Voodoo at the Waterfall

Hello all,

I'm sure you all expected my next post to be about our new apartment, but you'll need to wait at least another post for that one. As much as I love our new place, I had a great experience last weekend I think you'll be more interested in hearing about.

Last weekend we went to Saut d'Eau, which literally translates from French to waterfall (in Creole it's just Sodo, because, as my colleague put it, the French just add in too many extra letters when they try and spell stuff). Saut d'Eau a town plus the waterfalls themselves about an hour inland north-east from Port-au-Prince, and last weekend happened to be the anniversary of a supposed sighting of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The story is kind of fishy, but apparently a priest saw the virgin appear on a palm tree a couple of hundred years ago, and not wanting it to turn into a superstitious thing, he cut the tree down. Nevertheless, it turned superstitious and both Catholics and Voodoo-practitioners have associated something religious with the place. There is a pilgrimage to the waterfalls every year in July to bathe in the waterfalls using herbs swirled around and blessed in a calabash (or you can just use plain soap).

Ian making his way up the waterfalls

We drove up on a Saturday and went straight to the waterfalls, where the festival atmosphere had started a bit. We passed lots of stalls selling soap, herbs, alcohol and more, and President Martelly had been at the waterfalls only a few minutes before we arrived. The waterfalls are quite big, you can either get into them from the bottom or the top, but it's possible to climb up or down through the waterfalls. They are also a lot of places to just sit down and have the water run down all around you. It was a really relaxing afternoon, and it's somewhere easy enough to drive to, spend a few hours, and go back to the city on a weekend or with visitors (ahem).

We stayed overnight at a friend of a friend's, a Haitian that lived in Montreal driving a taxi for 16 years and has come back to enjoy retirement in his home country. He was very welcoming and had a lot of people around for the festival anyways, so a few more were no big deal. At night he had a lot of friends over, and got this "troubadou" band to come and play while everyone ate. Troubadou is one of the local music styles here, quite African and super cool. There was a guy on a banjo, a maracas guy, a drummer, and a guy with a bass that was actually a big box he sat on with a hole in the middle, and different lengths of knives over the hole that he would pluck for the sound. These aren't the same guys, but this gives you an idea of what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmcvQ8-Aoq0.

One of my fav photos - scrub scrub scrub!

The next day we went back to the waterfalls, and it was a LOT busier than the day before, I bet there were at least a thousand people in the waterfall at any given time. We stayed up at the top of the falls where we were the day before, and spent a couple hours just watching the real festival-goers do their thing. There were a lot of people going through the bathing ritual - in fact I saw so much flesh that it felt weird going back to Port-au-Prince and seeing people in clothes! No one was running around naked, but everyone was in their underwear, and given the force of the waterfalls, there was little to be left to the imagination. If I ever had any doubt about how a man washes himself, it was put to rest last Sunday, I can tell you that. We also saw some voodoo priests with a gathering of followers, normally women, and he would swirl around the herbs in their calabash and wash them all up and down. There were rah-rah bands around, lots of chanting and a bit of singing and you can tell it was generally just enjoyed by all.

Better to be upstream than down

When we were leaving the city we encountered one of the major problems with holding a festival with only two roads in and out - traffic. Our driver had done the smart thing and parked on the outskirts of the city, but the traffic to get there was horrendous. There were about 10 of us in one truck (between the seats inside and the flatbed), slowly crawling along to try to get to the other car. Finally we decided it would be easier for those of us going to the other car to hop on a moto taxi, so that's just what we did. We had a mini-convoy of three motos with 6 people plus drivers that easily weaved through the traffic and got out to the car in 5 minutes. Ian and my driver had the speaker system set up to his phone and was blasting the tunes while the moto in front of us was beeping along to the beat. It was just one of those situations where you had to laugh... 

Jellyfish to the Face

Hello all, 

I hope that you're doing well and are enjoying the full swing of summer. It's been summer since I got here, but hurricane season just officially started, so I expect a rain or two in the coming months. 

