Ken recently returned from Haiti where he went with two other men (who arrived later) who might be interested in having their foundation help with teaching English to the Haitian orphans. Ken feels that speaking English is vital to helping with the poverty and finding a better life. He sent this report and as he says, it is long but I found it fascinating. Really interesting. Take a few days to read it if you want. You won't be bored! I've included a few pictures here and there.
Thoughts on Haiti and Life:
I’m now sitting on an airplane on the tarmac at the Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti. It was a beautiful morning drive from St. Marc to the capital city that included a near death of a donkey who was casually strolling in the middle of the road as we approached it doing about 60 mph. Alas, Fritzner was able to bring his 16 passenger van to a stop in time probably because Fritzner is a very conservative driver, which in Haiti is wise, but still unusual.
Fritzner himself is quite unusual for Haiti. I don’t really know how you characterize him. He is definitely Haitian, but in many ways he is out of this world. He has a calm about him and seems almost unflappable, but nobody is that right? Yet he seems at ease in a place that seems anything but. He is cautious, but generally fearless at the same time. He doesn’t expend energies where not needed. He seems able to traverse any situation and come up on top. Yet, he lives in a place where chaos and poverty reign supreme. Really, when you’re with him, you feel more at ease and believe all will find a way through to the right way. I like him. I think everyone does.
My trip to Haiti was about figuring out a few things. I hadn’t been to Haiti in 7 years. I was here before the earthquake that devastated this island nation that shares itself with the Dominican Republic also known as The DR.
Flying here was preceded by a nice rendezvous with my wife who was returning from working in Chicago on a Wednesday. We met in Salt Lake City for a bit of a tryst that included Sushi in downtown SLC, walking the streets, playing Pokemon Go and extra-curricular activities, but not in that order or priority. Coppelia drove me to the airport and off I went. First a flight to Atlanta and then on to Port-au-Prince. The flight to PAP was delayed an hour and when you factor that Haiti has the audacity to not change with daylight savings time and is actually east of New York, it means that it gets dark here early and I mean early. Of course, you’d think it would get light early, but it seems more typical. I guess that means that you live near the equator. So, it doesn’t really change much, which is probably fine for the Haitians.
That said, I arrived in the dark on a Thursday night. In a place like Haiti, I start to wonder if the days have much meaning, but I think they do. At least this Thursday night it was getting ready for the weekend. In reality, it was probably just another night and everyone was out it seems. Fritzner reminded me that Haitian homes don’t have much to do at night inside their homes, which aren’t too chilled and don’t have 200 channels of whatever to watch. No, the action is outside and that is where everyone over the age of 2 seems to be. There is an energy driving through Haiti because of that. You can sense that the temperature has long peaked, well maybe a few degrees at least and most of the work is done. Now its eating and playing games and talking and talking and talking. I’m sure there are other things going on, but it is all a blur when you’re going the 90 kilometers from the airport to St. Marc.
Our trip was fun as well. We managed to dodge the thousands of people, to pass a lot of slower tap taps and be passed by the large trucks, school buses and semis that rule the dilapidated roads of the country with basically one main road. We passed the area outside of the capital where they buried 300,000 people following the earthquake of January 2011. You can still sense the impact of that massive disaster. A whole new city was born because of it just to the north of the city on the way to St. Marc. It seems uninhabitable really to me, but I suppose it isn’t. It seems so dry and arid, which in a place like Haiti seems unnecessary. But one thing I have noticed about Haiti is that the Haitians just go where they go. There isn’t a lot of thought into the concept. They build as they build. Infrastructure isn’t much of a concern it seems. Either is the trash. It is a very trashy country. I mean off the charts trashy. There isn’t much thought about what impact that trash has. I guess we in America don’t think much of it either because we have figured it out. Maybe the Haitians have as well and have figured out that eventually it will find its way. I’m pretty convinced there is a business opportunity there for recycling, but that doesn’t seem to be a priority for most Haitians.
So, you notice the people and the trash and then the haphazardness of the country. That I knew coming here. There are probably more houses half done than done it seems. Everywhere you go, concrete bunkers that some Haitians call home sit half complete. It is unnerving for a person such as myself who wants things finished, but the Haitians don’t mind. In fact, they seem at ease amidst the chaos as if that is their comfort zone. It takes a bit of getting used to for a westerner even one like me.
