Cars that run are nice!
We have a Toyota Fourrunner that is very sick. The axle has broken four times, it sputters and pants at best when it is running, it always smells of gasoline, the gas gauge is broken, sometimes the keys work, and when they do sometimes the doors open but not always, the check engine light is […]
A million miles an hour…
It feels like life moves so fast here. And for such a laid back Carribean culture it is a weird opposite. Almost everyone I know here is working their backsides off almost around the clock. There is so much work to be done and so much urgency. We felt that this week with Hurricane Tomas […]
Wonder Woman
Unlike most superheroes, Shelley does not wear a cape, does not swap identities with an alter-ego, and most certainly does not wear underwear OUTSIDE of her clothing (Not on purpose, anyway). She doesn’t drive a fancy Bean-mobile or fly through the air without the help of American Airlines. She does not beat up bad guys […]
Welcome home, by the way, the baby’s dead.
Last Sunday I was sitting in my living room massaging Makensia’s legs as she has tremendously swollen legs and feet from carrying those twins. She told me in passing that her friend ( someone I know) had had her baby and her belly was hurting a lot. I asked her more details. The baby was […]
My wounded ramblings from the day…
Today was loaded. It started out as I was waiting for some of my hair appointments to show up and I asked a couple of the ladies if they would let me color their hair- just to get the experience. Their eyes lit up at the idea of having a relaxer and a couple foils […]
Begging and dancing
At the Apparent Project house we are big fans of the t.v. show “So you think you can dance”, or as our children like to call it “So you stink in your pants”. After downloading the entire last season over our molasses-slow internet connection we finally finished watching the show a week or two ago. […]
Hard Day..
It started out with realizing that I had been stolen from again. I went to go get my money out to pay for the painting on two houses when I realized that over $350 had been taken. It was the third time in the last ten days and I didn’t know what to do. I […]
Baby Food Party
After a year of using a particular kind of sealer on our beads that is very hard to get in Haiti, I decided to launch out and go local. I found a great clear varnish that is made in Haiti, will be cheaper, and will make for a better quality bead overall. Very cool.So I […]
The businnary…and the Angels.
I was talking to my dear friend Els Vervloet whose family is part of Maxima SA that is providing the prefabbed houses for Haitians. She dropped a word that I had never heard before, but have since thought of a lot. The “businnary”…business with a mission (although I am not quite sure on the spelling.) […]
Makilene’s story
Makilene is our country bumpkin. She is an adorable Haitian woman who can’t braid, can’t write, can’t read, can’t dance, and still can’t cut her own paper when making paper beads. She is adored by all in our program and works harder than most of the other women put together. Let me tell you why.When […]
