What is that? That is rain.
We had our first creole lesson yesterday. Our teacher Met (teacher) Johnny is very enthusiastic and teaches just at my level. Creole appears like my kind of language not really any grammar and if you write it you say it visa versa…..! Not sure my spelling will improve by adding another language to the mix. We had the class on our porch with the girls and our neighbours Larry and Marty Grimes. They arrived the week after us and are teaching English and computer skills to local adults. They are great to have around.
I was going to give you all a little housekeeping so you know how we do things over here. The day starts early. Its light by 6am and most Haitians have already been up for a while. Julian insists on his teams starting and 7am and carrying on till 5pm, Monday –Friday. If it was up to the workers they would work 5-1, Monday through till Saturday. It makes a big difference having Saturday off for us as it all happens right next door. less than 10 meters away. Once the perimeter wall is built we will have less dust but still have the noise.
The girls start school at 8 and finish between 11.30 and 12. They may sometimes have homework. Often, I think, dependant on how concentrated they have been during class. They are both enjoying it, although Rebecca would insist on the opposite, and are really getting into the new way of working. Some methods are different but they are adapting and they love the extra attention which comes with 2-3 in each class.
If we have teams we take it in turns to eat with them in the guest house for lunch and supper. If no teams are here we all cook for our selves. Our groceries have to come either from the market or Port Au Prince. The market has all the fresh fruit and vegetables but you have to learn to live with the smell and the flies all over the produce inc meat and rice in open tubs. Most of the fruit and veg actually look great and once you get it home and rinsed in bleach water it looks great and I’m sure is the best local produce. Not every one here are comfortable buying from the market. i must admit I prefer to send a local person and the price is instantly much higher if you are white and then I do not need to see how many flies were crawling all over my tomatoes. I am determined to learn to do it myself and to barter but don't think it will ever be as good value….I do like a bargain!
In PAP there are western style supermarkets but the trip takes 2 days with an overnight stay, unless you are prepared to leave before dawn and return in the dark. The dark is very dark with no street lights and dusk and dawn only takes about 20min.
I have a fully functioning kitchen with a gas cooker, “Owen” as of today, a microwave oven, an electric kettle and an electric hand mixer. The sink has running cold water which is UV filtered and drinkable so this is also where we clean our teeth. I have to wash up after every meal as the ants are very persistent and will infest the kitchen in a few hours. All our food is kept in strong zip lock bags and airtight containers or in the fridge as the ants eat their way through normal plastic and find their way into the tiniest crack in packaging. The temperature is generally about 28 degrees and so many things have to live in the fridge when they don’t at home.
The bathroom is small but has a newly tiled shower with cold water. The water in the bathroom is not drinkable, so no singing in the shower, and we use a lot of sanitizer gel after washing out hands as well as bleach in the washing up water. Its amazing how a cold shower can be pleasant when its so hot outside. After the first dousing you get used to it and it feels warm enough to stand under…..! Our water is provided by the neighbouring mission, WISH (West Indies Self Help, who provides water and power to the hospital and the whole town. The water is however not always reliable and we get days of no running water and often reduced pressure. We then fill any containers we have. The girls have even had a WARM bath in a tub in the kitchen. Ella loved it. Becca liked the warm water but was somewhat embarrassed about standing naked in a tub in the kitchen. I told her that is how her grandparents and great grandparents washed when they were small….didn’t really help!
We loose electricity at 9pm, we then have to use the battery which has been charging during the day and connect fans and any lights through a extension cable. It works well but at the moment we only have one lamp and move it from the lounge to the bedroom so i can read in bed. The power comes back on at 6am and a new day starts.
Sunday is church at 10.30 and if we have a team we may get to go snorkelling. That is always a success. The Weslyanna (Sailing Dow) takes us both back and forth to the mainland and on our Sunday outings.
We had a heavy down pour yesterday, it was very unexpected as the dry season is not meant to finish till April. There was a mad panic to save materials not meant to get wet but it did settle the dust quite a bit and we had a very comfortable 74 degrees (22C I think) today. NICE!
That is a little about our daily life here in the sunshine. Hope it does not put you all off visiting!
Take care and look after your selves and each other.
Julian and Marie x
No comments:
Post a Comment