We arrived in St. Marc as things were just starting to wind down. Eventually, Haiti generally goes to sleep, but probably not all. It is a country that seems like it has sentinels up at all times. Maybe it was the Earthquake that told them to never fully sleep. Still, you could tell that things were settling down. We must have arrived about 10:15 or so. I felt pretty good and there was spaghetti ala Haiti waiting for us when we came in. Fritzner’s wife Carol wasn’t there, but Immaculene, his main housekeeper was there. She would take great care of me the entire time. She is a strong woman, but with a very caring heart and a great housekeeper. Fritzner keeps a clean, but still Haitian home. There isn’t a lot of dirt lying about, but still things like “code” such as electrical code are a bit lost in Haiti. You’ll find loose wires here and there and it isn’t like trash and broken tiles are placed in sundry areas. But, for the most part, his home is clean and you can tell he likes to keep it that way. It’s just that Haiti demands flexibility.
The dinner was good and included a brief tour of Fritzner’s home. There are a few sections to his home. Near the road is the carport section. It is behind iron doors that are kept locked for security. It is an interesting thing security. In one sense the people walk around without seemingly much regard for their safety, but in their homes, they are more like fortresses. They like security there without doubt. Walking upstairs you come to Fritzner’s residence section that includes a nice living room, a kitchen and a few rooms for when his kids lived here. Both have been away to Boston to live for the past two years with Carol’s first child from her first marriage. She is giving them the opportunity to learn English, which is so important to Fritzner. Speaking with Fritzner’s son I could tell that the effort has proven successful. His accent is nearly imperceptible. He is a very smart young man. Fritzner himself would truly like to speak proper (or is it improper) American English. He recognizes that as the key to success. In fact, that was why I was in Haiti at that time.
In any case, the tour continued. We went to a room that had a large table and chairs. It could use some boosters, but you can tell that the kids spend a lot of time there. Of course not at 10:30 pm. They were all asleep. There is an unfinished upstairs above this second floor that includes an area under a canopy and a future school house that will have 2 or 3 rooms eventually. It is rather undone, but you can see the potential.
The next area of the house includes the orphan’s room. They’re not amazing, but they do have the recently purchased bunk beds that Coppelia helped purchased. (Thanks Coppelia!) Moreover, they’re clean and that isn’t something most orphans have in Haiti. There is also a kitchen and bathroom, which is cleaned every day and provides food for them. The youngest of the orphans is probably 8 months old or so.
Her Mother, as Fritzner told me had died a month or so ago by starvation. It was a very sad story, only softened a bit by the fact that this child was taken in by Fritzner and Carol.
(I believe the Fritzner and Carol have about 15 -20 orphans in their home.)
Upstairs is an amazing set of rooms. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms along with a kitchen and dining area. This area is perfect for ILP as they typically send six instructors and need at least one bathroom amongst them. The rooms are quite nice for Haiti. Very clean. The bathrooms are also quite clean with a functioning toilet and shower. This isn’t all that common, but there they are. It is as if Fritzner had ILP in mind when he built this section of the home. But I don’t know if that is true.
(The following paragraphs concerns those two men that were traveling with Ken.)
International Language Program or ILP is an entity based out of Provo Utah that sends young college aged students and recent grads as instructors around the world to teach English to individuals. They have about 200 instructors and about 15 or so locations. About 4 months ago I had an idea that Fritzner needed to teach English to his kids. So, I talked Davis into going there to help that effort. He was a good sport about it because we had no curriculum for teaching. I did try to get one, but that isn’t as easy as it sounds it seems. He did a fine job and pretty much gave me a good idea of what to expect at Fritzner’s home.
I learned about ILP talking to Marvin Nelson, my cool neighbor in Mapleton. Marvin had taught for ILP in Russia some time back and heard about my efforts to try and bring English to Haiti. He said I should contact the guys at ILP and see if they had an interest in such. So I wrote to a Jared there and didn’t hear a thing. Davis went to Haiti and about the time he was returning I spoke with Marvin again and he asked if I’d heard from them, which I said disappointingly that I hadn’t. He said he’d make an inquiry, but still nothing. So, then I decided to write a second time, but this time I cc’d Marvin. Not sure what changed, but perhaps a combination of time and the like. The guys at ILP told me that they’d be traveling, but that there was some interest. At least enough to meet. So, Jared and Casey came out to our offices in Provo and we talked. I was able to show them Fritzner’s place and Fritzner via Skype and we talked about the possibilities. I think it was good that I hadn’t been there because I might have painted a less than positive picture. I am a person who notices anything out of place so you can imagine that I would have noticed a lot out of place in Haiti.
In any case, they agreed that a trip to Haiti might be worthwhile to explore the opportunity of using Fritzner’s place and hence my trip.