The most exciting news of this week is that we found an apartment! It's quite close to where I'm currently living, so it's a good distance between work and the after-work places we like to go. It's "homely" as Ian calls it, because not only is it furnished but there are paintings on the wall and it is a very comfortable place. The best part is that is has a big balcony, I imagine we're going to be eating a lot of meals and playing a lot of scrabble out on it. We should be moving in next week, so I'll send pics once we're settled. What most important for you perhaps is that it's a two-bedroom, so there is a bed for visitors :) Yes, that means you. 

I also got to get out of the city for work this week, which was nice. I went to Leogane, south and west along the peninsula from Port-au-Prince. I had only driven through it once before, and didn't see that much this time around, but it was nice to get out and see the rural areas of the country. There are lots of banana trees and agriculture around, and life is just as colourful but seems a bit less crowded - it's nice. Leogane was actually the epicentre of the earthquake, and I was surprised that there were still a lot of people living in tents - proportionally as much as PAP maybe. There were also a lot of transitional shelters - buildings meant to last 3-5 years as people save money to rebuild their own homes. It will be interesting to see how it develops in the next five years as many shelter projects draw down in Leogane, but health and education programming goes up. 

I got out to that side of the country again this weekend, as we spent today at the beach. There aren't any beaches (or at least ones you want to go to) directly in PAP, it takes about an hour outside of the city either north or south to get somewhere that you have a chance to relax. There are basically three types of beaches in Haiti:

1. Public beaches that we call "MINUSTAH beaches" (MINUSTAH is the peacekeeping force here), because inevitably a couple truckloads of soldiers show up, have the tunes blasting, have lots of beer to go around and are generally making a commotion. Depending on the nationality of these guys, they may also be staring at me. Not so ideal when one wants to relax. 

2. Beach resorts. These are very nice classy places, Club Med standard. But they charge an entrance fee to get in, and $20 entry or $40 with a buffet is standard. Pricy!

3. Smaller hotels that don't charge an entrance fee, you just buy lunch or drinks or whatever. This has been my preferred option since being back, I've been going to this great little place called Villa Taina near Grand Goave. 

Yes, those are bits of tomato on my neck. I guess my freckles mask the swelling but it's there!

So we went to the beach today, which was really nice and relaxing. There were definitely people there but it wasn't overcrowded, the water was warm and the sun was out. Everything was very idyllic, down to the Haitian man in a canoe (aka hollowed out tree) paddling to get the lobster in the traps for lunch. Ian had a couple pairs of goggles and we were able to check out some of the coral and fish below, although it was only a small reef. You can imagine after a morning of swimming, a lunch of lobster and then a last swim where I was alongside the fishes in the reef, I was pretty relaxed. I was! And then a jellyfish stung me in the face! I'm serious, it got my whole face and part of my neck! I'm still not sure how it happened, as I was wearing the goggles and should have seen it, but I guess jellyfishes are clear. 

I immediately got out of the water as the stinging was starting, then I splashed cold water on my face then the owner of the place took me into the kitchen where he gave me his home remedy: first he soaked a rag in vinegar and ran it all over my face and then cut a tomato in two and ran both sides over it. It didn't smell the loveliest and it attracted a lot of flies, but it worked! The stinging subsided and I was just left with a swollen face. It took about three hours for the swelling to fade, but that's gone now too. I don't think that episode took all of the relaxation out of me, so the trip to the beach was still worth it... 

Celebrities in Haiti

Haiti seems to still be one of the top spots for celebrities that have a charitable inclination and want to do some good in the world. It's close to the States, so it's an easy flight down, it's a tropical island so it's much more pleasant to visit than say Pakistan, and there are lots of cute kids to take photos with. Everyone from Oprah to Pamela Anderson has been for a visit. Some celebrities have taken it further and have charitable foundations that work here, most notably Sean Penn, who started an NGO after the January 2010 earthquake. His NGO runs a camp for displaced people in a hard-hit area of town and also provides services to eventually get everyone moved back in to the communities where they came from. I find it funny that everyone seems to have "Sean" story (he is not Sean Penn to these people). The people who work for his NGO seem him often enough and it's fair they're on a first name basis. Others people will tell you about how they handed Sean a beer at a party or how they took the same flight into Port-au-Prince as Sean.

