Getting There
Almost everyone has cautioned me to “be careful,” oftentimes lowering their tone and making unsmiling, direct eye contact so I am sure to understand the import of their words. The this-is-no-joke face paired with the verging-on-ominous message freaked me out at first, but I’m used to it now. To spice up this recurring encounter, I have begun a mini research project to discover what exactly people mean when they say, “be careful.” I have heard some typical responses: don’t flash your money around; avoid being alone at night; “go with who you know.” One of my best friends had a creative answer: “Sybill. I don’t want to tell you not to be yourself. [Long pause.] But… Don’t be yourself!” (Translation: don’t be too friendly.)
I look forward to taking you on this journey with me.
After a long (and painfully humid) wait on the imigrasyon line, I was welcomed to the country by a family friend and then made my way to my new home-office about 1 1/2 hours from the city. The road we took did not pass by much of the destruction of January 12th, but I did see a little tent city. I learned that 6 months after the earthquake, little progress has been made on housing: some stronger, $1000 tents have been built.
My work will be in rural Haiti, so I do not expect to see much of the internally displaced person (IDP) camps or the life of post-earthquake Port-au-Prince. Most of what I've seen is beautiful mountains, blue skies and the greenery that grows lush with the rainy season. There are a lot of large farm animals – I see them eating grass and transporting people and things. The sounds I hear most are roosters (whom I’ve just discovered crow at any time of the day, not only at alarm clock worthy hours), motorcycles, cows, crickets and, occasionally, music: rara or kompa. While I cannot say this is a rural paradise – of course there is poverty here – I have not witnessed the scenes of Haitian misery that have been displayed in the US media for years.
One image of the natural beauty here:
It feels really good to be in Haiti. I look forward to getting started on my work.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Homeland, New land
Ayiti Cheri, pi bon payi pase ou nan pwen