I don't know what it was about sleeping in Haiti, but I slept like a rock. In my sleeping bag like everyone else, but like a rock.
It rained last night it was interesting. There is no electricity or running water in the guest house that we stay in or much of the village for that matter, but while I recognize the discomfort for me, I wonder what would it matter if I didn't know better or if I couldn't afford more.
Today the faces of the students we met yesterday are more familiar waking up to see the towns people is a little more familiar. I don't feel like an outsider today. Not as much. (Thanking Chantalle for her quick lesson on "Must know" Haitian phrases.)
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THE FOOD! We had breakfast today @ 7am: Eggs, mango and bread. Bread much like the one my aunt buys from Le Bon Pan in Queens. This food is amazing, great food! I am happy :)
We headed out for our first day of work, planting trees in the country side with the guys we met yesterday. Including some new friends: Chelot Pierre (he works with BRAC) and Gilles Kesnel (another UNIF student). Adam and Alex came with us as well.
At first I think I can speak for everyone a part of AU, that we were really unsure of what to do. We didn't have enough tools, so there were definitely more of us than the work that needed to get done. Alex kept trying to organize the system, but it was still frustrating not understanding or having a system that worked for all of us. But I think we ended up creating one that worked efficiently. 
What made the day easier was speaking Spanish to Obenson, who spoke Spanish. Maria, Obenson and myself worked together and created a good system with our new found Spanish conversations. They marked where we planted and I'd leave the trees and someone else would go back and dig and someone else would plant. 
In comparison to the New Orleans or rather Biloxi '09 Tree cutting experience it was nice to have a visible end goal and to be able to accomplish it within our time frame. We managed to plant maybe 100ish trees that we could actually measure. 
There were more children running around, cute little kids spying on us to see what we were doing.
After tree planting we walked up to Piton, a smaller community within Fondwa. It is at the top of this big hill. You can see Jacmel city and the beach from this view. I definitely didn't want to leave. I think standing on that hill looking over the countryside solidified my Haitian experience. I'm still trying to straddle these two identities. I feel like I'm very comfortable being on the fringes of my identity. More and more Leigh's words- "You don't have to be in Haiti, to help Haiti," resonate even more with me. Haiti will always have my hear and it's okay to want to do something, but I just need to know how best to utilize my time and energy so that I am being useful and actually making a difference in the world around me, but particularly for Haiti.
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The days here are a little longer. It's interesting to know that after accomplishing as much as we did (tree planting) that there is still quite a lot that can be done in the time left before it gets dark.
Lunch again was fabulous, we had lunch with the guys, some djon djon, chicken, salad and duce not like the way Tigan makes it but it was good nonetheless. I however, don't feel very well after lunch and my bathroom experience is a testament to that.
I realize that yes I should have taken some more preventative measures (getting my vaccines, getting malaria pills and antibiotics, but when I am actually able to pay for better medical coverage then I will actually be able to take a little better care of myself. But if the runs are all I suffer from during this trip than THANK YOU LORD! All I have is God to protect me.
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After lunch we walked down to the convent. Walking was an understatement, we hiked! The convent sits on this little hill that overlooks a majority of the rolling hills that surround Fondwa. What is sad is that the foundation of where the old convent was still there. The convent was three stories, you can see the "basement" if you will with the doors and everything still standing, but the top level of the convent is gone. Sister Claudette says that the sisters were participating in prayer when the earthquake happened. She said that the building started to shake and she and the rest of the sister's basically ran down the hill far from the convent. I kept picturing what that must have been like. To be on your knees one minute and the next running for your life. Sister Claudette told us that one nun died in the earthquake, along with an orphan from the orphanage. Their graves are right on the grounds of the convent. And what is left of the foundation of the first convent, is being utilized as the foundation of the new convent, put together by materials brought in from outside folks.
Upon our return from the convent, I am struck by how much walking is accomplished by members of the community but more about how much walking is done barefoot, whether it rains, or there are a lot of rocks-- whatever it might be, these men, women and children walk with baskets of food, carrying heavy loads and don't really have the shoes to support them.
But at the same time I realize what if it was me? If this was all I knew would it bother me?
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Today we met Helene, she runs the local beverage shop and is actually the accountant for APF. She was very quiet, somewhat reserved but I was at peace with her comments. She wanted us to take away from this experience what we determined we should. She didn't want to prescribe to us, what we should feel, or what we should interpret from meeting her or others that we met. She was also very content with her place in the town and the role she played for her community. She seemed to be happy with her continued success, but seemed to only be please if it was something that the community wanted for her. It wasn't in my opinion as if she was necessarily happy with her position for herself, she wasn't looking to elevate herself for her own means but rather for what was more supportive of the community around her.___________________________________________________________
I realized I haven't really talked about the group as much as I should. So here are the participants:
Oge * Mariam* Maria * and Audrey *.. Shoshanna is the trip advisor and Tania is my co-leader and Haiti- extraordinaire, she has been our translator and our guide amongst other amazing things. I sort of feel like the 5th participant rather than the co-leader to this trip, because there is a lot that I am taking in about this experience we are having. I feel like the group has bonded in their own little way, my plan is to get to know them each a little better.
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