I had my first celebrity encounter last week, though it wasn't with Sean. My organization is part of the Clinton Global Initiative, which basically means we've made a commitment to some global good (in our case, training block makers to make stronger blocks). The Haiti meetings are held every 6-8 weeks, and Bill Clinton himself happened to be in town to open this meeting up. I didn't get a chance to speak with him (nor did anyone else), as he was ushered into the room when we were all seated and left after giving opening remarks, but it was cool nonetheless. What I found particularly funny was that people had dressed up for the occasion, there were lots of nice blouses and dresses and even a few suits, but Bill himself had dressed quite casually - he was wearing pink pants and a lemon-lime coloured button down shirt! More appropriate on the golf course than at the meeting table, but he had just flown in at 2am so I guess I couldn't fault him. He spoke well and looks much slimmer than he did in his presidential days. I have to admit that I didn't see him crystal clear, as I was about 20 feet away and my eyes can only see clearly to about 10 feet [ :( ] but I'm sure I entertained his secret service dudes with all my squinting.

Ian has been here a week and is settling in well - he's already got a couple leads on potential interviews and apartments, which arguably may have been more productive than my week! There's definitely something to be said for showing up somewhere and networking - he's gotten a few good leads that way. He's also had the Euro cup games to keep him busy, and is still fully appreciating the 101 ways why PAP is better than Kabul. We watched the final at a bar this afternoon, which had a pretty awesome sign at the door - no firearms allowed, no prostitutes allowed. I mean it is not so awesome that there are Haitian prostitutes around (this bar turns into a club at night and there is definitely a market for 'lady of the night' services here, unfortunately), but kind of awesome that that's the kind of bar signage we're getting.

And speaking of signage, I leave you with snapshots from some of my favorite advertisements. Almost all advertisements here are hand-painted, which is pretty cool, and the office for a local security company (Ange Gardien S.A.) is very well done. It's double funny because all security companies do here is provide a guard posted at the gate of an office or house (with or without shotgun), but Ange Gardien S.A. showcases that they can do so much more...

For the "Tru" Professional

Yes, that does say "Trusted by U.S. Marines"

 

Ian is here!

Most exciting news of the past week! After telling me he booked a ticket on Tuesday, Ian got here on Friday night! I am so very excited! Exclamation marks all around. The plan is for him to continue his job search here, and in the meantime start on an apartment search for us. He also has a stack of books, gym clothes, intentions to learn Creole and ideas about downloading a cooking app, so I think he'll be okay.

On Friday I took him to the Montana, a hotel that's still being rebuilt but with salsa music on Friday nights and great views. We spent most of the weekend touring around the city a bit (so he could get a feel for the apartment market!) and watching Euro cup games. Since he's been walking around and getting to know the city, looking at apartments, and going to the gym, so he's quite happy for the time being. And I'm quite happy too! All of the 101 reasons why Haiti is better than Kabul that I experienced, Ian is experiencing too, and it's reminding me how lucky I am to be here.

Other than that things have been quite normal here... I've been busy at work but it's a lot of meeting people and time away from my desk, so it's all a good balance. My roommate Juan has moved out but was replaced by a new intern, a girl who is very nice. As much as I will miss Juan (I mean, the guy left me Brownies as a parting gift!) it is nice to live with a girl and even nicer not to be the newbie but to instead be the one showing people around. I guess I'm doing that twice with Ian and Chiara (the intern), but it suits me just fine.

Anyways this is more of a personal post that a Haiti interest piece, so I'll cut it short.. but I hope you're all doing well and feel free to drop me a line whenever! xoxox

Rainy Sunday Post

Hello all,

I'm writing on what is the first rainy day in the 6 weeks I've been here... Rainy Sundays can be quite nice though, and so far today I've had a big English breakfast with my colleagues, Skyped with Shabari in Spain, gone to the market and had tea on a balcony watching the rain... and there is a scrabble game to come - yay. Altogether it's been a low key weekend, yesterday I went to a rooftop BBQ at night and spent most of the afternoon before that chatting with some friends... not a bad weekend all in all!