The first full day in Haiti was like most days in Haiti quite warm and quite sunny. It became pretty clear to me that we needed to do a few things in the house to make it more friendly for ILP. The living quarters for the potential instructors was generally great, but the teaching areas needed work. I also felt compelled to help with the solar situation. Fritzner had outlined a number of priorities that needed resources. I found out relatively early that he had lost a lot of support from his former missionary companion who had helped him out for many years. Now, Fritzner was scrambling to get enough funds to keep things going. One of the things that has been a challenge is power. He doesn’t have enough battery storage to keep the solar power that he could collect. As such, he runs out and of course the power from the city is spotty at best with most nights having no power. He has a generator, but that costs $8 a day to run during the night. Having more batteries would do a lot to save that money, which is so needed to keep things relatively comfortable. So, I spent another $2,500 of Coppelia’s money, (thanks again Coppelia!) but recognized that some of that would be needed for making the house more of a school. So, we went around St. Marc and purchased a couple of things like a large whiteboard and the like. He needed to be mounted and I realized that my thought of buying and bringing a drill was sound. But I didn’t and regretted on more than one occasion. By the time we finished getting funds deposited and discussing Fritzner’s situation and buying a few things it was clearly too late to go to PAP to buy the real thing I wanted, desks. So, we went back to the house and played with the kids.
The kids are amazing. They’re full of life and energy and love. A lot of love. Sometimes overwhelming, but always wonderful. I, like Davis, struggled to learn their names. Djenika, Nixon, Christie, Sandra, were some I could remember, but it is a struggle with so many. Fritzner cares for about 20 kids, but there were only 15 or so there as some were visiting family. I would teach them games. They loved when I made their hand go white by pushing the blood into the arm. My kids love that too, but I had to admit it was pretty fun to watch their reaction.
It was also fun to teach them Simon Says, which I changed to Mama Di (Mama Says). Not sure why, but I they’d loved playing. We played other games like hand-slap and the like. All were much appreciated. Between the sections of the house there is a courtyard and I was determined to teach them four square as it was perfect for that. That would prove challenging accomplishing.
So, the night came early and I was tired. Haiti does tend to drain you of energy. Might be the fact that the humidity is probably up there around 95 and the temperature not far off. You sweat a ton there if you exert at all and we did a bunch of that just getting around. As far as St. Marc goes. It has swelled significantly. The town wasn’t really built for the population there. None of Haiti really was built for the population. Yet there they are making it work. It is a working town. There isn’t much there other than people trying to exist. That and a lot of chaos and trash. But, there is also Haitian order. Haitians know how to exist in their world. Amidst the chaos there are rules that probably only those who live there understand, but they do understand them and if you’re willing to see, you can see those rules in play and can live well with them. I think I’m pretty good at that sort of thing. In any case, I enjoy trying. It probably helps that I can speak Creole relatively well. I have to say on a scale of 1 to 10, that prior to my trip I was probably about a 3 or 4 for a non-Haitian speaker. But, by the end, I’d say I was a 6. I think in about two months I’d be a 9 and another four months a 10. I needed my two years there to reach that level and have always felt a bit cheated, but that is why I plan on spending at least another 6 months in Haiti. I’m going to get my two years in one way or another.
(Ken's mission was at the time they were only going for 18 months.)
So Saturday we endeavored to go to PAP. Fritzner’s constant companion is Richard, who is a soft-spoken, strong looking guy who is pretty much great to have around. He is an electrician it seems, but pretty much seems available whenever Fritzner needs a travel companion. So, the three of us took off back to PAP on the 90+ minute drive. It was full of what you would expect. There are a few areas that are very beautiful, but most of the area is a lot of people and traffic and horns. Always horns. Fritzner says if you don’t have a good horn, you’re not a caring person. That’s because the horn is a major communication device for drivers in Haiti. You basically use it to give warning, but so many other more subtle things. The horn can say thank you or that you’re an idiot or please move over just a couple of feet or “HEY, I’M COMING FAST AND IF YOU DON’T MOVE YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!!!!,” but that is I guess a warning.
I would love to drive in Haiti again. It was a blast as a missionary. It is the wild wild west of driving like India, but with a bit more opportunity for disaster. In any case, I didn’t get to drive there and probably wouldn’t unless I had an older four wheel drive truck or jeep. Anything new would be concerning as it won’t stay that way. Nothing new can stay nice in Haiti. It has a way of equalizing everything to a state of worn out, but functional. For me that is part of its charm. Fritzner has two vehicles. One is that 15 passenger van, but the other is his Toyota four-wheel drive truck. We took that to PAP.
