Take it one step at a time.

Warning: This blog is pretty long, but you will enjoy it!!!

Well the time has come I am going to share my immersion experience with you all, but honestly I have no idea how to even start this. I first off will tell you though my immersion was a one of a kind experience and was very different then what the other two girls had experienced. I also want you to know I am not going to give specific details to everything that happened for my own personal reasons. So here it goes…

            An immersion here in Haiti is where we leave our home in Gros-morne for about 10 days and travel into another town and stay. The main point of our immersion experience is to first off improve our language skills and second is to fully immerse ourselves into the Haitian culture. The three off us all traveled to different areas in Haiti. I was traveling to Grann Plenn, Katie was traveling to Riveye Marcel, and Frankie was traveling to Pandi. We all started our journeys on September 15^th bright and early.  For me personally I was super excited but I also had a lot of mixed emotions. I mean hello I had no idea where the heck I was going. Katie and I had to take mottos to our immersions while Frankie rode up with Barrack in his truck. Katie took off first and then Frankie. I was the last of us to leave. The man who came and picked me up was named Ottobear. He was the right hand man to Gaston who runs many organizations up in Grann Plenn. So I hoped on the motto and off we went, but before we got out of Gros- Morne I had to switch motto drivers. Ottobear was not traveling up with me. My next driver was an Agriculture student who does a ton of work in the forest/garden in Grand Planne. So we hoped back on the motto and off we went. It was a pretty uncomfortable ride because I had a huge backpack on my back and I was hanging on for dear life because I thought I was going to fly off at any minute. To get to Grann Plenn we had to cross through 4 rivers. The rivers were pretty long and it was nerve racking. Every time we got to a river I said to the student I can walk I don’t need to ride over on the motto and he would turn back and say no just relax. The reason I was freaking out is because mottos are not made to keep the traction on the rocks in the water, so I felt at any minute I was just going to tip right over. After we made it across all the rivers safely I thought for sure I could relax, well that was a big fat joke. After we passed them we came to the long huge hills we had to drive up and I really thought for sure we were going to tip over. We finally had reached a better road and the motto driver just stopped. He turned around and started to ask me if I had food for the week and I told him no I have money to give to the family I am staying with. Now just keep in mind this whole conversation was in creole. He kept looking at me like I was crazy when I told him this. He just kept saying no you need to buy your own food and I just kept answering no I don’t. Finally after about a 15 minute conversation like this we started going again. After about another 15 minutes on the motto we had reached my destination for the week. He drove me up to school and of course about 30 kids ran up to me. The driver looked at me and I could tell he had no idea what was going on. I asked him do you know the family I am staying with and he had no clue. Finally a man came out of the school building and I told him that I was the volunteer from Gros- Morne , and that I was supposed to be staying up here for the week. I had called Brittany at this point because I felt a little uncomfortable, and she told me that they would call Ottobear. After a few seconds the man’s phone went off and it all seemed to click after he got off the phone. The driver told me to get back on the motto and he took me down to a house. The house was beautiful. It was settled in the back of a corner of land and had a yard in the front of it. The man walked me in the house were a young women was standing and she showed me to a room. There was three beds and two windows. They told me this is where I would be staying for the week. I asked the motto driver then who do I give the money too and he asked me how much I had. I told him and he said just hold on. Well at this point again I felt that I should call Brittany because I didn’t want the money to fall in the wrong hands of someone. She asked me if the guy was there that brought me to the house because she wanted to speak to him. She talked to him and then told me to give the money to him so I did. After all of that was figured out I was left to myself. I have to say I felt so alone and awkward. I thought to calm myself down I would take a shower and try to relax, but that didn’t even help much. I rushed in the shower because at any point I thought someone would swing the door open or put their head in the window. After I showered I went an curdled up on the bed and just laid there. The time felt like it was moving so slow. Finally, later on around 6ish the little girl had brought dinner into me. I was so hungry at this point but when I saw the food my appetite disappeared. It was a soup that looked like straight milk. It was very sweet and just honestly wasn’t too appetizing. After I had finished I decided to just go to bed, but it was only 9 o’clock. I just laid their and starred up at the ceiling and killed the bugs that were flying around the light of my iPod. I honestly thought to myself “WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE!” I felt so alone and miserable. I felt as if I really wasn’t welcomed there, but I knew I had to just push through it because at the end of the day it was going to make me a stronger person.