View from Tisous - taken on my Blackberry so it's low res

Friday was a lot more eventful though. I was plugging along at work when one of my colleagues announced "well, I'm off to Tisous (one of the neighbourhoods where we work), Kate, do you want to come?" I hadn't been to Tisous yet and my boss encouraged me to go, so I went along with Gordon, our lead structural engineer, to check on some of the houses we are overseeing, both new construction and retrofitting. Gordon walks around the neighbourhood in flip flops, so I thought I'd be okay in my work sandals and work skirt, and surprisingly I was! I'm sure the residents were wondering why I was so dressed up though, seeing as though our engineers are generally (rightly) in jeans, a t-shirt and baseball cap, but mostly they just smiled at me the way they do any other foreigner, and one lady smiled at me a arranged the neck on my shirt. One thing I'll say about Haitians is that looks matter, and they're happy to straighten your tie if it's out of place. Tisous is in a 'suburb' of Port-au-Prince called Carrefour and is quite different from the other big neighbourhood we work in. For one thing, there's more space in Carrefour, and even if the houses are still small, they have amazing views. It was great to get out and see some of our work in action, I'm slowly learning how to pick out what's right or wrong with the houses we're overseeing... It was nice to meet some of the beneficiaries as well, even though they're Creole-speaking, we could quasi-communicate with my French, and it was great to hear them so empowered about rebuilding their homes. And the lady who straightened out my shirt was very very nice.

Sacre Coeur parade from our second-floor balcony

I got back to the office and worked all afternoon, and just as I was getting ready to leave the office, I hear  what sounds like a gospel-choir outside my office. I look out, and literally hundreds of people were coming down our street - one of Haiti's many spontaneous parades. Apparently it was Sacré Coeur - why this merited a parade I'm still unclear but there were priests, a congregation, and a mobile keyboard/guitar coming down my street singing! It was pretty cool hearing all of those hundreds of voices singing and "amen"-ing though. There are some large shady parts on our street, so they stayed outside a good 30 mins, but this means I overheard part of a mass in Creole as well! It was Friday night and I was keen to leave the office, but if my comings and goings need to be disrupted, I'm glad its with parades and not the demonstration's I was used to in Kabul...

I'm not sure that there was too much more that was interesting about my week, so instead I leave you with an interesting Haiti fact: the Haitian currency is called a gourde, it's about 40 gourdes to a dollar. Some time ago however, they had "Haitian dollars", and five gourdes = one Haitian dollar. The interesting part of this all - it's not uncommon for people to price things in Haitian dollars, although you need to pay in gourdes. I've been to grocery stores where every price tag is in Haitian dollars, to restaurants where the bill comes out in Haitian dollars. Even more hilarious is the fact that when you ask "what's that in gourdes ?" (because of course you can only pay in gourdes), you generally get grumbled at and inevitably a calculator or phone comes out to figure out the conversion. If I buy mangoes off the street for five Haitian dollars, and this mango seller does the same transaction every day and knows she gets 25 gourdes, why doesn't she just tell me that off the bat?? Why are there grocery stores and restaurants that price things in a currency that doesn't exist?? It blows my mind. Happy Sunday everyone!

Hashing in Haiti

I think my last post was Wednesday, right before I went to Chicken Fiesta? In between those wings and now, I've had a good couple of days... Chicken Fiesta was delicious, as expected, but I found myself in an unexpected place afterwards. I had met a girl named Sarah through work last Tuesday that told me about "Wednesdays at the Petionville Club", which she kindly invited me to, so I headed over after Chicken Fiesta. 