Once there, we went directly to a sort of Office Depot. It was quite nice. Haitian, but nice. They had desks and chairs and supplies and some school type desks. They had one that was perfect, but they sadly only had one. I would have liked three of them. The others that they had that we liked weren’t as good, but we also had to go and get them. We eventually found the “warehouse” and experienced more Haitian-style elements. It really is a bit hard to describe Haiti, but imagine this. There were like six guys at this warehouse sort of standing there. They must have been doing something, but what I don’t know. They knew we were coming as they had our stuff sort of ready, but not all of it. We eventually got all of it and they’d pack it up using whatever they could find to protect it and off we went. There was no signs of anyone else around before or after us yet these six guys were there sort of hanging out. Like I said hard to describe.
(I don't think these are the desks, but it is a nice picture.)
However, after that we went to the chapel on Delmas. This was the first chapel in Haiti and I actually spent some time digging foundations for it. As such I have a special place for it. There we met the Bishop and he and Fritzner had a great talk. I tried to follow along, but again they were speaking at a 10+ level and I’m a 4.5 at that time. So, I grew a bit tired. I did realize about the time that we were about to leave that this place would have internet. That meant that Pokemon Go would work there. I managed to catch my one and only Pokemon there. It was a great moment for me. I doubt many have done that or even thought about it, but yes there are Pokemon in Haiti. For the most part I had internet access to some degree at Fritzner’s house and at that chapel.
After that we went to K-Dis or the Costco of PAP I liked to call it. It was that when we were missionaries and it is still a relatively nice store. However, the roads around it are terrible. Roads in Haiti can get terrible practically anywhere. Even the main highway in Haiti has its trouble spots. Water and mud are the main culprits but that is probably because they don’t think about how to ensure those elements cause damage. But really, having seen a few places where they clearly did think about those elements, they failed to think about all of the garbage that would clog those elements. There is a lot to think about in planning a city and Haiti hasn’t given much thought to a lot of those things.
At the store formerly known as K-Dis we went to eat, but I remembered my goal of building a four-square game in the courtyard so we searched for a ball. The store isn’t much bigger than a large Walgreens, but that is pretty big in Haiti. Sure enough we found rubber balls in this stand near the back. It was amazingly lucky. Too lucky it seems because when we went to buy the two balls (needed a spare), we found that no one knew the price. Probably 3 or four tried to find the price at a rather non-hurried pace, but to no avail. The price could not be found or made up for that matter. It had to be found. After 15 minutes we asked if we could go eat while they found the price and they said yes. We went next door to have our lovely meal in yet another quite interesting place where you buy your food and then go and get it at a sort of buffet style place. It was amazingly inefficient, but no one seemed to care or notice. All done is sort of a “what, you want something from me?” manner.
Then back to K-Dis where, as you might expect, no one had done anything to find the price. But I wanted those balls and so we stood our ground. Another 4 attempts and probably 10 individuals getting involved we eventually found the price. About $8 a ball and 30 minutes of waiting at a check-out stand. Very Haitian, but in a sort of aggravating-charming way.
We headed back to St. Marc. It took awhile to get there actually and I would have liked to stop at a few beaches, but alas no. Again, I did more ocean swimming on my mission (a sort of no-no, but you had to be there to understand) (uh-huh! Hummmm. )than I’ve done in the 4 trips back to Haiti. Actually, I’m yet to swim in Haiti post-mission. Maybe that is my penitence. I’m determined to change that next time. Once there, it was putting the tables together (darn, why didn’t I buy a drill!!!) with a hammer, nail and small screw driver, oh and Richard’s very strong arms and arranging them. I think in the end they looked great to give ILP a view that the place could work well for teaching.
But, what about Haiti? There wasn’t much I could do to fix it up. It needs A LOT of fixing up. Frankly, the place is a dump in most respects. Literally in most ways. Plus the place is relatively hideous from most other respects. Except, there is something about those darn kids. They are so infectious in their manner and when you play with them you feel alive. When a Haitian carrying a grim face, because they pretty much all do, sees your smile and they smile and wave themselves, it is amazing. They love to smile and most of them have beautiful ones. In that area, the Haitians really excel. Thank goodness.
So, Sunday came. I did spend some of the night trying to listen to BYU play UCLA but it seemed they were going to lose and I needed sleep. In the morning, we ate and then off to church. The church in St. Marc has outgrown its only chapel. So, they are planning on building another and they have the land and it is amidst chaos, but large enough to be an oasis when it gets built, which is going to be awhile probably. That said, Fritzner’s branch of 150 to 200 active souls meets in a large house. It is a bit like our first house, but obviously much larger. Still, the place is totally Haitian. They have to use a sound system because there isn’t a room large enough for everyone. In fact they need about 4 rooms the size of the large room, which does hold about 60 or so. They pump the sound, but most of the time the sound didn’t work so I think it was mostly singing for anyone not in the main room. Frankly, if you were me in the main room and your Creole was now about a 5, you would have preferred not to have that sound system because it wasn’t good and everything was distorted a bit because of it.
