What I will miss about Haiti...

1. The kids. I have learned quite a few of their names... at least of the regulars.
   
2. The lack of need for chapstick, or humidifiers. :grin: If I had a fan on me in my house like I do in my apartment at night, then I would wake up with a dry throat... but here, Not so!
   
3. The apartment. :grin:
   
4. The time to think.
5. The roof, and the wind
6. The awesome lightning, and the opportunity to take pictures of it
7. The rain. I miss the rain.
   
8. The weather- Maybe it will be as cool as it is here back in the USA when I get there.
9. The Brian's. :grin: I like them.
10. Elsie! She is the gal that helps out around here... She is really neat!
    

~ Chelbertina

Lessons Learned from Blueberry Muffins

I got up this morning and made blueberry muffins. They were quite good too. I made them small, so I ate 2 of them for breakfast, (while they were still hot, with a bit of butter on them) and was really excited to have 4 left over for later on, like for dessert for lunch, or for breakfast in the morning. I was really excited about them!

So I put them in the microwave to cool down and stay safe away from where the rats, roaches, and tarantula's could get to them, and went to the office to work.

At lunchtime, I went back over to my apartment, all excited because I was going to eat another blueberry muffin for dessert! I walked in the door, and immediately noticed the Congo line of ants parading from the door jam, all the way up to the ceiling, following the electrical lines, all the way behind the fridge, over the bathroom door, over the kitchen sink, over the top of the counter on one side, and out the bottom of the counter on the other side, over the stove.... yup, you guessed it. INTO the back of the microwave via the handy little electrical cord ladder they had found. :sigh: I figured it was just ants, that i could move the muffins, and maybe save one of them (cause I was really wanting one) seeing as there were 4 in there... but alas, when I opened the microwave- there were so many ants in there the muffins (all 4 of them) were totally covered in sneaky black little thieves, chomping away at my prized dessert! It was amazing... it had been less than 5 hrs, and in that time, they had found a way into the microwave, found my muffins, alerted their cohorts, formed the Congo line, decimated a whole one and a half of my muffins, and had made piles of crumbs as high as a muffin in itself ready to carry off! DUDE!

I will forever remember the lessons learned from my Blueberry Muffins:

1. Microwaves are not safe from ANTS! they may be safe from rats, roaches, and tarantulas, but not ants.
   
2. I also learned how to cook in a gas oven without a temperature gauge, without burning them, but that's another story that takes second place to the ants. :sad:

~ Chelbertina

What will I appreciate more back in the USA...

1. The roads!
   
2. Being able to get out of the shower, dry off, and get dressed without it being difficult because you are already sweating again.
   
3. Salads... lettuce, and all that kind of fresh things I can get anytime I want it.
   
4. Sausage. It's non-existent here. unless you like the link kinds.
   
5. The ability to communicate clearly and be understood.
   
6. The prices of the food and things I eat, It is quite a bit cheaper at home.
   
7. The cleanliness of everything in general... and the laws that keep it that way. And the citizens that follow those rules.
   
8. The clean air.
   
9. The church services that I can understand. This is probably one of the biggest things I miss actually.
   
10. Water pressure. :grin: I am really really glad to be able to wash my hair... but I will be really really glad to be able to wash my hair in less than 5 min. again.
11. Tap water being OK to drink... and being able to brush my teeth without using a bottle of water.
    

~ Chelbertina

Have I said Thank YOU yet?

Because if so, I am fixing to say it again. There were so many people who sacrificed, and gave, and helped, and helped some more so that I could come here to Haiti, and I want to say THANK YOU again. I want each of you who donated to know how much it means to me to be able to be here helping, and learning, and experiencing.

Thank you for those of you who are praying. I can't thank you guys enough. I really appreciate your prayers, and not only for safety, but everything else too. :grin: Not saying that my safety isn't important, but that I would rather be doing what I am supposed to be doing than hiding out somewhere because I am safe in that somewhere. I would rather live the life that I was made to live, than to merely exist in a safe haven. (not sure how I got onto that rabbit trail... lol)

Thank you to the people who are back in the USA taking care of what I would be doing if I were there, at work, at home, and at church. I know that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And thank you for you random people who are randomly donating to my PayPal account. I had someone donate just the amount I needed last week, and I want to say thanks! That was so neat seeing God use you to come through at just the right time like he did! :hyper: That made my day! (*starts singing* Jehovah-Jireh, my provider!) It's a good thing that my timing is not final, and God's timing is always on time!

So Very Thankful.
~ Chelbertina

What I would have done differently...

If I had known then what I know now, I would have:

1. packed that second suitcase anyways, but with food items, and paid the extra 30 dollars to bring it (we went to the store the first day I was here to get supplies, and I quickly found out just how expensive the cost of living over here is. I ended up spending about 111 dollars for things that I would have spent about a fourth of that in the USA. :grin: it's a good thing I like rice!
   
2. brought paper, and pens. post it notes!
   
3. brought 2 shampoos and just left the conditioner at home! it's so humid that there really isn't a need for it here.
   
4. started earlier with the money raising... and budgeted more for food and stuff.
5. Brought clothes with pockets! I left my denim stuff at home mostly, and totally didn't think about the fact that nothing I had packed had a single pocket on it. oops! (which is really bad, because I am having a really really hard time keeping up with my phone... instead of leaving it in my room)
   
6. Brought a crockpot.
   
7. NOT forgotten my brush... especially in a country who doesn't have natives with hair like mine. There is no such thing as a brush here that I have found so far. oops! (GOOD NEWS! I just found mine after 8 days! woohoo! I am ever so glad that I didn't really leave this at home!)
8. Went ahead and either replaced my External HD, or gotten another one, and put my full music collection on it to bring.
   
