Wow what an amazing week!

I have covered a lot of ground this week. I have sent off my first package to Florida for the container and I have hiked Mt Monadnock. I have been soooo busy, but its been great.

I have entered a picture of some beanie babies. These were given to me by a coworker's daughter who wanted the orphans in Haiti to have them. This is such a great gift for these kids. To us its not that big a deal, but for these kids it will be like giving them a million dollars. They will love it.

I also got to climb mount Monadnock with an old friend of mine. We grew up together, went to college together and even got to go to Haiti together last year. She came down to visit me and we have had a great time

We had such a good time catching up and trying not to die! I have learned one thing. I AM SO OUT OF SHAPE!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope to be able to climb more frequently. I'm hoping to find a climbing buddy. Wow. I need to get this 23 year old body working more like a 23 year old body again :)

Oh what a beautiful day!!!

I am sitting outside here in my usual spot at the library enjoying their wireless access. Its the only place I can get it around here without paying a lot of money. Its funny, because in Haiti I am going to have better access than I have here. So ironic how things work.

Some of you have been asking me what kind of vaccinations I will need. Thankfully most of my shots are behind me since I have been so many times. The only one I will need is my typhoid shot and I believe that my Tetanus is almost out of date as well. I plan to get those in the near future.

So back to plans. I am currently preparing things to be shipped down to Haiti. I have to box things up and ship them to Florida so that they can be put in the missionary's container that goes down every summer. That's going to take a lot of work and a lot of money, but once its done I'll be one step closer to getting there. One of my dear friends gave me beanie babies. She brought a whole bag of them for me to bring to the orphanage. I am so excited. They are beautiful and in excellent condition. If any of you are looking to help out just post a comment and I can put out a list of things needed.

These are some of the kids that I will be working with. Aren't they so super cute? All the kids have to wear uniforms. I think it makes them look very put together. It teaches them respect and how to dress more professionally. So far I just have to dress myself professionally, but due to some past problems my boss says they may switch to uniforms for the teachers too. YIKES!

Below is a picture of my classroom. I will be co-teaching with a woman named Rose. She is very nice and has experience with teaching. She is currently pursuing her degree in education. The program we're going to be using is called the PACE program. I will tell you more about that as time goes on, but I think its a very effective way of learning. We will see for sure in two months :)

Time Zones

I just fiddled with the time zones on this program for ten minutes, because it would not adjust properly. Computers are great, but they also drive me crazy. I've been so busy lately. I've been working at the ER a lot. I've been trying to take care of a lot of little details that need to get finished before I leave. Some things are silly like, what size bed will I be sleeping on so that I know what sheets to buy. Others are more serious like, what am I going to do about health insurance? There are so many details and I know that I must be forgetting some, but I know it will all come together in the end. There is another girl who will be moving down at the same time. Her name is Christy and both of us will be new teachers at the school. It will be nice to have another girl there. I think we're going to be great friends. Anyhow, not much other news for now.

What I am actually getting myself into

Here is a little information about the school along with some pictures. In the picture on the side here you see the beautiful palm trees and the beautiful school building. This is the main building and also the cafeteria.

There are also offices located in this building.

The picture to the left is a picture of some of the classrooms. As you can see this is a beautiful campus. I am so excited to be an employee here. As the founder of the school said, "It is like a paradise in the midst darkness." It is situated right in the middle of the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. The palm trees and the peaceful campus make this school a place of rest and healing. Its main purpose was to provide that rest and healing and education to these children. I believe that it has truly succeeded in this mission.

I can't write much now, but I wanted to get this post out to begin getting into the habit of keeping everyone informed on a regular basis.

Haiti Orphanage

I wanted to take the time to tell everyone about an orphanage that I spend a lot of time at. These pictures are from my last trip. This orphanage is not connected with the school I will be working at, but you'd better believe that I'll be spending a lot of time there. They are amazing kids.


These kids aren't just your typical orphans. Most of these children came from a gang-run ghetto area of Port-au-Prince called Cite Soleil. In Cite Soleil these little children were left to the mercy of the gangs. They were used for drug trafficking, for man's pleasure, and for other horrible things. These kids were scared and hurting and had switched over into survival mode, even at the early ages of three and four. Thankfully, these children were rescued and brought to this orphanage where they are now nurtured and loved. They receive one or two meals a day here(a lot in Haiti) and they receive an education and housing. They have just been moved to a new house. The new house has more room for them and they are so very happy.


Here I am teaching the children a fun song called "Making Melodies in My Heart" or in Kreyol "Fe Melody Nan Ke Mwen." Its a fun silly song that has a strong resemblance to "Father Abraham."







I also taught the children how to play musical chairs :) We had so much fun. The kids laughed and played and took the game very seriously. There was always this underlying boy vs. girl competition. Yep, kids are the same all around the world. Guess how we had music...I had to hum and dum and dady-da with my mouth, the whole game! No CD player available :)

Slideshow

So when I set up this slideshow they had all these automatic pictures of Haiti. They're not my pictures, but until I get my own up there I suppose they will have to do. Enjoy and if there is anything that shouldn't be on there please let me know :)

My first Blog!

Hi everyone! I have never done this so please bear with me as I get this all set up.
I am setting up this blog to keep you all informed of what is going on while I prepare for my Haiti trip and then what is going on in my life while I'm in Haiti. Please do add comments as your comments will be my connection to you guys. I hope this is helpful to all of us.
God bless you all