That said, I caught about 40% of what was discussed, but sometimes rising up to 80% because I do the context of most of the discussion. In any case, it was still the Sacrament and still the same lessons that we would have in America. Sunday school and Priesthood were quite good. It was hot in that house and the fan that would occasionally hit me was pretty dang loud, which added to the Haitianness of it all. Still, the church is truly amazing and the fact that 150-200 people were in this house worshipping and singing with amazing gusto and some accuracy and striving to live the gospel having come from probably a fairly challenging situation and still dressing up so beautifully is quite humbling. If there were a score for the gap from chaos to order, Haitians would be near the top. When it comes to dressing beautifully, they do that amazingly well and they don’t have what most poor people in the US have.
That afternoon we took off back to PAP doing the 2 hour drive and arriving way too early at the airport. We waited and waited for Jared and Casey to show,
(the two guys from ILP) but it seems they never did. In fact, I walked up to these two white guys that sort of looked like them (one tall, one not) and almost shook their hands when I realized that wasn’t them. But, they did eventually make it out. It turns out they were first out of the plane, but that Casey’s bag didn’t make it so they were basically last out of customs.
We made the trip back to St. Marc. The natural chaos of the island was there and my heart basically was sinking that there was no way these guys would bring college-aged girls to this island, because probably 70% of their instructors are women and most are LDS. Haiti, like India isn’t for the weak in spirit. It takes everything to see past the chaos. I just didn’t know if the guys from ILP would ever be able to do that. That said, these guys were world travelers so they’ve been around. They’ve both been to about 40 countries, which is about 25 more than me and no doubt they’ve seen poverty. Its just that most nations can hide their poverty a lot better than Haiti. They sort of tuck it under the rug and keep the tourists away from that. Sort of like an old charming restaurant that looks old, but nice, but if you go to the kitchen, its probably showing its age and the garbage area is, well, sort of "garbagy." In Haiti, its basically pretty much all the garbage area. That really isn’t true, but from the airport to Fritzner’s house it pretty much is and that’s two hours.
We stopped at a store to get Casey a tooth brush. That was nice. He got to experience the even crazy way Haitians promote price. They’ll present the price in Gourdes, in Haitian Dollars and even US Dollars. The latter is easy, but everything else requires a hard to remember conversion rate. Frankly, I still don’t get it except its 12 Haitian dollars to the US dollar and 65 gourdes to a US dollar. How hard is that?
So, we went to the house and they had the tour. I’m not sure they were impressed with anything, but they were pleasant about it all and could see that Fritzner had made something of this place. The road to Fritzner’s house is a disaster to be honest. It is bumpy filled with chaotic going-ons and is amazingly a thorough-fare. Of course, most of the thoroughfare going-ons are motorcycles, which have become the vehicle of choice for inter-city taxi services. When you’re on that road you just sort of cringe if you’re trying to impress anyone, unless they’re an off-road enthusiast. But, they thought the bedrooms for the instructors and the bathrooms and kitchen were relatively nice because they are that for sure. The other issue was that Jared was pretty much allergic to flour and milk and Casey doesn’t eat after 6:30 pm. That meant that all the food that was prepared was for naught (it was just the customary Spaghetti ala Haiti, but still). So, Jared ate the gourmet Haitian hot dogs that get served with Haitian spaghetti and Casey drank water. It wasn’t uncomfortable just not exactly a meal where we share love and joy of being together.
That night was relatively nice and I think everyone slept relatively well. We were up by 8 (I wake up around 6 and fiddled around till 7:15 or so and then went out and played with the kids. That is really the best part of the house although the food is also quite nice. We played a few more games. I taught them more elements of Simon Says and that was appreciated. After breakfast, we had a more in-depth tour of the house. At this juncture I was relatively happy with things because I think they could see the possibilities of the home. They living quarters are good. Maybe not great, but certainly adequate. The teaching areas could be managed as well. They need 6 spaces and there is that as well. So that was good.
We then did a walk around the neighborhood including visiting a church run school up in the hills a bit. Now you have to realize that the road leading to Fritzner’s house is pretty bad. I mean like you’re going to bounce around like crazy on most days and if there has been a storm, you’ll be hard pressed at many points to get by without challenges. Yet, every day, at least 6 US style school buses cart about 300 kids or so to this rather nice school. It was built by a Korean doctor in the US and was the brainstorm/inspiration of a Haitian/US minister. He has a vision of transformation. He also believes in English, but there is little doubt to me that his school isn’t going to be successful. The teacher to student ratio is probably like 40 to 1 and most of their teaching is archaic. But the place as ambitious and well attended by the more wealthy (and I use that term relatively loosely) of St. Marc. Hence the busing of kids. That part sort of blows me away because it was a slight challenge for Fritzner’s vehicle to make it there.