9. brought my recipes. I am really missing these!
10. Hydrocortisone cream, or some other type of anti-itch cream for all these bites!
    
11. brought those Wisps things... the little one use and then throw away toothbrushes! They would be so very handy for someone not staying long term down here!
    

and that's about it for now... I am sure that there will be more added to this list as the days go by... because you wont really learn everything you did wrong until you are completely done right? :grin:

~ Chelbertina

What I hate about Haiti

I'm sure many of you knew this post was coming since I already did the other half of it, talking about what I loved here... lol!

1. The trash. It's everywhere, all over the roads, the ditches, the mountainside, even in the cities.
   
2. the poverty. The whole place is poor, and not really anything is being done about it... and not sure that anything CAN be done about it.
   
3. The price of the food, and everything else. It's outrageous! 11 dollars for a half gallon of milk? I think I can wait a few more weeks before I give in for that one...
   
4. The mentality of the people. Bro. Ron was telling me a story about how some university took loads of trash to see if it could be used, they found a use for part of it, and tried to implement it, and it just didn't work because the people were so used to doing it the way they had always done it, and were not willing to change.
5. The SPIDERS! There was a tarantula in my apartment today... :shudders: that was not fun. Terry warned me that it sounded like it was one of the smaller ones, with the bigger ones getting to be like 3 inches big. Ugh. The Tarantulas can stay somewhere else please!
   
6. The traffic. I still say that the traffic here is a bit worse than Guatemala... which that statement in itself says something!
7. The roads. They are right there with Guatemala on this one too... potholes, speedbumps, and cracks and crevices from the earthquake, trash piles right in the middle of the road, rubble blocking the way... yeah. So much goes into this one.
   
8. The air pollution. We followed a school bus home today, and it was belching black exhaust fumes... and I got so nausiated about halfway home... ugh. Not fun!
   

~ Chelbertina

How to make Jello:

with 10 Haitian gals who speak like 5 words total in English... :grin: Don't worry, I didnt know how to do it either, before today that is... lol! It was quite an experience. First, I said "This is a test to see how much English you can understand... Bro. Brian got the stuff to make Jello" I am 100 percent sure that none of them understood anything I said but Bro Brian, and Jello, lol! but that's all it took!

During the process, they showed off how they knew how to count in English, (and Spanish) and tried to teach me French. I got to about 6. lol. Then I made them read me the ingredients in English, and translate them- which was a really hard joint effort, cause I had no idea. haha! It was great though, and they are very smart kids.

Although I don't know more than a few words in French, I am kinda surprised at what bit of it I can understand already... (and very confused by the fact that I used to have no idea what the words were in Spanish, but for some reason when I am reaching for the French word, the Spanish one will come to my mind, and be correct... huh? Where did that come from??)

So, the Jello is in the fridge, and they will be coming back tomorrow to eat it, (and finish braiding the other half of my hair Haitian style... :grin:) What random new experiences today!

~ Chelbertina

What I Love about Haiti so far...

1. The kids! did you even have to guess that this would be first on the list? :grin: They are so kind and loving, and glad to just be with you, even if you cant communicate one word with them.
   
2. The wind! I love the wind, and this is one thing that is almost non-existent in Texas summers.
   
3. The beautiful land- mountains in the distance, right on the ocean
   
4. the weather! While it's hot, it is so much cooler and more comfortable than 118 like it was in Texas! I can actually enjoy being outside!
5. The roof! This is such an awesome place, where the wind is the strongest, and it's so refreshing!
6. The apartment... There has been a ton of work going on before I got here, and the things they did made it amazing! There are screens on all the windows, which means they can be open without worrying about the mosquitoes... The shower is awesome, the kitchen is great, (and I dont have to share it with anyone... :grin:)
7. The rain! They say it hasnt rained much in the last little bit... but so far, it has rained a bit each day I have been here, and it feels awesome! I love walking in the rain.
   
8. The lightning- It's like God's light show! I actually got a few pictures of it tonight! Woohoo!
9. The missionaries- :grin: It always helps to like who you are working with, and this time it's easy!
   

~ Chelbertina

Things I have learned so far in Haiti...

1. If they don't understand you in English because they speak French- It prolly wont help much to repeat yourself in Spanish... :grin: oops!
2. I went to the store, and quickly found out that stuff is like 4 times more expensive here than where I am from! Dude! If I had gotten milk, it would have cost 11 dollars for a half gallon, and toilet paper was a dollar a small roll...
   
3. The traffic is in fact a bit worse than Guatemalan traffic... I didn't know that was possible!
   
4. Angels come in all shapes and sizes... especially when they are bilingual!
   
5. Cold showers are not too bad in this kind of weather.
6. Just because a dog recognizes you in the daytime don't mean he will at night.
7. I think it is just now starting to settle in that I am actually here, and will be for a while... :grin:
   
8. I can tell that the roof of this compound is already going to be one of my favorite places. The wind up here is totally awesome!
   
9. that there are 2 currencies here... a real one (Haitian goods- which are like 40 goods to 1 US dollar) and a fake one that exists only in the native Haitian's head.... but I forgot what those are called already cause I was trying so hard to remember the real one.
10. I now know how to start a gas stove and oven! with a match!
11. Kids don't really care what language you know, as long as you are friendly and carry balloons! :grin:
12. Water is your friend!
    

I'm sure this is only the beginning... with so much more to come! Hope you guys are having a great day!
~ Chelbertina