Category: Haiti

  • Man Living in Truck

    There always seems to be a guy sitting outside our place.  Since we are currently taking Creole, I would say simple phrases to him like, “Ki bo ou rete? (where do you live?)” or “Koman ou ya? (how are you?)”.  I attempted to say that I was going running one day.  Didn’t work out so…

  • Goudou… Goudou… Goudou…

    You may be wondering what in the world Goudou (pronounced goo-doo) means.  We recently found out that unofficial word for “earthquake” in Creole is “Goudou” because they say that’s what it sounded like.  Most of you know that Haiti suffered a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010.  At least 220,000 people died and…

  • Top 10 Things To Know Before Visiting Haiti

    There are so many things to do before leaving the United States to visit a place like Haiti.  You may get shots, malaria pills, pull out your summer clothes, buy plane tickets, coordinate the details of the trip, and the list grows and grows. This post is meant to be funny and a bit cynical.  We…

  • First Two Months in Review

    We have now been in Haiti for about two months, so I thought I’d just give you a quick update on how we’re doing and settling in to our new life here. As we’ve stated, everything is so different and there’s so much to learn – new culture, language, people, ways of doing just about…

  • Cite Soleil Gang Members

    I have been putting off writing this post for a bit.  I haven’t processed everything about the experience.  I do not pretend to understand any of what I will write about in this post but will describe as best I can from my limited knowledge.  All pictures were taken by Evan Hunt (Mesi, Evan!). Cite…

  • One-Click To Help Heartline

    Help Heartline help others by clicking to vote for Heartline to receive a giving of life grant. The grant will be for the Maternity Center.  Read more and vote by clicking vote for Heartline. Thank you in advance and please share the link with others.

  • You Gotta Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive…

    Life is full of ups and downs as you all know.  I, myself, tend to dwell on the downs, getting easily discouraged and focusing on obstacles rather than opportunities.  Being in Haiti has magnified this problem, as there are so many challenges and daily struggles.  Everything here is so much more complicated and takes five…

  • The Day Today in Bullet Points

    As you know, there is no typical day in Haiti.  This is just a quick update with the happenings of us recently. Hosted a group that was doing medical care.  Great group of women.  They were so appreciative of the guest house after a long week.  They called it an oasis.  Glad we could get…

  • Haiti Protest in My Neighborhood

    When I think of protesting, I think of doing it for a major cause.  Maybe like the march on Washington for jobs and freedom where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech.  Maybe a more local protest like what happened earlier this year with the teacher’s in Wisconsin. In Haiti, I…

  • Is it Worth It?

    Yesterday was the sickest I (Ryan) have felt in many years.  I woke up in the morning with a massive stomach ache.  Then almost right away I proceeded to jettisoning the chunky cargo.  During the next four hours I hurled another few times.  Stayed in bed with my stomach turning.  Then the rest of the…