            That night I virtually cried myself to sleep because of the all emotions running through my body, but I survived. I woke up around 6:30 am because I just wanted to get up and out of the house. I left without eating and headed to the school. Once I got to the school all the children ran up to me , and this made me feel at home. The kids came up to me and started holding my hands and talking with me. I asked one of the teachers who taught third grade if I could sit in on his house class to listen to the creole. He of course had no problem with it. The school day went by pretty fast and at some points was a little awkward. After school had finished the older gentleman took me up the garden and showed me what the kids would be working on during the school year. I have to say the forest/garden was amazing! It was so huge and the students were the ones who were producing it. It was a great experience to see and to learn how they run this program at their school compared to our school in Gros-Morne. I then returned back to the house and had way too much time on my hands. I laid around and started to read a book called Travesty in Haiti. This book was so intriguing and it really kept my mind occupied. Later on in the evening the young women in the house came in to my room and begin to talk with me, which was comforting. Her name was Rosenade and she was 21 years old. She stayed with me and just practiced creole with me virtually all night. She also was the one who cooked me dinner, so in a way you could she was in charge of me for the week. She honestly was such a sweet heart and if it wasn’t for her I would have been alone all week. After she left my room later that night I broke down. I just started crying and I really couldn’t stop. I really missed my family, friends and boyfriend. I especially missed my boyfriend because right now our communication is so limited, and it became more limited while being on my immersion. I have to say the one thing that got me through this night was the playlist he put together for me. He put together a list of 30 songs that reminded him of us and our love. It is one of the sweetest things I have ever had someone do for me and it truly put me to sleep this night.

This is Rosenade. I am so blessed to have meant her.

 

            The next morning again I woke up at 6:30 and got around. This time I decided to eat before school because I felt pretty weak form not eating a lot the past two days. When I was finished I headed out and at school today I decided to sit in with another teacher. His name is Robenson and he is the preschool teacher. The little ones were so excited I was there and honestly they are the cutest little children ever. In his class we got to do some painting which was so fun. We gave each child a piece of paper and gave them three colors of paint and we then taught them to fold the paper over. We then pressed all the colors together to make a colorful picture. The kids loved it! After art we did counting. I sat at one table and Robenson sat at the other one. We had little blocks and we taught the kids how to count 1-10. Some of the children picked it up and some struggled, but it was amazing to see them learning. After the counting we let the kids start to write their letters, but Robenson left right after the kids had started. So I was teaching the class all of sudden. This frustrated me a lot because this is one thing I had noticed about the past two days. The teachers would start a lesson and then just leave the room and go off somewhere. I mean how are the kids supposed to learn when the teacher just walks off? I did the best I could to keep the kids going, but it really was a struggle. Thirty minutes had passed and he finally returned. At this point it was time for the kids to have recess. During recess I would sit in the classroom with a few kids who didn’t want to go out in the heat and play. Some of the teachers would sit with me and this is where you could say some things got a little interesting. The school I was working out was all male teachers not one female, so I ran into a few issues. The issues weren’t horrible but they could make you feel a tad uncomfortable. Just to give you a little sample of what the teachers would say to me every day “Beth you are beautiful” or “You have a beautiful figure”, it was very overwhelming. I knew they didn’t mean any harm by it, but it got to be a lot when it was every day. Just to explain this a little further so you don’t get the wrong picture. Many Haitians think Americans are beautiful. They love our eyes, our hair, our skin, our smiles, and just virtually everything about our appearance. It’s hard to understand, but when they would say this to me I would try to explain to them that they are beautiful too. They tend not to believe it though, which is sad because they are truly beautiful on the inside and out. Now to get back to the day after recess the day was finished. School ended every day at noon. When school ended I would head back to the house and just settle in for the rest of the day.

These are the little ones working on the art projects!

 

 

I have to say I loved doing art with them! It made me fee like a kid again.

 

This little sweetheart walked with me everyday.

 

 

By Wednesday I felt more comfortable at the house and I was really focused on finishing my book. I went to give you all a little more insight in to what Travesty in Haiti is all about. I started reading this book because I wanted to learn more about the culture of Haiti and let me tell you this book gives you an amazing insight in to different aspects of Haiti. The book is self-published by a man who spent part of his life living in Haiti working for different organizations. He mainly collected data on American and German organizations that were supposed to be helping the Haitians. The results he got from surveying the Haitians was unbelievable. The food organizations from the Americans and Germans were not helping the Haitians at all. They were actually harming them in multiple ways. I honestly couldn’t believe it and it made me think to myself am I truly going to be able to help at all? Or am I going to harm them to? These are valid questions that I think to myself here and there, but I know that I am not going to make some huge big difference in their world. I do know though that if I can get a child to smile or laugh that my day is complete and for that one second I made them have a little bit of fun. This book is truly an eye opener and makes you realize how corrupt organizations are. I challenge all of you to pick up and give it read! I would love to hear what you think about it because for me it really gave me an outlook into how are aid has not been making a difference.

