back home and it feels so ... WEIRD?

so i'm not technically back home yet, but i'm sitting here in richmond in my sister's apartment, waiting to grab lunch with a friend and then i'll be back in franklin for a few days before heading to williamsburg to start my summer internship at the office of admissions. it's weird to have done the following things this morning - wake up not sweaty and covered in 100 deet bugspray, taken a shower that was hot without flip flops on, open my mouth and ingest water during that shower, brush my teeth with sink water, sit on a laptop with a cup of coffee and catch up on e-mails and gchat wesley instead of actually talking to her, and so much more.

in our last reflection that brian and i led on monday night at walls guesthouse, we talked extensively about what our take-away messages from this alternative break would be and what we had learned about ourselves during this trip. i wrote down everyone's "take-away" messages and (without using team member's names) i wanted to share them with you so that maybe you can have a better idea of what we learned during our time in ayiti.

- coming back is important. we have made a promise to the ayitian people and even received a cake that said "see you soon" meaning that we need to keep this promise and return.

- commonality is always possible. it may seem as if we have nothing in common with each other, but in the end, there is always a common thread that we can share.

- we are more capable than we think we are. we do indeed have the power to make change happen.

- the strength and power of the human connection and relationships is evident.

- children are a universal - they laugh, they love, they want attention, and they love pictures and cameras.

i also thought i'd share some of my favorite moments in ayiti with you before i close this chapter of the w&m haiti compact 2011. we hope to head back in january 2012 and i hope that (as a returning trip leader) we can make even more of an impact than we did on this trip.

- ayitian driving and the memories that we shared with our drivers (fritz, jason, and ryan): i know catherine wrote about this, but you truly have to understand the hilarity of it all. there are no lines, there are no speed limits, and i only saw one stop light the entire time i was there. in driving with jason one day he got excited and exclaimed "WOW THIS IS THE FASTEST I'VE EVER BEEN ON AYITIAN ROADS!" as we sped up through a surprisingly and uncharacteristically empty strip of road. fritz, jason, and ryan were great additions to our week - they shared their opinions on everything from the state of ayiti today to why ayitian peanut butter is better than american peanut butter because it gives your arms a work out, and how to properly name your car.

- a nightly ayitian rain storm: on our first night, our friend joe whom we met at walls told us to be prepared for the rain storms that were to come. and boy were we not prepared. these rain storms are powerful and loud, but there is also something that is so comforting and beautiful about the repetitive drumming on the tin roof that covered the dining area. wesley and i even got the balls to go dance in the rain on our last night - it was wonderful and cool.

- ayitian hospitality: whether it is making sure that we have a lunch larger than any meal we've ever eaten (thank you robenson and evens) or giving us 4 pineapples and a bag of mangos on our visit to a rural visit in the boonies of cap haitien (thank you joli trou), ayitian hospitality was evident everywhere that we went. one of my favorite moments of the trip was on sunday when we went to briefly stop by a girl's first communion and she entered the car, gave us all a kiss, and then gave us a delicious ayitian coffee cake and all of the sodas and water we desired. surprising and unexpected moments like that made this trip so wonderful to me.

- the citadelle: words cannot begin to describe the ridiculousness that was this experience. after catherine got sent away with her horse (which she was apparently terrified that none of us would join her), i hopped on my horse - who wasn't as huge as he should of been but that's another story - who was named zuzu. after dying laughing the ENTIRE ride up the mountain because timmy was too scared to even look anywhere but straight ahead, we made it up to the steepest part, where my horse decided to (after being yelled at to 'alle, alle' which means 'let's go, let's go' i think) break into a gallop. i do mean gallop. his back legs were not moving one at a time, they were coming up to meet his front legs. that was fine - until we turned a corner and my saddle slipped. i slowly started to fall and after yelling, my main man peter came and grabbed me and helped me off so that i didn't fall completely off my horse. melody apparently was not as lucky. the top was beautiful and i learned so much but i won't repeat things to you that you already know because i'm sure you've read katie's post.

