This is life in Haiti, or at least my life. Plastic bottles, burning large quantities of trash by igniting tires, raking and sifting mounds of dirt-trash, and digging holes. This is life out on Route National 3 where Louverture Cleary has decided to make it dedication to community service visibly present. For over a 1 miles stretch of the highway, our students have cleaned, sifted, burned, and buried trash, making the roadside look like it was in the USA. I know I've mentioned this before, but it truly has become part of our daily lives here at LCS. Never would I have imagined the skill it takes to burn trash (until you decide to just light a rubber tire on fire...man, those things burn...)
Anyway, outside of trash, life is moving pretty quickly. The second quarter is off and running, with Thanksgiving just around the corner. We even have visitors coming next week! A group of high school students from the USA who will be coming next week and they have even generously offered to teach some of our classes. In addition, they will be joining us for our traditional "American football" match on Thanksgiving day. I can't wait to see our principal go deep on a hail mary...
I am losing four classes that week, on the agenda is some poetry by Langston Hughes, but I’m not exactly certain how it will all work out…
Also, just in case people forgot, the students here are like teenagers across the world. Two of the most important things in their lives are music and sports. So naturally, we’ve had a series of “rap” contests based on “morality” themes.
Pretty funny stuff to watch. In addition, there is currently a school wide soccer tournament, with each class playing each other. It’s amazing what the students are capable of doing when it involves soccer. Overnight, the grass on the soccer field was cut, the rock pile moved, and even the odd lumps of dirt in the corner were removed. In addition, before each game, the students bouwet (wheelbarrel) out small stones from which they construct the lines of the field. Remember, the soccer field is half grass half dirt, surrounded by 10 foot high cinderblock walls with broken glass on top, and the field shares a space with our incinerator and compost. Still, the games have been pretty incredible to watch. The energy from the kids is addictive and it makes me nostalgic for the days (it seems so long ago) that I played high school soccer.
In other news, the cow we ate on Monday was a bit, let me say, disturbed? Frisky? Crazy? Anyway, like some of my students, he had a bit of an attitude problem. He didn’t like being tied up and when some of the neighborhood kids untied him to move him off the soccer field, he refused to be retied. Needless to say we had several nights of him roaming and rampaging throughout campus, he defecated on the basketball court, and he scared little children. He also provided for many laughs
When I’m not watching cows scare people, I’ve been reading books. I finished Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Things They Carried, and Night. I’ve also started Life of Pi and The Book Thief. Some of these books are just for fun, others are for classes (trying to figure out which books to teach in the future), and others are to help tutor two of the President of the project’s children, who would both be in high school in the USA. I’m actually enjoying the structured reading, as it’s forcing me to read books I’ve always wanted to read but never had been able to.
I’ve also begun teaching American football in my sport classes. Pretty fun, really.
I know I’ve mentioned that language is an essential component of the school, but the language of the day program is really pretty special. Each day of the week is designated as a different language of the school. Sunday-Kreyol, Monday/Wednesday-English, Tuesday/Thursday-Spanish, Friday- French. On these days, when you speak the language of the day in a significant conversation with staff, one of the volunteers, or the older students on the language committee, you can earn tokens. These tokens can then be traded at the “store” on Fridays for prizes and other goods. Naturally, the younger kids love this and I have been swarmed and attacked by 7e and 8e students who demand to speak English with me. Similarly, when they learn I know some Spanish, we often converse in both languages.
Speaking of languages, it is common (this had happened repeatedly) that someone comes up to me, tells me a French word, and asks how can they say that in Spanish. I usually use a third translator, I have someone translate the French to English, and then I translate from English to Spanish…Craziness. Learning in four languages has got to be pretty crazy.
Finally, here is a writing excerpt from one of my Philo Students, Elisabeth.
“Being a Louverturian not only means being educated at LCS, it’s more than that. At Louverture Cleary we work hard every day to see our dreams become reality: Rebuilding Haiti. Living in a community based on respect and love, work and education, we are striving to make this possible.
A true Louverturian is someone who lives everywhere and, at the same time, nowhere. We are adaptive, as we will need a variety of skills and knowledge to correct the wrongs in our country. We respect all people, from the sizyem student to Deacon Moynihan. It is in this way that we prove that we are worthy of being members of this great family, LCS.
In addition, being a Louverturian requires love, honesty, maturity, and a sense of responsibility. Trust, in particular, is essential. As Mr. Moynihan says, “If we can’t be trusted on small things, we will never be trusted on great things.” Each Louverturian is a pearl, a candle to brighten others’ ways. We shine everywhere we go, spreading our little specks of light throughout the country and the world.
At LCS we try to reconcile work and education because only together can we achieve our goal. Goals are important because they keep people alive, they give people hope. If you have a goal you will not be afraid of tomorrow. You have to dream, to challenge yourself, to have something that gives you a desire to see the future. It’s the secret of life. If you don’t know where you want to go, you will never know where to start. Life starts with a goal, a hope of being someone or doing something tomorrow.
We believe that we can accomplish our goals and that’s why they will succeed. It’s not something easy, and we are often discouraged. But we will never give up. Rebuilding Haiti cannot be finished today or tomorrow; it’s something that will last forever and everyday we will cherish working towards that goal. Hope is what gives us the strength to fight, to dream, to see the future. We will never stop dreaming because we know who we are and who we want to be. It’s a strong desire, and it keeps us alive by giving us strength to work.
Being a Louverturian means living each day dedicated to changing the situation of our country. We do this through our motto, “What we receive as a gift we must give as a gift.” This is my world, my life. Louverture Cleary is where I sleep, I eat, I work, and I receive my education. A world of happiness, where dreams, work, respect, education, and love mix freely. If we are united, we will change our country. That’s my hope, my wish. Welcome to my sunny world! “
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