As I said if I can make a child smile my day is complete.

 

That night my stomach was a little upset, but I did get a good night’s sleep. The next morning I didn’t know how much I was going to do because I felt horrible. I got up though and decided to head to the school. It was a pretty fun day because we combined all three preschool classes. We combined the classes because we were missing a bunch of students yet. In the class today we taught them a song that everyone knows. It was head, shoulders, knees and toes. It was so cute! The kids absolutely loved it and I got to teach it in English. The day ended pretty early because they had parent meeting, so I headed back to the house and rested for the rest of the day. I really didn’t feel good at all and I didn’t know if I should wait till Friday to come home or leave tonight. I waited the night out though and I’m happy I did, because that night only got more interesting. The man who had brought me to the house on the first day would come and visit me. Now to be honest I didn’t really appreciate him to much because I felt as if he thought I was dumb. He came in my room and just sat down on the chair and interrupted Roes and I’s conversation, which I didn’t appreciate. He kept stopping me and asking me if I understand what he was saying and I kept telling him yes. At one point then I just ignored him and acted as if he really wasn’t there because I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. I am pretty sure he got the picture and he left. Rose stayed and we continued to talk and I found out something that shocked me. She asked me how much money I gave to stay with her and for food. I told her and she said that wasn’t what she had received. I asked her what you mean. Where did the money go? She told me that the man who was sitting with us took it for himself. I had no words and I had no idea what to say because he took around 10 dollars US from her. I just kept apologizing and said I will talk to the sisters about this when I leave. She wasn’t mad at me but I could tell she wanted the money. That night I went to bed with a lot on my mind because I knew it was only going to get more awkward tomorrow with me leaving.

            The next morning I woke up and again I wasn’t feeling great at all, but I decided to go to the school before I headed back to Gros-Morne. When I got to the school no one was there today because it was Friday. Now on Fridays school gets out even earlier. It ends at 11 on Fridays and it ends this early just because it’s Friday. Pretty crazy right? So today we just did a short lesson with them on math and sang one song. Of course they loved singing and dancing. After that we were done for the day and I have to say I was thrilled to be done! All I wanted to do was leave and go back to my home. When I got back to the house though it wasn’t great. Rose had family over and I could tell they were talking about me. Earlier that day I had bought her a toro because it’s her favorite drink, so of course her family saw this. They started to say to her if she can buy you a toro for 75 goudes she can give you the extra money. I finally interjected and told them I understand what you’re saying and I will talk to the sisters about this when I get home. I apologized for the man taking the money and I reassured them that Rose would get the money. They still weren’t thrilled with me and I thought they were going to run me out of the house, but I was saved because my motto driver had arrived. I literally grabbed my bag and hoped on the motto. I waved goodbye and off I went. I was beyond thrilled to be going back home. It took me over an hour to get home, but I didn’t even mind the hills or rivers because I knew I was coming home…

Headed back to Gros- Morne.

 

Well I hope you enjoy the read! I will be posting my second week in two days so you can see the other struggles I had to overcome. This first week by no means was easy for me it tested my emotional side, my compassionate side, my thoughts and so much more.

May God bless you all and if any of you ever have any questions about Haiti or would like to know further information about my experiences in Haiti just leave a comment! I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Be on the lookout for my immersion part two!

 

Hearing a child's heartbeat for the first time!

 

I’m back!! Hello everyone I first off went to apologize for the delay in my posts, but I am so excited to fill you in on everything. Just to give you heads up I am going to do a few short posts to catch you up in my life.

