life doesn't stop

I have obviously not updated in a while, however I have continued to journal so I will try to include some excerpts as I bring you up to speed about happenings here in Haiti.

Sunday, March 14, 2010


I have begun feeling a bit homesick and isolated in some respects. I feel as if I need some interaction with people my own age. I don't feel as if I have the freedom to just take off around here for a walk to explore. In many ways I feel confined to the compound. I look forward to Saturday mornings' market trips just because I know that I get to leave the grounds. Developing relationships with the Haitians is difficult because I don't speak the language well and because I am not always available for conversation when they are. I am hesitant to encourage many friendships with males due to the cultural phenomenon that has many of the men who don't know me beginning interactions with the question, "Do you have a boyfriend?" which leaves me uninterested in continuing the conversation. I am realizing that I would like to be seeking out friendships and conversations more regularly. I do not want to let my fears dictate this piece of my experience here. Plus if I am able to have more of my needs met here, then I will not be seeking to meet those with people in the states, which just leaves me desiring to be there even more. A few of the youth seem to be interested in putting forth the necessary effort to help me learn the language and therefore for us to hold a conversation. Mostly at this point, my conversations have been limited to a few Q&A sessions or a kreyol/english vocabulary exchange.


As a team, we've identified a need for more regular interactions with the Haitians so that we have opportunities to practice and learn more Kreyol. Hopefully these efforts prove successful so that my ability to converse increases. For now, I can be pleased just to find I've remembered one word from my last "lesson" or remembered a word to look-up or ask Nicole to translate.