Great Success

This morning was quite productive-something that is a real feat here! Bourdo, Patrick, and I were able to meet with the laboratory at DINEPA  about trying to test the water quality before and after using the Biosand filter. We plan to do the testing next monday and bring it in to find out the results. So let me break this down for you folks- DINEPA is similar to United States' EPA- in other words this is "the" water quality organization in Haiti and we were able to call them up and come right into the office to meet with the laboratory staff today. I doubt that kind of thing could happen in the US without having to explain at length why you wanted to meet with the lab staff and then having to meet with various people first. Haiti is amazing in that way; if you know who you want to meet with you can (practically) (sometimes very easily) just go right to the office of that person/organization and have a meeting or set one up. On the other hand this can be incredibly impractical as I have seen because the person you want to meet with could be in the middle of lunch/ a meeting/ or any number of other things. However, I have found people generally veer on the positive side of things and assume the person/ organization will be around and available to have a conversation. Today I definitely saw the positive side of this let's-just-drop-by-system.

Unlike the relatively carefree nature of meetings in Haiti, I would like to point out the importance of careful planning in terms of giving aid to Haiti.  I have witnessed groups of people (americans) who come here to play with orphans and "teach" them things like coloring and playing the drums on buckets. I believe the Americans who come to do this kind of volunteer work believe that they are making a difference in the lives of Haitians. I see something different- the actions of these people are not truly helpful and can actually be harmful; these kinds of "projects" do not create beneficial change and may perpetuate the state of poverty the Haitian children are in. Long term projects that seek to educate people, to create job opportunities for people, and positively affect people's health are the kinds of projects that can actually make a difference. If you support charities, wherever they may be, I encourage you to educate yourself about where your money is going and how it is being used. Follow up on these projects and ask questions about the advances in society your money has helped create.

Ok enough of that- but really it is important. Yesterday was laundry day: Haitian style is similar to Cramer style except that we only use fresh water. After trying to clean my clothes by soaking them in water and rubbing each item together like I had seen other family members do, my host mom, Polene, jumped in to help me. Apparently I was doing nothing (Brian and Cara from Cramer have also witnessed my apparent lack of laundry skill) and she showed me how to really get the dirt out. I honestly don't know how she did it but my clothes  are perfectly clean and the white shirt that I had thought was done for is ridiculously white. I am definitely going to have to learn their secrets.

In my free time at the house I have been studying my MCAT cards and GRE words steadily. Haiti could be the ticket in to graduate school if I keep this up! About two days ago I gave in to something I never thought possible. I picked up the Twilight book that must have been left in my room by a previous traveler. MK Durk has been trying to get me to read the book for years now and I am embarrassed to admit that I read all 450 something pages in approximately two and a half days.In many ways, Haiti is a better study environment than Colorado College! Ha!


Alright well today marks the halfway point of this trip so I hope the next half of the trip teaches me just as much as the first half has!

Katie