8 days ...

For whatever reason I'm in a writing mood today ....  enjoy b/c it may not happen again any time soon  ;-)

Today is day 8 of life in Haiti. We've spent several hours this week at orientation. I assume it is similar to inservice for teachers in the states. We've covered the normal school things like classroom management, grading system, discipline, lesson plans, substitutes, etc. But we've also covered many other things such as laundry (the washer on campus has to be filled up w/ a hose), hired help (creating jobs for locals), conserving water (clean water is crazy expensive in 3rd world countries), applying for residency, buying things on the street vs the market, using the school accounting office as a bank (Haitian banks aren't exactly reliable or convenient), and lots of other stuff related to the challenges of living here. I'm sure once the kids get on campus next week and we get started, things will be very similar to teaching in the states. Or maybe not. Right now, I'm sitting at the picnic tables and the ladies working in the snack shop (our 'cafeteria') are singing while they clean and prepare for tomorrow.  There is a constant flurry of activity outside our gates.... street vendors selling everything from bananas to shoes to perfume (and everything in between), moto drivers lined up waiting for customers, large trucks rumbling down the street, sirens from police, lots of horns from the afternoon traffic jam,  kids playing, thunder from the storm moving in, etc. There's almost as many smells here as there are sounds. Burning trash, toilets that haven't been flushed in days, things cooking on the street, sweaty boys, etc. Haiti can be sensory overload, but that's part of what I love about this place. Life is so real here. There's no way to sugar coat life in Haiti. It's impossible to go around in your perfect little pretend world and ignore everything around you. Everyone is struggling through life together. I feel like I constantly have a million thoughts running through my head. Today has been one of those days that it's been impossible to concentrate on anything important. Our time to prepare and adjust is running out .... Friday is the first day for the high school kids. Monday we hit the ground running full force with a campus full of students. I'm still in temporary housing while we wait for the electric company to turn the power on to our new house. Hopefully, we'll be moving soon so we can finally unpack and get settled. I never thought I would be where I am, but I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity I've been given.