After, we visited the school where Fritzner took me and Mauss (one of Ken's missionary companions) to in 2009. It now has a second floor so I didn’t recognize it at first. There ratio is at least 40 to 1 on the student-teacher scale and frankly education there is pretty much an unlikelihood in spite of the effort. That said, the kids look amazing and the enthusiasm and meal provided was clearly beneficial. The fact that those kids can get so well dressed up is amazing. I think Fritzner’s kids are supposed to attend this school, but I think he has been unable to afford the needed clothes or backpacks that each kid is supposed to have.
Following that we went into town to see the hospital and downtown area. I think I’d been to this hospital once in my 8 months or so in St. Marc as a missionary. It seemed a bit dodgy then. Actually, this time it was relatively nice because apparently it is supported by the Bill Gates foundation. That said, it was clear that the place and driving to the area with the more than normal Haitian commotion wasn’t too positive on Jared and Casey. It felt sort of like when you’re trying to impress a date, but you have really bad gas and you just can’t stop yourself. It just isn’t too appealing. We then went out to Gros Roche to visit it as it is one of two beaches in St. Marc. This is the beach that we used for our first baptisms 33 years ago so I have a special fondness for it. Sadly, the bridge leading to it had washed out a while back. So rather than rebuild it, the Haitians decided to just make a go around, which is a terrible road. Couple that with the fact that the beach is pretty much trashed and you have, well, a lot more gas to share. Yet, Jared and Casey still seemed intrigued. So we ventured back into town to see if the ATM in town would work. There was a line to use it and this American-ized Haitian woman and her “friend” from Chicago were there waiting to use the ATM. Now, keep in mind I’m promoting that although there is tremendous chaos in Haiti, that it is a safe place to be. But, Casey is always looking to talk English about Haiti. When he does, those people inevitably say that it is very dangerous. So, that isn’t good, but I think you have to judge by who is saying what. Fritzner promotes that St. Marc is generally very safe especially if you know a few rules. He would point out that this woman isn’t from St. Marc and he doubts she really knows much anymore about living in the area. Still, that type of talk is challenging. On a positive note there, the ATM did work so that was good to know.
We then went to a restaurant in town. This was something that did not exist on my mission. It actually was quite nice. Air conditioned and the food was quite good although I only had a smoothie. Then down to a “supermarket,” which was more like a 7-11, but hey it was good to show that you can “shop” for items you need there at relatively normal prices. Although we ate a bit, Imaculene had prepared a lunch for us so we returned there to eat. It was quite good, but Al did not consume. I was on the consuming side. After a bit of a repose and playing with the kids we were off to find a beach. A beach can be a huge draw for IPL volunteer teachers as it gives them something to do on their off-time. So, we really needed to score a cool beach.
We did visit a very nice resort and explored it a bit, but the $20 (US) entrance fee seemed absurdly high. There the beach was clean and rather pretty, but the fee seemed a bit high for just playing in the water. We walked around without paying and that caused a bit of consternation for the workers, but they let us alone for the 20 minutes or so that we checked it out. Jared and Casey liked it, but obviously it wasn’t that accessible for their instructors given the price.
Leaving we met a couple of nice and seemingly honest Haitian vendors and I bought a couple of small tourist items that would fit my budget.
By this time, I had given Fritzner everything I brought with me plus the check to help purchase batteries for current. Fritzner gave me back $20 so I wouldn’t be “brokay net” as they would say in Haiti. Now, I was spending that, but I liked my items and the guys we bought from were cool. However, while Jared and I bought items, Casey, who is a sworn non-tourist item buyer or receiver even (and he has visited 45 countries so perhaps that is wise), found a couple of young American women who were working at an orphanage near the resort. In this case, they were sort of our instructor types and they basically stated that they wouldn’t go to PAP ever and were very much about having security when they went somewhere (except in this case they were alone). I couldn’t do much other than grin and bear it as that was their experience. I just don’t feel that it is correct. I’m not saying, nor is Fritzner, who is sort of the person I believe the most given his conservative nature, that there aren’t dangers in Haiti. Haiti is a crazy place that requires vigilance to stay safe. But, you can be safe if you adhere to some principles. In any case, this sort of impacted Jared and Casey’s view a bit I’m sure.