                My last post left off with Laura and I’s meeting with the monitors for her literacy program, and well a lot has happened since then. I have gotten to experience some pretty amazing things here in Haiti and this next story will always have a special place in my heart. On Tuesday afternoon we were going to take a journey up in to the mountains of Haiti to visit a clinic that is ran by a wonderful women, before we started this journey we stopped at our local hospital. We stopped at the hospital to pick up the medical group because they actually needed to visit the clinic, but when we got to the hospital we heard there was an emergency in the pediatric center. Brittany asked if we wanted to go check it out, so we walked up to the hospital. Now, you have to understand a hospital in Haiti compared to a hospital in the United States does not even come close to comparing. In the United Sates you have HIPPA and people just can’t walk in to other patient’s room, well it’s much different here. Brittany brought us right in to the pediatric center and I have to say for me personally my heart sank. To see all the little children in my eyes struggling for their lives virtually ripped a piece of my heart out, but the next thing that happened showed me how precious life truly is. There was a little child laying helplessly in her mother’s arms and she was hooked up to an oxygen machine. Brittany asked if I wanted to hear her breath, so I bent down and listened to the little one struggling. At this moment it showed me how truly precious life is, and how lucky we are back in the states to have the medical facilities we do. I know I hear multiple people complain about hospitals and doctors, well my advice to everyone is just remember how blessed we are to have the hospital care we do because people in other parts of the world are not as lucky. After we left the hospital we started our journey up to the clinic and let me tell you it was a roller coaster ride. I thought I was going to just fly right out of the car. It was about an hour ride and when we reached the clinic I was never so happy in my life to have my feet back on solid ground. I got out of the car and I could tell my stomach was up in my throat and I knew I was going to toss my cookies at moment, but I walked in the clinic with everyone else to see what it was like. Well not even 5 minutes in and I was running back out the door to throw up those cookies haha. I then walked back in and got to experience something else that was amazing. They brought a mother in and had her lay down on the tale. The mother was pregnant so they rolled up her shirt and used a machine to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. It was amazing!! I have never heard a child’s heartbeat still inside the mother wombs, so you could say I was on cloud 9! Now, you may not all believe this but the machine used was probably ancient years old, and you would never see it being in used in the U.S. It was such an amazing day to say the least and it truly made me see how precious life is.

Then bomb the next day I turned the big 23!! I didn’t know what it would be like to experience my birthday in Haiti, but I have to say it was fun. The day started out as normal going to class and doing some things around the house. Then later on I got to visit my little guy which made the day great! He ran right into my arms and wished me a happy birthday with the biggest birthday hug and kiss. It was fun to be able to celebrate my special day with all the little ones. Then I came back home talked to my family and just hung out, but as I was hanging out I knew something was going on. Katie was running in and out of the room and Laura wouldn’t let me sit with her. Well the big surprise was Katie and Frankie got gifts for me in the US and brought them to Haiti, It was the sweetest thing ever and let me tell you they knew me great already. Laura and Brittany also baked a wonderful cake for me with sprinkles on top! So I have to say my birthday was a lot of fun and to end the night we got to go to Panic Beach, so as much as I missed my family, friends, and boyfriend I did have a wonderful day!

After having a wonderful birthday I then got hit with the news that Laura would be leaving sooner than we had expected, and this really hit me heard. Laura and I became great friends back in 2013 when we did camp together here in Haiti. She has been one of my back bones and I obviously did not want her to leave me, but I knew it was for the best. So I went with her and we said some goodbyes to her friends and the kids. The next day we took off on our journey to PAP to send her back off to the U.S. We got up around 6:30 am and had a nice long drive. When we reached PAP the streets were filled with people and everyone was heading off to do something. We got to the airport and this was the moment I had been dreading! I had to say my see you soon to one of my best friends! I held back the tears because I know we will see each other again. I wish you could all have a chance to meet my friend Laura and hear of the wonderful projects she undertook while in Haiti. She is one of the most inspirational people I know and as much as she thinks she may not had made a difference she did. I am beyond proud of her and I can’t wait to see were this next journey in her life takes her.

After we left the airport Tiden and I started our journey around PAP. I had the duty to get groceries and run to the pharmacy to pick up medicine to bring back to Gros-Morne. When we reached the grocery store Tiden looked at me and gave me this look that said “Ok I’ll wait here for you, go on and do the shopping”, well that did not happen. I asked him to come with me because I had no idea were to even start in the store. You may all ask what a grocery store even looks like here in Haiti, but I would compare it to a smaller Weis. It is pretty up scale and has American food. When we got in the store I had no idea even were to start because I didn’t what isle had what, and that’s where the fun started. I kept asking the man who worked at the store where is this or do you have this? He virtually stayed right by my side the whole time ahaha. We got everything we needed, but it took a while. After we left the store we headed to the pharmacy to get the medicine and this time I was on my own. I walked up to the door and I tried to get in and almost fell on my butt because it was looked, but then all of a sudden a police officer opened it from the inside. So just a little side note of information for you virtually every store that contains important products has police officers as guards. I walked in and headed in the order and waited. I then got called up to the window and they said something to me, but I couldn’t tell you what it was if I wanted to. Finally, the women looked at me and started speaking English and I figured out what she was asking me for. I then picked up the medicine and headed out. After that he asked me if I wanted to stop anywhere and I really wanted to look for a Haitian headband, so we headed back to where the capitol building stood. There are probably over 30 vendors lined up alongside the road selling all kinds of little treasures. We parked the care and started walking towards them and instantly I had 5 people in my face asking me to buy their product. I just kept saying “No thank you, I want a headband.” We looked everywhere for one, but we had no luck. We hoped back in the car and we headed to another spot that was by the airport. We got out and looked again, but of course no one had a headband. A women came up with one of the small Haitian flags and explained that it could be used as one, but Tiden wasn’t very convinced on that idea. I told him “Yes, I’ll try it”, and so I did. I decided to buy it and use it as a headband. After a fun filled day of traveling and exploring in PAP it was time to head back home. On the way home we had beautiful drive. The view in Haiti is amazing and absolutely breathtaking! The mountains are endless and the rice fields are everywhere. The small houses are so peacefully placed everywhere. I wish I could bring this view and show it to everyone back home because it truly is stunning. When we reached back home I was ready to crash.