The Petionville Club is a country club that's been operating in Haiti for years. When I was here three years ago, it had tennis courts, a pool and a golf course! Two years ago the golf course was claimed by a displaced persons camp (Sean Penn's, actually!) and the tennis courts by their staff. Fast forward to now, and it has reclaimed its salt-water pool and tennis courts, though the camp is expected to stay another year.... The Petionville Club is very much a country club, membership required, but on Wednesdays they open their doors up to the public and generally have Haitian music as entertainment. In and of itself, that was great, but Sarah happens to be very good friends at the owner, so I had a place at their "VIP" table with lots of wine being poured. Thankfully Thursday was a holiday, thus a day off of work! I wound up spending an hour talking with the owner, having an interesting conversation about what it's like to run a country club in an impoverished country, among other things. It definitely wasn't what I expected going in, but a good night nonetheless. I think it may become a regular Wednesday spot for me.... 

I laid low on our holiday Thursday, doing a bit of work and working on my tan. Friday night I went for burgers with my colleagues to a place called Hang - it was blasting dance party music but was a burger joint, certainly different from my waitressing stint at the Works! I kind of enjoyed shaking my shoulders to the tunes while chomping down on my burger though..... Saturday I spent some time by the pool and met up with a friend from Kabul at night, and I even managed to take in the hockey game! Hopefully I can catch game 6 when I go out later tonight... 

Hashers trying to make it down a very steep hill

Sunday was another interesting day - I participated the hash! For those of you who don't know the hash, they describe themselves as a drinking club with a running problem... They have either a walking or running group that goes out on a trail, and then there is a whole bunch of drinking afterwards. I did one hash in Kabul but, as you can imagine, this was quite different. Aside from the fact that I could wear shorts and a t-shirt (yay!), the trail was quite different. Since Port-au-Prince is full of hills, we went up a hill, down the hill and across a ravine, up the informal settlement, through a bit of a forest (going up and down hills all the time), back across a ravine and then back to the starting place. It was interesting seeing houses being built (since that's my new gig), but also just seeing life happening in the settlements. It's nice to see things as they happen instead of through the window of a car... And nice to relax this way after seeing it all! 

Cheers! 

The reality of working on a tropical island..

#1 - You can still catch a cold. Which I did a few weeks ago, slowing down my extracurricular activities and also my blogging. Sorry!

#2 - You still have to work. And I do - long hours! Fortunately a weekend is a weekend here, two full days to sleep in a suntan and just veg out. But I often find myself working a long day, coming home to change clothes and go back out again for a dinner or networking thing, otherwise I am too tired to sit down and write anything meaningful anymore. So sorry about that too!

I have been doing a couple interesting things that merit mentioning though, like lunch last Sunday. We went up the mountain to a restaurant called Trois Decks, which had a jazz band play all afternoon. We had a very civilized meal accompanied by a few drinks and a great atmosphere, we were on one of the decks overlooking the tree canopy. I did have the foresight to take a photo but I must have had one too many rum sours because I only took photos of the foliage. I attach for your amusement anyways.

I'm starting to keep a running tab of why Haiti is better than Kabul - I think I mentioned in the first few blogs about being able to go to the beach on the weekend and show my elbows at all times? These things still excited me. As does the latest: the parties. Not the parties themselves, because a Kabul party was pretty kicking, but the fact that there isn't a guest list to get in! Kabul was insane for that! I hadn't had to 'fake' getting into somewhere since I was a teenager! But there is none of that in Haiti, yay. And if you're going to put on a party, the costs of getting alcohol are much more reasonable...

My last tidbit for the day is the language, not French but Creole. The words/phrases I learned before have come back to me, but I've been slow to learn some more - I'm still getting comfortable communicating in French. However, I'm not anticipating a problem because I (unlike a lot of Europeans here) understand Quebecois, and if you can learn Quebecois you can learn Creole. They are both a phonetic version of french, but one's fast (Quebecois) and the other at a slower pace (Creole). Some of my favorite examples so far: dlo (d'leau = water), machine (pronounces mah-shine = car), pwojé (projet = project). It should be a piece of cake.

I'm off to discover all that PAP restaurants have to offer, this time to a place called Chicken Fiesta that specializes in wings! Who would have thought... ?