We did make an effort to find a more affordable beach. First, we went down the road a bit from the resort (maybe two kilometers) and found another beach that wasn’t $20, but more like $0.50, which was great in that regard. To do this, Fritzner found this guy who was built like a tank and was breaking bigger white rocks into smaller rocks, like the ones I have at my house. This guy was very kind actually. He looked like he could play football for any college team in the US. He was really built and rather of intimidating looking. Fritzner spoke to him about whether he would inquire for us on potential beach accesses as every beach except the public one was private. This guy was so kind. To me that is Haiti. It seems very daunting, but if you can get past the surface layer it is very kind. In any case, after trying the first house that had this attack dog that made even this guy scurry a bit (and we all laughed on that one including the hulking helper), he said he knew the perfect place and took us there. The people there agreed to let us in. It was this cool little house with a bunch of boats and you could tell these people were fishers and probably had been doing such most of their lives. They let us in and we just milled about for awhile as Fritzner spoke with them about using their house for a YM/YW activity.
While there we enjoyed skipping rocks into the ocean. There are really no significant waves in the Caribbean except when there is a storm so you can actually skip rocks in the ocean to some degree, which is pretty cool because there is an endless supply of great skipping stones. The people there were a bit surprised that three white guys would show up while they tended to their lobster and crab traps, but they were very nice. It was quite a juxtaposition from the high-end resort where the people of the resort (not the artisan vendors outside of it, but those directly inside) were somewhat snobbish. Of course, this beach was a bit farther away, but the price was right and could be accessed if you had about an hour to get there. We had to find a more accessible beach. Both Fritzner and myself knew of a beach that was directly south of St. Marc that could work. It was called Amani-y beach and we decided in the later afternoon that we should try that beach. So, off we went to see its potential.
I’d been to Amani-Y beach as a missionary. We didn’t do baptisms there because it wasn’t that accessible, but we did visit it once because P-Days demanded such exploring. I remember that it had two features. Nice sand and this drop off that is reported to be very steep into the ocean. That latter part I didn’t get to explore, but I knew it was a relatively nice beach. Moreover it is in St. Marc so it should be quite accessible. So, we exited the highway just south of St. Marc and started going on this road that was pretty much typical off-roading in Haiti. Bumpy and with houses all around. This road required you to climb a hill as well and then descend it. I’d call the road pretty challenging and you’re thinking “how could a beach be here?” We did eventually find the beach and there is actually a hotel being built there by a Haitian woman and her son who had spent quite a bit of time in the states. They let us check it out. No one else was there really. I was saying a prayer that the beach wouldn’t be trashed like Gros Roche and in this regard my prayer was answered. The beach was nice, very nice. It started to rain while we talked with this lady-owner who was very nice. But, because of the rain and its impact on the road, Fritzner had to use his 4-wheel drive. So, in a sense, you could see the wheels of Jared’s and Casey’s mind turning as well. Haiti is a challenge in every regard, even going to the local beach. The drive down the hill even included a small cow getting broadsided by an approaching car with quite a thud that you might have thought it would have killed the cow, but no, it just reversed its course running up the road.
So, that was about it for our tour of the area with the ILP boys. There wasn’t much denying that Haiti isn’t easy. Nothing is packaged for easy consumption in most of the country. Everything requires effort. There is little attention to the infrastructure of this country so the haphazardness of it is exhibited in almost every glance. For a finisher like me that is a bit of a challenge, but then you have to also notice the freedom that it gives. Haiti gives you the ability to create something because it has resources and the willingness to try. Unfortunately, most of it has been a failure from an order perspective, but hey, you have to keep trying.
Our return to the house was pretty much in darkness and in silence. The power was off in the city so that meant all was “blackout.” It had been a pretty long day and we had to get up at 3:45 am in the morning for a 4 am drive to make our flights. Back at the house, I knew this was my last time to see the kids so I went and played and read them stories from Mr. Toad and Mr. Frog book that I would translate into my limited Creole, but with some success (remember I’m improving daily and had reached my would-be pinnacle of Creole-ability at this point). They liked the two chapters I read I think and even understood the concept of the stories.
Jared and Casey had gone off to the roof to talk. I knew they want to make it work, but Haiti presents challenges. I didn’t ask and they didn’t tell me their decision. Why force the decision when maybe more time would impress them of the dire need to try and make Haiti work. We had dinner, which Jared could eat none of (guess Immaculene’s knowledge of what flour/milk free means is limited). It was a quiet dinner with some discussion on this and that, but not on the main topic. That said, because none of the food would work for Jared, Fritzner asked Immaculene to make some Banane Peze and I could watch how she does it. I’d asked Fritzner if that could happen earlier and this was my last chance on this trip. I think Fritzner thought I was crazy as everyone must surely know how given the simplicity of the matter (I think the 3 year olds can make it. But, no I didn’t know. Immaculene gave me a lesson and now I know the great secrets of Banane Pezi and can make it for you if you’d like. The reality of it isn’t much of a secret except I never learned how to as a missionary because I clearly didn’t realize how much I’d like that knowledge until it was too late. Now, I’d made up for it and acquired the vital information.