The next few days were pretty simple and went by so fast.  We had class every morning and we were still adjusting to learning things around the house. We went down and visited the school a lot and get to hang out with the little ones, which is always a blast for me. Time truly does fly by when you’re having a blast!

Now as you can read from this blog it really was my transitioning time and getting to experience some pretty awesome things, but my next blog my catch you off guard! And if you want to know what I mean be on the lookout for it!

 

 

Reunited!

Bonjour Everyone! I have finally arrived in Haiti! It’s so crazy for me to say that this is my third time back, but this time it’s for a lot longer.

We waited in a long line to hand in some papers and to get our passports stamped. After doing all of that we went to gather up all of our luggage. Once we had our luggage in hand we were ready to step outside to find our ride. Now for me it was amazing to see all the new changes to the airport and how much more organized everything was, because well before it was a little chaotic. Once we walked outside I had spotted one of the only Americans standing out there looking for us. We went to the car and loaded up our luggage and we were off! The journey from PAP to Gros- Morne is about 4 hours or so. It felt so good to finally be back in Haiti. For most of the car ride Brittany pointed out important landmarks and towns we were entering before we got to our final destination. On the way to Gros-Morne we stop in a town to get a fantastic Haitian meal! It’s cooked right alongside the rode and served in Styrofoam containers. The meal is goat meat, pickles, and plantains.  It may not sound to mouthwatering, but trust me it’s amazing! Around 5 we had arrived in Gros-Morne, so it was a long day of traveling. Once we arrived at the house we carried in our luggage and had some supper. Once super was finished it was finally time to settle into our new rooms for the next year. Katie and I would be sharing a room, and Frankie would have her own room to herself. I was so exhausted after the day of traveling I crashed that night. The next morning I woke up bright and early because I wanted to go down to the school to see my favorite little man.  We get up and got around and headed down to the school. When we got to the school all the children had remembered me and started running towards me! It was such an amazing feeling, but I didn’t see my little guy. I asked the kids “K Kote LeLe?”, which means where is LeLe. All the kids started telling me he walked to my house to see me, so we had completely missed each other. I was so bummed because I really wanted to see him. We left the school and decided to walk up to the market and on the way we stopped at one of our Haitians friend’s house, Juno. It was so nice to see Juno again and catch up on everything. He had walked us into the market and showed us around. After we were down I knew I wanted to go back down to the school because I really couldn’t wait another day without seeing my little man, so I went back down. When we reached the school I saw this little boy with his back to me and he turned around an had the biggest smile on his face. It was my little guy LeLe. He came running towards me full force and jumped right into my arms! It was honestly such a great feeling to him again! I spent some time with him and tried to talk a much creole as I could, but honestly I just knew he was so happy to see me again. It filled my heart with so much joy. After that I headed home and got settled up for the night. The typical routine at the house for night is we have dinner at 6:30 and then prayer following right after.

(Me and my main little guy LeLe)

Day two of being back in Haiti.. We woke up early and had an orientation of the house. We went over rules and got to learn more about the sisters. After orientation was over we decided we wanted to open up our Haitian bank accounts. Now just keep in mind we have only had a month of creole lessons. We took mottos to the bank and that was an experience in itself because this was the first time Katie ever rode on one, but we made it safe. Once at the bank you have to wait in a long line, and then when it’s your turn they call you in. Once we entered the ban and they saw us they took us back in room. I don’t think they really understood what we had wanted, but the one woman spoke a little English. I’m pretty sure she thought it was funny to see us trying to put all of creole together to tell her what we wanted, but in the end it all worked out. We had set up our Haitian bank accounts on only one month of creole lessons.  I have to say I felt pretty good after this. After we left he bank we went again to run some errands for Sister pat and drop some things off at the school. The bank was really the highlight of the day, well at least we thought so.  Later on that night after dinner Frankie had decided to go back in to the chapel to get some things to practice creole with, but she found much more than that. She found a huge furry, creepy, nasty, little friend!!! So of course we all went to look for it, but as we began walking down the stair case another one appeared! Now , I mean really I can handle one, but two in one night as way too much! Thank God we have Brittany here because she came to the rescue and saved us ! haha she smashed those the creatures so good that there was no chance they were coming back to life! It was truly one eventful day in Haiti!

