Today has been a great day so far. We were supposed to distribute Toms today, but it didn't work out. We should be doing that maybe tomorrow or Wednesday. Instead, we went to Williamson and Luly. We brought the kids letters from their penpals in Minnesota. We helped them write letters back and draw portraits of themselves. The kids were adorable, though rather shy. I'm capable of asking basic questions (how are you? what is your name? how old are you?), but many of the kids wouldn't answer. I told them in Creole, "I would like to learn how to speak Creole. Can you help me?" They looked at me funny, but they were just waiting for me to do something. I started doing some of the parts of the body that I knew, but they would just nod if I got it right. I'm hoping that my language skills will improve greatly in the next few months.
The school in Luly is funded completely by the organization that I'm working with. The president came to its grand opening and announced free education, but the government has yet to hand over a single penny. The problem is that the people there still believe that the government is paying for the school. Mostly in Haiti, kids have to pay a lot to get to school, or they have to be sponsored through some organization like World Vision, Compassion, etc.
Please post comments on questions on my blog so that I can stay motivated to keep writing often! I would love to know what all of you would be interested in hearing about.
Love,
Shelby
P.S. The "roads" here are always flooding. I assumed that this was one of those things that has always been true. It turns out, though, that when the U.S. embassy was built in Haiti, they rerouted some of the waterflow system that is on the side of streets. It is because of the U.S. Embassy that these roads are now ridiculous! You probably wouldn't risk driving through it in America, but this is Haiti!
P.S.S. Sometimes it's really hard for me to tell the difference between problems that have always been here and ones that are post-earthquake. There was a pretty clear example of the earthquake consequences that we drove past today. It was a huge tent city - I think Ali said that 100,000 people lived there. And before the earthquake, no one lived in that area at all. It's crazy!
P.S. The "roads" here are always flooding. I assumed that this was one of those things that has always been true. It turns out, though, that when the U.S. embassy was built in Haiti, they rerouted some of the waterflow system that is on the side of streets. It is because of the U.S. Embassy that these roads are now ridiculous! You probably wouldn't risk driving through it in America, but this is Haiti!
P.S.S. Sometimes it's really hard for me to tell the difference between problems that have always been here and ones that are post-earthquake. There was a pretty clear example of the earthquake consequences that we drove past today. It was a huge tent city - I think Ali said that 100,000 people lived there. And before the earthquake, no one lived in that area at all. It's crazy!
Hello Beautiful! I'm so glad to hear that everything is going well so far. I'm also glad to heard that the Tom's that they give out there are better quality. I've wondered about that before. I'm really sorry I never got to talk to you before you left!! I went to my uncle's law school graduation on Saturday, and I was wearing a dress so I didn't have my phone on me. Love you, and I am looking forward to hearing more about your trip!!
ReplyDeleteSo this is me commenting despite the dumb signing in on Google rule. I guess my love for you out weighs my laziness :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like things are going well so far! I can't wait to hear more about the adorable children, and I hope they will get less shy around you soon!
Hey, Shelby! Glad to hear that things are going well. I hope your summer gets more awesome by the moment! You are so awesome for going to Haiti and serving God!!! <3
ReplyDeleteAnd here's a question, since we were talking about it the other day: Does the place you're staying have air conditioning? Have you needed a jacket yet? lol jk
lol, I did wish I had one at the airport, but I knew that having it packed with me for three months wasn't worth the nine hours of comfort! Also, an airport lady gave me blankets, and that was nice. There is no air conditioning here, but I am SO spoiled because there is almost always electricity and fans.
DeleteI think I am going to learn a lot about Haiti in the next three months. YAY I love your blog and find it so interesting. I am also enjoying seeing how you think. You are very wise for your age. Most of the time, LOL.
ReplyDelete