Douz Janvye

As I sit and reflect on the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake that affected Haiti, I have a myriad of emotions running through my head and my heart.  I remember exactly where I was and how I felt when I first learned that Haiti had experienced an earthquake.  I was at work, I believe it was a Tuesday and I was on Twitter, and I began to see tweets about an earthquake.  I was a bit surprised, because I had never heard about Haiti having earthquakes.  However I didn't think much of it, until I realized how strong the tremors were.  I don’t know much about the Richter Scale but I knew that the numbers that were being displayed for the quake in Haiti were extremely high.  I called  my then boyfriend and asked him if he had heard anything about a quake, because I was reading a lot of tweets saying Haiti was crumbling.  I was nervous and anxious but I wasn't too worried and waited to get a chance to purchase a phone card to call my mom and other family members.  As I waited for them to pick up the phone, it seemed like the longest time period ever.  My heart beat rapidly and sunk with every ring.  I lost count of how many times I tried to call that night.  When every major network flashed the images and video of the devastation I sat in shock, stunned at how quickly Haiti was turned upside down and shaken.  I kept thinking to myself, why?  Why is this happening, why us?  What have we done to deserve this?  It took three days before I was finally able to get ahold of my mom.  I don’t think I realized how much I loved my family until that moment when I heard her voice on the other end of the phone.  She answered in a soft voice that seemed lost, lost and so far away.  Farther than the ocean that separated us.  There was nothing I or anyone else could do to help.  Phone lines were destroyed, Western Union and all of the other transfer agents in Haiti were closed.  It wasn't until this past September, while I was in Haiti that I asked my mom where she was, how she felt and what she saw when the earth began to shake.  Hearing her describe the sight of buildings falling and the streets opening up under people as street vendors screamed and ran in droves to what they thought was safety hurt my heart.  I didn't realize it could be possible to be numb, tense and afraid all at the same time.  During those three days of not knowing whether my family was alive and well was one of the worst moments of my life. Douz Janvye se on jou m pap janm bliye.

Kite Mimi Anrepo

9/14/11

So there is a cat that I really wanted to get.  He belongs to the director *Hagar's boyfriend.  He is the smaller of the two.  I named them **Mimi and Minou, because they didn't have any names.  I was supposed to be getting Mimi to come live with me at the other house.  We had to ease him into it, because otherwise he would run away.  Well Ms. B (one of the volunteers)  comes in and announces that she wants one of the cats, and she wants to give him another name.  Um wtf, I just told you what I call him!  Then today (9/15/11) she announces that she has named him Kyle, um I’m sorry I am not going to call him Kyle, especially not when I’ve been calling him Mimi for the past month and not when you've come in and laid claim to him as if he were rightfully yours.  I don’t really care for her.  She seems to have this weird helpless thing going on, and looks like she doesn't really wanna do much.  She even had the nerve to ask to borrow my shoes.  I felt like I couldn't say no, but I do not wear things with people.  I don’t like it, and there is nothing of yours that I want .  

*not her real name

**mimi is Kreyol for cat

M Resi Eseye Manje Oma

I am a huge foodie.  I love nothing more than finding new restaurants to dine at.  I also love Haitian food, so I knew that my stomach would be well taken care of whilst in Haiti.  I don't eat shellfish, but I figured when in Rome!

The verdict is in, I now know for sure, that I do not like lobster.  The flavor was tasty but I really didn't like the texture or the 'fishy taste'.  However, I am glad that I tried it.

Se Chill Nap Chill

The beach is a great chill spot especially on the weekend! I want to learn how to ride a moto!

M Te Bezwen On Ti Break

8/28/11
A much needed break from my daily routine.

 

Jacmel's countryside

Why yes I am sitting precariously on a bench on the bed of a truck

Trip to the beach

Wicker chairs & beach umbrella living