The day finally came were we would continue our creole lessons here in Haiti. We meant our teacher who was absolutely wonderful. We would be having these lessons with her every morning from 9-11. The whole time we are with her we speak creole!! I’m not going to lie it’s pretty difficult, but in the long run it is helping us learn the language. Typically after class I always go down to the school to see my little ones.  So it was no surprise then after the first day of class that I headed back down to the school. Now to get to the school you have to take a few different roads, but one road in particular gets very muddy when it rains. When we reached this road to no surprise it was horrible, but we had no other way to go. We decided to deal with it and march on. When we reached the end of the road my feet were just covered in mud, so I took my sandals off an walked barefoot. When we got to the school immediately all the children ran up and started washing off my feet, and I was shocked by this. It was such an overwhelming feeling because they just did it. I kept telling them”No Mesi, No Mesi,” but they just kept helping me. It was truly unbelievable and later on that night after talking about it with Sister Jackie, she pointed out that they are truly living the word of God. Now just for one minute think about what I just said. I had children come up to me and help me wash off my feet ?! How many people do you see helping each other like that in the U.S?  After I thought about what sister Jackie said, it is true the Haitian people truly live out God’s word each and every day! It is amazing and eye opening to experience this.  Later on that night Laura had finally returned with Elisa! I was so happy to finally see her again!  As you can see my days in Haiti has a lot of excitement!  

The first few days and first week in Haiti went by so fast! Laura really showed us around and explained to us how things would be running in the house for the year. Now, with Laura leaving she asked me to help make sure her program would still continue when she was gone, and of course I said yes! She took us to the program and we got to see what the people were doing and how it was ran. It was unbelievable to see experience this. Laura started up a literacy program in Claudine Village. The program consists of parents and grandparents who cannot read or write. It was so great to see the progress that Laura had helped make in these people’s lives. The following day I had to go to a meeting with Laura, Elisa, and the two women who teach in her program. Laura wanted to make them aware that she was leaving and that they had to follow the contract! During the meeting we found out that one monitor would not be returning, but the other one would. After the meeting Laura told the monitor who was staying how happy she was with her and that she would be getting a raise in her money! If you could have only seen this women’s face light! She was so happy and thrilled! She told Laura that she really made a difference in her life! It was such an awesome experience to see how grateful this woman was and how much Laura had truly made a difference in her life. This is truly what life is all about it!

(Laura and I with some little guys from the village!) 

Well now that I have probably made you fall asleep with these stories I’m going to have to say Bonwit! I only really filled you in one the first week in Haiti, but don’t worry I have more amazing stories to share with you. Although, you will have to wait because I am going to be leaving tomorrow for my immersion up in the mountains of Haiti! 

My Hero, My family, My dream, and My journey!

                                                   (Me, Sister Vivian, Frankie, and Katie.) 

Hello everyone! Well now that you know my background in Haiti I will fill you in what these past few weeks have been like. My journey to Haiti first started out in New York City for about three weeks. I left for New York on August 7^th.  It was an early morning for my family and I that day. I barely slept at all because my nerves were getting the best of me. I knew I would be starting a new adventure in my life and really leaving everything else behind for a year. You may all think that this was an easy choice for me to go back to Haiti for a year after reading my first blog, but in reality deep down it was one of the hardest choices I have made in long time. As I said I knew I wanted to go back for a year when I first started in 2012, but back in 2012 my life was different. I was living the dream and not really having a care in the world. It all changed second semester of my senior year when I meant the man of my dreams. I never would have guessed someone would walk in to my life and just sweep me off my feet, but I am beyond blessed to call him my mine. Some people most likely call him and I crazy because our relationship isn’t what people call “Normal.” My boyfriend and I have only been together for a few months, but the months we spent together were the best months of my life. His name is Jesse and he is in the United States Air Force. When Jesse and I meant I knew there was the chance of him being deployed and he knew I wanted to go back to Haiti. Now, with knowing all of this some of you may say “Why start a relationship now?” or “You know it will fail!”, well let me tell you something if you truly deep down inside of your heart love someone more then anything in this world then you will be able to endure the pain of not seeing someone everyday, the loneliness, the struggle of just wanting to be in that persons arms, and so much more You will be able to overcome all of this because you know the moment that when you see each other again will be absolutely breathtaking and the world will just stop right in its tracks. Jesse was deployed during the month of May and I obviously haven’t been able to psychically be with him, but in his heart I am with him everyday. Hopefully he will be returning back to the states in a few months and I will be going home to spend some time with him. I honestly can’t wait to run and jump right in too his arms. So now all of you can see it wasn’t an easy decision for me to just jump on the plane and fly right back to here, but I was able to because my hero supports me each and everyday no matter how hard it is. I am beyond on blessed and lucky to call him mine. I love you Jesse. Sorry if you think this is corny or a little sappy love story, but I believe it was important for you to understand that this wasn’t just some big easy decision I made over night.