anyway, that's enough recapping of things you may or may not have already known. i'm hoping that as we go through the recruitment process and try to get new team members for next year, we'll maintain this blog in some sort of fashion. i miss all of my haiti compact kids and here (for the last time) are some memories i'll share of them that maybe they'll find funny -

brian: his ability to look like he was about to ride across the australian outback while he was on his horse .

catherine: her ability to constantly sleep in the "brace for landing" position.

katie: her unexpected sass that popped up the last few days.

melody: thinking that bear poop is funny.

nick: wet willies & making the precious baby on the plane giggle.

timmy: almost making it the whole trip without losing anything.

wesley: her vast array of faces.

thanks so much for following our journey.

peace & love -

kylee

Leaving and Returning

Brian here with the last post for the Haiti Compact from Port au Prince. We left Wall's Guesthouse this morning around 8:30 to head to the headquarters of Pure Water for the World Haiti, where we met with the country director and a number of other workers who showed us the ropes of the non-profits activities in-country. As if the world couldn't get any smaller, one of the women working for Pure Water has a daughter at William and Mary who is a rising sophomore and actually visiting Haiti currently. She was both surprised and excited to see a William and Mary delegation step into her office this morning! We made a note to reach out to the student upon our return stateside.

From the headquarters in Port au Prince, we rattled our way down country lanes along the water to a joint ICC/Pure Water outpost on the outskirts of Port au Prince, where we witnessed their water filtration devices in use as well as got the opportunity to meet some of the orphans and children from the school that they help support on the grounds. This visit was followed by yet another to the actually factory where their cheap and effective filters are manufactured and where sanitation education is disseminated to community members through a sequence of seminars and peer training.

Lunch saw us at Wall's guesthouse again, with us traveling afterwards back to ICC's inpatient clinic to enjoy our last afternoon with the children who are staying there currently. After roughly two hours of play and companionship, we met with ICC's director who thanked us profusely for our time spent in Haiti, and said he and the rest of ICC very much look forward to a productive, fruitful relationship with William and Mary and these particular members of our compact over the coming years. As the first university group that has worked with ICC, we all have high hopes for a future of partnership.

At reflection, we discussed the future of the compact in the coming year, along with avenues for growth, challenges we will face, and where we see ourselves in the larger puzzle of university involvement with Haitian community partners. All went around and shared affirmations with other team members, as well as one large take away from their time in Haiti that will impact them moving forward, followed lastly by one thing everybody has realized about themselves during their time in Haiti.

It's evident that the Haitian people are open, kind, gracious people who share a compelling brotherhood amongst themselves. Industrious and entrepreneurial individually, they live in a nuanced country broken and abandoned by the international system as well as the internal inability to govern themselves without corruption. The personal connections all of us have made, due to our small and selective team size, have only reinforced how memorable the faces and stories of the people working to make Haiti more viable are.

As we return to Haiti we recognize the importance of relationship building as the bedrock of all our interactions with community partners on the ground. For most of us, a return trip to Haiti in the upcoming year seems to be very much in the cards.

It's been a pleasure to lead such an impressive and compelling group of students to a country very much in need of our partnership. Together, we've struggled through the complications and questions that arise as a result of nuance, language barriers, a history of abuse, and being in the small minority on an island of Haitians, both in skin color, socioeconomic status, and purpose. We've seen a wide swath of the country, participated in deep, moving conversation with Haitian partners, and grown as individuals in the process. In doing so, we've definitively launched a new brand of alternative break at the College that focuses on a small, dedicated group of individuals working in tandem not only with partners on the ground year-long, but also with other universities across the United States to address the pressing questions of Haiti in our time.

I look forward to returning to Haiti in the near future, hopefully amongst many other members of the Compact, in an effort to continue the good work we've so earnestly started here.

Tomorrow morning we fly from Port au Prince at 12:15, land in Miami at 3:45, and expect to arrive back in Washington DC at 7:45 p.m. EST.