As I went off to my room after hugging all of the kids and assuring them I’d be back I was left to go to bed wondering what more we could have done. I don’t think with my limited resources that there is much more we could do. Coppelia and I put forth a solid effort and I think that we tried to show that there is a great need for English in this nation. French is beautiful, but not helpful. When you live in a place like Haiti, French is a luxury that you can’t afford. Haiti needs English, which is why the US is so appealing to Haitians. But, in a country of 80% unemployment, sitting around waiting for money from the US has its limits. Haiti needs to embrace English, American English I’m afraid even with its limits, and pursue new opportunities IN HAITI. That is where I see things needing to go and my discussions with Fritzner fully confirmed this goal 100%.
So, we’ll wait and see. We woke up early, tidied up and off we went the five of us with Richard. We got off a bit late because Fritzner still adheres to Haitian Standard Time, which is always non-rushed. The trip there was nice. Unhurried and open with a beautiful sunrise reminding you that God loves his children. You can feel that love in Haiti even in spite of the dire circumstances for those same children there. We face daunting challenges in our own ways. In some regards, those kids in that Orphanage just wake, eat, play and sleep. But is that enough? Fritzner’s kids have been gone for two years now to learn English in the US. I spoke with Fritzner’s son the last evening for a few minutes and his English was great and his American accent was near perfect. What a sacrifice to send your kids away for that specific goal not knowing if they’d come back and knowing that you’d (Fritzner) be likely to stay mostly in Haiti. All because you wanted more for your kids. Fritzner is built that way. He wants more for those he works with. You can tell when you’re with him that he is a Christ-like man. Full of charity and love and concern. He is patient with everyone. He is a hero in every sense of the word.
A few hours later I arrived in Atlanta. It seriously requires about 6 security screenings to get out of Haiti. Maybe that is good. Plenty of jobs in that regard and Haiti needs jobs. Jared was on my flight and we were both upgraded to 1st class. He didn’t want to sit by me and we didn’t really talk after. I’m not sure if that bodes well for us, but again, what can I do? If the program is about doing good in this world, Haiti is a sure bet, but if it is about something else (you can fill in your else here) then I think it is not for them.
(Here's a few extra shots).
When you arrive home in Utah and you drive on your nice roads having all the luxuries of this world all around you and your children in the nice beds with all the electrical power and water and food and internet and access to every gadget and the like you start to wonder. Who is more alive? Who is really facing life’s challenges? Haiti gives perspective, but not necessarily in ways you might imagine. For me, it isn’t so much poor them and lucky us. Its more admiration for them and pressure for us. What will we do with this short time we have on this planet. Will we make a difference in our fellow human’s life or just coast and take care of our own needs? Will we lift others and help them? Will we follow our Savior? Who is my neighbor was asked of the Savior and we know the response that was given. I don’t mean to suggest that they’re all good and we’re all bad because we have stuff. Not, it isn’t that. Its more about what can we learn from each other? How can we help each other? I feel very blessed to know Fritzner and those children and everyone in the house. Knowing them makes me feel closer to my Savior even in my flawed manner. Knowing them makes me feel alive. Haiti is a real place. Utah is a real place, but this place is pretty easy and lulls you into a sense of malaise. If you go to Haiti, you’ll find it very tough to be lulled into such a state because outside of the resorts, it doesn’t exist there.
If you’ve read this far you should know that I plan on returning to Haiti as often as I practically can and my family will allow. I’d like all my children and Coppelia to experience Haiti and other places like it. I’d love to have what ILP has and I now believe that even if they pass on the situation that I have a clearer vision for what can happen and will try to make a difference.
I often think about the story I believe attributed to Mother Teresa about the starfish stranded on the shore and the boy who would throw them back into the ocean so that they wouldn’t die. He is challenged about the futility of such and responds with that it wasn’t futile for the one he just threw back. Our lives aren’t futile. There are those that want you to believe that it is futile, but that is a lie. The act of love is real. There is nothing more real in this often fake world. Finding opportunities to throw a stranded starfish back to safety and then to throw it back is what life is truly about. That is our test whether we’re a missionary serving in near-impossible odds or a person in a remote section of a poor nation trying to teach 20 or so kids how to make a difference in their own way.
Keep throwing.