 Well now that you know all of this I will get on to what I did in New York for those three weeks. When I arrived in New York I got to meet the other two volunteers. Their names are Katie and Francesca. We all come from different parts of the US to take part in this journey. I know for me I was super nervous about meeting the two of them because I mean hello if they don’t like you what are you going to do? You’re spending a year with them! After we had all been introduced to each other and the sisters we begin to learn about what our days would look like. Everyday for the next three we would be taking Creole classes. Creole is the language spoken in Haiti and is considered a dialect of French. Our teacher was a sister who spent about 16 years in Haiti. Her name is Sister Vivian. The house had three sisters that lived there all the time and they are the sweetest women you will ever meet. They opened up their home and did so much for us. I honestly can’t thank them enough for everything they did. The daily routine at the house was waking up and going to class for two hours in the morning and then having a break for a few hours. After our break we would have class again. Then finally when class was over we could go for a run or do whatever we wanted. During the weekends we got to go in to the city and explore. We saw some pretty amazing things. We visited the September 11^th memorial, the Bronx zoo, Time Square, and went shopping. The last weekend before we took off my parents and my middle brother came to visit me! It was honestly so much fun to see them and spend time with them. We got to go out to dinner and walk around downtown, which was such an adventure. Then the time finally came were I had to say goodbye to my bro and parents. It was super emotional saying goodbye to my brother because this is the first time we have been separated in four years.  Although, I did hold back the tears because I know I’m going to see him again. It was also very hard to say goodbye to my mom and dad, but I know they will come over and visit me. (Well at least I hope so.)

            The three weeks really went by so fast. It was pretty awesome though because I got to meet some of the most amazing sisters and share in moments with them that I will never forget. Another bonus was that I got a great foundation in Creole. I truly can’t thank Sister Vivian enough for teaching us the language because without her I would be lost. It was also very hard to say goodbye to her because she taught us so much more then just language. She let us in to her life and told us amazing stories about what she had experienced in Haiti. I am so happy to have meant her and I honestly wish all of you could too because she will gave you an amazing outlook on life.  

WELL….. The time finally came August 27^th. We woke up at around 5:30 and headed to the airport for an 8:35 flight. We got through security and everything went well. We then headed to our gate and waited to board to begin our next journey in Ayiti!

A new post will be up soon so you can hear about what my first week was like!!! I hope you all enjoy!

These pictures show what you see when you first arrive in Haiti. Just a little sneak pick of Ayiti! 

How I choose to go to Haiti!

Bounjr everyone! So I want to give you all look into what my life has been like these last few weeks. First though, I want to give you guys a little background on how I wanted to come back to Haiti for a yearlong of service. In 2012 I had ran into of my friends on campus and told her I had been looking for some type of mission work. I wanted to do mission work during the summer months because my time was always consumed by softball during the year. She immediately told me “You should apply for the Quest for Haiti Program,” at this point I let it go in one ear and out the other. I wasn't really sure what to think when she said “Haiti.” The first thought that came to my mind was did she really just say “Go to Haiti?” The days went on and I still really had put no thought in to it, but as the deadlines for applications were coming upon me I had to make a choice. I had decided to do some research on the Quest for Haiti program and one other one that took place in the Appalachian Mountains. I first started out with the Quest program because I wanted to see what it was all about. I Goggled the name and it was the first group that appeared. I saw the pictures of the children and my heart completely melted. I saw that there was a sister who was a point of contact, so I decided to send here an email to see what she would say. She answered me pretty fast and wanted to actually meet me at my school to talk. Meanwhile, I decided to do the application because I knew I was interested in being involved with the program. A few weeks had passed and during these weeks before meeting up with the sister I decided to watch some YouTube videos on Haiti. Most of the videos that are on YouTube of Haiti are from the earth quake. I really had no idea what video to watch or what would even appear in it. So I clicked on the videos one by one and began to watch. The footage of the videos were so graphic and very overwhelming. I wanted to immediately go to Haiti right then. Some of you may think well why didn't you go when the earthquake hit?, it was all over the news. Well that is a good question and honestly I don’t have a good response for it. I can say though one reason was because I was too consumed in my own life and not worried about what was happening in other parts of the world. The time had finally come were I was going to meet with the sister. I had no idea what she looked like so I was wondering around like a chicken with their head cut off. I though for sure she would be in a uniform and look like a nun, but that’s not what she looked like at all. She was dressed in what we call “Normal clothes.” We sat down and spoke for over an hour about the program. She told me what it would be like and how it ran. Then as the end of the meeting approached she looked at me and pretty much told me that I was going to Haiti for a month. I was so excited! I immediately called my parents and told them that I was going to Haiti. Now, if anyone knows my parents, especially my mother, you can picture what she said to me. Of course my parents were happy for me, but they also had a lot of questions, which is completely normal because Haiti is a third world country.