From Port au Prince,

Brian Focarino '11

Day 5 - Sunje Ayiti and Return to Port-au-Prince

Bonswa! (Good afternoon/evening/night/everything after 11am in Creole)

Given our poor (read: lack of) Internet connection in Cap Haitien, I have the privilege of offering a third blog post in a single day! I’m sure our millions of readers are thrilled. (yes, that was sarcasm!) In all seriousness, though, we do truly appreciate the well wishes, prayers, and blog-reading from our family members and friends back home! (Note: I wrote this blog between 10pm and 11pm, though I couldn’t post until Monday morning. However, I was too tired to change it, even though the greeting was wrong and it wasn’t actually the third post in a day!)

Our day began at 9am, which afforded us an unbelievable amount of sleep after the many preceding VERY early mornings (of course this would be the morning that a rooster would wake me sometime that began with a 5 and I couldn’t go back to sleep, but it’s not every day you get to see the sun rise in such a stunning setting!). As we were enjoying a delicious breakfast of bread on the hotel balcony, our community partner for the day, Gabrielle Vincent, of Sunje Ayiti, made her grand entrance (and by grand entrance I mean she walked up and said “I’m Gabrielle” and gave Melody and me hugs – doesn’t take much to make me happy). After chatting with her for 20 or so minutes in the hotel lobby, our group (eight team members, Gabrielle, an intern named Olivia, an ICC representative named Marline, two translators, Evians and Pierre, and our driver, who was only ever referred to as “chauffeur” – yes, 14 people!) piled into our van and headed off to Sunje Ayiti in the village of Limonade (yes, this is where lemonade was invented, leading Gabrielle to mention the importance of getting a lemon statue similar to the Georgia peach or NYC’s Big Apple, but that’s a story for another day).

I’ve spent some time trying to think of adjectives that might appropriately express our time at Sunje Ayiti – inspiring, uplifting, mind-blowing, humbling, and the list could go on. We certainly hope to work with Sunje Ayiti as we fill out our at least four-year commitment to Haiti, and we hope today was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between our organizations. The day was incredibly jam-packed and I couldn’t possibly remember all the details, so let me hit the highlights:

· Visit to a farm: Our first stop with Gabrielle was to visit a large farm Sunje Ayiti was working to develop (side note: it’s right across from the future site of a 10,000-student university the Dominican Republic is building to aid Haiti – super cool!). We saw countless rows of more types of plants than I knew existed, but the most fascinating aspect was the organization’s commitment to putting Haitians to work. Sunje Ayiti employs up to 40 farmers during the harvesting season and at least seven year-round, thereby letting the farmers earn their food and not just receive a handout. Empowerment for the local people was certainly a theme of our time with Sunje Ayiti.

· Goat/chicken farm: Sunje Ayiti also received a grant that provided 100 female goats (and one African boar goat) and 2,000 chickens. The goats were then bred (at alarmingly fast rates, actually) and then given to local Haitian families and communities; the chicken population also ballooned from 2,000 to 10,000 and were also given to local families and communities. Being given the opportunity to care for these animals has been empowering to the Haitians while also providing a direct financial or nutritional benefit.

· Cocoa factory: Arguably the centerpiece of Sunje Ayiti’s work is its cocoa factory, which is in the process of being built through a grant. The business currently operates out of what appears to be a family home; basically, Haitian women make the chocolate and carve it into aesthetically-pleasing shapes and then sell it for $5 each (side note: they’re going to have a Web site soon – great Christmas presents!) I don’t really understand how it works, but if you mix some combination of water, chocolate, milk, and sugar, you should get delicious hot cocoa (we bought lots of it and I’m excited to try it out – luckily there are instructions in the bag!) An already awesome operation out of a small home in Limonade, it was exciting to see Gabrielle already thinking of innovative ways to make the product even better, such as having a sealed bag to make it last longer and a logo of Limonade on the bag itself.

After our time at Sunje Ayiti, we rushed back to the hotel to pick Catherine up (she unfortunately wasn’t feeling well) and dashed off to the airport to make our flight (we did end up sitting – slash sleeping – in the airport for over an hour, but I suppose better early than late!) We then boarded our (very small) plane for the 20 or so minute flight back to Port-au-Prince. The plane may or may not have been guided by a standard GPS and I may or may not have talked a lot more to Jesus during a patch of super rough turbulence.

As we left the airport, we witnessed a fender bender that was somehow only our first (in the parking lot, not on a street, no less!) and then navigated the utterly confusing (to me, at least) streets of Port-au-Prince. The street that we (apparently) usually came in on had been closed and our driver, Jason, navigated via a makeshift map written in pink marker on the back of a piece of paper, but at least we managed to arrive back in Walls safe and sound.

We then enjoyed a delicious dinner complete with a (very large) cake given to us as a gift by our friends at ICC-Cap Haitien followed by an intense and wonderful reflection session led by the one and only Melody Porter. Our night was completed by laughter-filled games of Zoo (everybody has a ridiculous animal they have to imitate) and Essence (one person answers questions with the essence of a fellow group member in mind and then you have to guess who it is; sample questions include “if this person were a bad habit, which would they be?” or “if A is for apple and B is for banana, which is C for?”)

And then everybody went to sleep or shower and I wrote this blog post. The End.

Kidding, sort of. I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on how much we have grown both as people and as individuals on the Active Citizens Continuum (ask your group member or Google it!) Some of us had been on international trips or even to Haiti before, but I don’t think you can ever get acclimated to the poverty and devastation we have seen. You also, however, cannot help but be constantly inspired by the resilience, work ethic, hospitality, and plain old kind-heartedness of the Haitian people. We might be “blans,” (i.e. foreigners) but we still have a special place in their communities.

We are also getting nostalgic about our imminent departure from this temporary home. Gone (for awhile at least) will be the mosquito bites, sweat stains, brushing teeth with bottled water (harder than it sounds!) and transportation nightmares, but so too will be our beautiful new friends in this wonderful place. Those of us who aren’t graduating are excited to return in January (though we will miss Brian and Wesley a whole lot!), we all must leave now, and I think it’s safe to say that each of us is leaving a piece of our heart here in Haiti.

If you made it to the end of my verbose blog, I appreciate it; I typically have a lot to say, and that is only exacerbated by this life-changing experience. Thank you again for all of your love and support, and we look forward to seeing you all Stateside very soon.

Peace and love,

Timmy and the W&M Haiti Compact

Cap Haitien: Day 2 - the Citadel & Lakou Lakay!

Saturday we woke up at 5:30 AM to get an early start to the day and head out to the historic Citadel. Unfortunately, when we met up with our driver our translator was nowhere to be found, so I found myself using the best of my French speaking abilities to communicate between our driver and his co-pilot and the rest of the team. Up until that point, I had only really used my French to translate passing signs or speak to small children, so, to say the least, I felt a little pressure to be on my “A game.” We ended up spending a good deal of the morning discussing and fixing the situation. Overall, I’m really happy that I was put in a situation that gave me the opportunity to really think about and develop language skills which I had only really ever practiced in a classroom.

After getting everything settled, we drove out to the Citadel and mounted our [quite small] horses that would take us along the five mile trek up the mountain. I’m convinced my horse, accurately named TapTap (*see Catherine’s post), was a thoroughbred Kentucky Derby champion in his past life because my handlers basically had him running me up the steep inclines of the mountain. My fellow team members, I’m sure, had a great time seeing me scream as I bobbled on top of a small speeding horse. Because of TapTap’s speediness, I didn’t get to experience all of the hilarious escapades of some of my fellow Haiti Compact-ers, but the story of Timmy having a panicked breakdown and speaking desperately to Jesus for help as his horse navigated that steep edge of the path cannot be erased from my mind. Also, it must be mentioned that I was the only lucky member of the team to witness Kylee almost fall off of her horse. It was epic.