            As the months kept passing by the time was getting closer that I would be starting this amazing experience to Haiti. Now, don’t let me fool you I was so beyond nervous for this experience to happen because I had no idea what to expect. People were telling me “Oh Haiti is so poor”, “I can’t believe you choose to go there”, “Be careful you have no idea what you are in for”, or the famous one “ You should stay here, people need help here.” All of these comments started to bother me because they were all so negative, and by the end I didn't want to hear what anyone had to say I was just ready to leave. Then on June 28^th I boarded the plane from DCA to head to PAP. I didn't sleep one bit that night because my nerves were getting the best of me, but then when on the plane I finally fell asleep. When we were getting ready to land the pilot came on as always and told us to buckle up. I started to look out the window and all I saw was the beautiful blue ocean. It was truly breathtaking, but then when getting ready to land in PAP the only thing you saw was blue dots on the ground. This was a total surprise because I had no idea what these blue dots were, until I stepped foot on the ground. The blue dots were the roofs of the people’s homes. In PAP after the earthquake it became known as the tent city because all their homes were destroyed. So could you picture living in a tent after your house was destroyed by an earthquake? As we begun our journey to Gros-Morne I was very overwhelmed by looking out the windows of the car and seeing the people. I really can’t put it in to words what it felt like. The roads were horrible still from the earthquake and because of this I puked in a bag. Once that had happened I thought to myself how the hell am I going to live here for a month? Once we had arrived at our home I began to feel more at home. We had started camp and I immediately knew this was were I needed to be. The kids were simply amazing! They had the biggest smiles on their faces and they just wanted to be carried in your arms. I truly fell in love with the people. The month had flown by so quickly and it broke my heart. When I came home at the end of July I had no idea what to do with myself. I was experiencing culture shock and honestly I just didn't want to be home. It was miserable. I knew I had to do something so I set the goal for myself that I would go back to Haiti next year and fund raise. I spoke at high schools, churches, and to groups of people, and with their generosity I raised over a couple hundred of dollars. All the money that was raised went directly towards the summer camp. I knew from the moment I came home in 2012 that I would go back in 2013. When I returned in 2013 I knew I couldn't stay away, Haiti had become apart of me. I knew from being in Haiti in 2012 that I wanted to spend a year here but I really had no idea when it would happen. After leaving camp in 2013 I raised the thought to my parents and told them that I wanted to go back for a year long of service. I think my parents were stunned, they couldn't believe that Haiti became such a huge part of my life. Honestly, I think everyone who knows me was stunned because I was always known as the jock nobody had really ever seen this side of me. It was difficult for many people to hear the choice that I was making, but in the end I knew I had their love and support. So there you have it everyone this is my story of how I choose to come to Haiti.

There is one more thing I want to share with you all. Everyone always thinks that they can pick their paths and that it will always go as planned, but honestly it will change. Back when I graduated in 2010 from a small high school in Williamsport PA, we had a guest speaker at our graduation. Now as most of you have experienced these guest speakers we all know they can be super boring and long winded. Well I didn’t really pay any attention to ours because at that moment I just wanted to graduate and get the hell out of there, but damn did Karma bite me in the ass. Our guest speaker was a woman who worked in Haiti for a clean water program. I’ll never forget how she started the speech. She started off by screaming and saying HELP ME! She was showing us how the Haitian people were screaming from people to help them, but again at this moment I didn't really care. So as I said don’t try to pick a certain path and think you are going to follow it because I would have never pictured myself going to Haiti! But honestly it has been one of the best choices I have ever made in my life. God bless you all and I hope you look forward to reading my next post!