The trip took a couple of hours, affording us the time to see the wide variety of vegetation the mountain had to offer: bananas, cocoa beans, coffee beans, grapefruit, mangos, coconuts and more. The high stone walls of the Citadel jutted out into the sky as we went up the mountain, providing an interesting historic backdrop to the contemporary evidence of poverty that surrounded the pathway. Small stone, wood and mud houses sat on the hill, the clothes of their inhabitants drying in the heat of the sun while they were splayed across the makeshift cacti fences that surrounded the family’s property. All the while, the Citadel, the signature trademark of Haitian independence and power, hovered on the mountain overhead like a sad reminder of what once was.

We reached the top in a few hours and took a tour through the massive structure when we reached the top. Initiating historical information … NOW: The Citadel was constructed by King Christophe around 1805, which was around the time when he declared himself king of Haiti (even though there was technically a president at the time). His palace, Saint Souci, was constructed on the lower part of the mountain and was, unlike the Citadel, finished in his lifetime. Funny story about King Christophe’s lifetime: He wasn’t the nicest of guys, so naturally he took some issue with people not praying to him as God and decided to take a stop by the church to talk to the priest. After refusing to pray to him before the actual God, the priest backed away from Christophe (probably expecting some sort of retribution), and when the King (not Elvis- King Christophe) moved towards the priest he fell into a hole in the ground and became paralyzed. After some attempts at recovery from his paralysis, including medicines and horse riding, he decided that his life was no longer worth living and shot himself in the chest with his pistol. His brother also famously died from intelligently choosing to smoke his pipe near the gun powder storage. The only found an arm and a leg. Though King Christophe may not have been the best of guys, I do want to make it known that he did do a lot for Haiti as far as protecting and promoting their independence and was an integral part to their early growth as a country.

After making it back down the mountain (me first, of course on the speedy TapTap), we ate “linner” at a local restaurant in the Citadel’s town of Milo named Lakou Lakay. There, were treated to traditional Haitian music and dance greetings and, of course, delicious Haitian food that included plantains, mangos, spiced rice, pineapple, eggplant and creole chicken. It was a great way to relax and end the day, sitting beneath the pineapple trees and reminiscing on our day full of history and tiny horse riding.

Signing off from our home base of Port au Prince, this is Katie with your daily report from the Haiti Compact team J

Cap Haitien: Day One

Our apologies for the delay. Our time in Cap Haitien was spent without access to internet connection. The following post is from Friday:

After an early morning flight—that put Timmy in a very unhappy mood—the team and I found ourselves at the northeastern tip of Haiti. The scenery was absolutely stunning with the jagged peaks juxtaposed by the calm Caribbean sea. Unfortunately, the city of Cap Haitien was not as aesthetically pleasing. Sanitation is a massive concern along the waterways and through the streets. I recall driving over a small canal that fed into the open water. Such a sight would have been beautiful had it not been riddled with burning trash and feces. GAG.

After a winding trip through the city to see the ICC Cap Haitien headquarters, we were treated to lunch at nice Haitian bakery/deli. Little did we know what culinary surprise awaited us. The vegetarians in the group—aka Wesley and Melody—were served a mound of rice with a wad of iceberg lettuce; Timmy was given a hamburger he deemed questionable; Brian and I were served a mysterious meat we later learned was goat kidney; Katie and Catherine were given turkey sandwiches; and Kylee was never actually served. Good news: we all survived. Bad news: the majority of the group was still hungry when we departed. We took time to digest as we made our way to Joli Trou. The ride was long (and bumpy) but when we arrived, we were greeted warmly by the villagers. The people of Joli Trou have easily been the most hospitable Haitians we have encountered in our time here. A brief introduction was followed by a formal welcome, a little story-telling, and a tour. We were shown the clinic—the prized jewel of Joli Trou—and later, a bit of cultural immersion. Brian, Wesley, and Melody were quick to jump in to the festivities. Their singing and dancing made the group even more popular among the local people.

Feeling tired and ready to check in to our hotel, the team made its way to Le Jardin de L'Ocean, a beautiful villa overlooking the water. We were all surprised to see such lavish sleeping arrangements but no one seemed to complain. The night ended with a trip to a local restaurant where the group was treated to a Haitian meal made with local ingredients.

Malé Malé,

Nick & the Gang

Alive and Well!

Hey Family and Friends,

Just an FYI that we are all alive and well here in Cap Haitien. We've been going without regular internet, but tonight, you can expect two more blogs from us to keep you all updated. Our team has had some great experiences and conversations, so we're excited to share that with you all. We'll keep you posted!

Love,

Haiti Compact

Day 3: Grace Children's Hospital, Tent Camps, and Djaloki

May 19, 2011

Hello Friends!

We’re happy to report that all 8 of us are back at Walls Guest House alive and well, despite being a little bit sweaty. We had a fantastic day, so here’s the rundown:

We rose bright and early to go to Grace Children’s Hospital, which serves the local community (adults included), where kicked off our day with a beautiful prayer by Melody and the patients who were in for the day. Robinson was our “guide” for the day, and we had a tour of the hospital, much of which was rebuilt after the quake. Thus far, they are making do with what they have, but they look forward to the construction of a more modern hospital in the near future.

Robinson explained that at the hospital, they do everything from basic checkups, to eye appointments, to TB and HIV testing/treatment. The line in the waiting room was impressively long, seeing that it was 8am. Our team then met up with some of the health care workers at GCH, who answered our many questions. Many people who work for GCH also go out into the community (i.e. tent camps) to do educational programs in order to help curb the spread of diseases, improve nutrition, and demonstrate the importance of family planning. Our team eventually went to a nearby tent camp, where Nick, Katie, and I had the opportunity to present an impromptu demonstration on handwashing/sneezing hygiene. Melody also got her glorious moment of weighing a cute baby, while the rest of us befriended the young children and tried to break the language barrier.

Though the conditions in the tent camp certainly are nothing close to what a person needs and deserves, most of us got the impression that the Haitians are incredibly resilient. They had set up shops within the tent camp and went about their daily lives without much fuss – something I’m not sure most Americans would be able to do given the same situation. Furthermore, though we have very limited vocabulary in Haitian Creole (I learned, “My name is” and “Can I take your picture?”), we did our best to connect with the Haitians. Though we couldn’t verbally express it, it seemed like we were all able to let our guards down a bit after exchanging brief greetings and smiles.

Upon our return to GCH, we had the opportunity to play with babies and young children who were patients. It was incredible to see how much some of the children warmed up to us, since they were extremely shy at the beginning. Several of our team members got to walk around with beautiful babies for a long time, while others had fun dancing, singing, and playing ball with other patients. Even though we realize that this is only one day that we are at GCH (we are probably going back on Monday, too), we hope to bring back stories and pictures that will tell inspiring stories of individuals, rather than a group of nameless people to be pitied. Furthermore, we expect that future Haiti Compact alternative breaks will have more continuity, but right now we are still putting our feelers out to see how we can best utilize our time and energy.

Moving on to this evening – it was completely mind-blowing. A voodoo (or “vodou,” as it should be called) priest came to talk to us. Djaloki is an incredible Haitian who tells it like it is. He held nothing back, but so eloquently described to us the history of Haiti, the struggles and triumphs of the Haitians, and demystified vodou religion. It is impossible to breakdown his entire conversation with us into a single blog post, but I highly encourage you to ask one of us about our experiences with him, as it was truly life-changing. To say that he rips down stereotypes and barriers is an understatement. Djaloki challenged us to think in ways that aren’t so black and white, encouraged us to take a different perspective in order to better understand the position of the Haitian people, and inspired us to continue the work that others have started. We all feel very grateful to have shared the evening with him.

To stop myself from rambling, I leave you all with this one thought that Djaloki had reiterated: Though our history (“our” meaning Westerners) with Haiti has been rather turbulent and oppressive, we still have the power to instantaneously build bridges across cultures and understand and appreciate one another. It is then, that as people, we can begin to help each other as follow members of the same community.

And with that, it is bedtime for us here.

Sending you all love from Haiti,

Wesley + Haiti Compact