St. Jacques without coffee 22 June 2010 Port au Prince

St. Jacques without coffee 22 June 2010 Port au Prince
Am sitting in the guest room at St. Jacques in Petion Ville, up on the hill above downtown Port au Prince. Looking forward to my hostess's arrival with her promise of a coffee maker. This might be a record – 9:45 and no coffee. Breakfast has been granola bars, turkey jerky and the little box of raisins from the airplane (wow, was that really over 2 weeks ago now?)

I've been in Haiti with 2 Colorado Haiti Project teams. (The blog is chpmission.blogspot.com.) I supported each team in different ways. It was such a gift to be able to go out into 2 of the surrounding communities to arrange sites for the women's health clinics. Pat Laudisio, many times in Haiti and the leader of the Mental Health/Trauma team, drove over unbelievably rutted and rugged roads up into a community we had planned to hold clinic for 2 days. A couple of the Women Volunteers from those communities as well as Patrick Desir, a local school teacher and interpreter went with us. I loved being out in the beauty of the Haitian mountains. Especially because I am told there are no poisonous snakes here...

For the women's health team, I managed budget details in Petit Trou and fielded a lot constant bombardment of logistical issues. I am here to tell you that I am not sorry to be done with those responsibilities! I also took blood pressures and did most of the initial intake interviews with the patients. My thumb is recovering from some 250 times of pumping up the BP cuff!

Yesterday afternoon, the Women's team dropped me off at Holy Trinity Church (or the remains thereof) where I was to meet Bernadette. She was a couple of hours late, so the conductor of the youth string group let me help tune cellos. This is a group that is funded by the OEA and the students just began in December. They are about middle school to high school aged and are really doing remarkably well. They rehearse in what was the courtyard of the church, under a newly constructed roof that also serves as the church on Sundays. I think that they just resumed playing in March.

I got to work with 2 “advanced beginner” students, remember that I'm doing this in English and they're doing it in Creole! Both girls made headway. As I said before, I wish my sister, Jennifer, and my cello “coach”, Andras could be here instead of or with me. At least 2 of the string teachers left after the earthquake, and are looking for work – any kind of work – to bring in more income.

Bernadette drew up a schedule that keeps me occupied most every day. I am hoping that the language barrier becomes less of an issue as the kids and I become acquainted with each other. And I hope that I actually get to play some chamber music and not just teach every day! Sorry if I've mentioned this already, but there is a Philharmonic concert on July 4th and Bernadette has asked me to play in it! They have a rehearsal on Saturday and I'm looking forward to finding out what is on the program...oh, and PRACTICING, too!

My guest room is on the third floor of this church compound. It's spacious and airy, plus I have 2 fans and a small refrigerator, gas burners and “kitchen” sink. It's a little odd, after being with so many people 24/7 to now be alone. The cacophony from the streets only kept me awake for about 45 seconds last night. And I was able to sleep in til 5:30! Bernadette wants me to coach her first thing this morning (but she's already 45 min. late!) and then will take me to a market to buy some little groceries (maybe some beer, too, but we'll see about that!) Then we'll be off to Holy Trinity to get to work.

Evening addendum: Got a triple espresso in a plastic to-go cup from a ritzy hotel that turns out to be just across the street from me. That's where I'm sitting as I write my evening piece. Got to help with a beginning primary string orchestra, and coached 3 cello students (coached one 2 times!) I got to play with them, too, a real treat. Miraculously, I got my sister on the phone on my way to teach and she gave me a couple of hints that really came in handy: watch the left hand/arm position and the bow arm. And play with them. That's what I did. The kids are so danged polite, it would be hard to know if they were annoyed.

The music school is being held in the courtyard of what had been the Holy Trinity Church...rubble is still all around as the children play music. I helped with a primary school beginner string orchestra. Helped the cellists with their hand positions. Coached 4 or 5 students of varying abilities...and they adapt and change, EVEN with the language barrier coupled with my marginal abilities, they are improving. I almost cried with one student's improvement. But I have managed to hold back. Haitians don't show a lot of emotion and it would be disturbing to them if I cried. I just put on my sunglasses.

On the way home, I got my driver to stop at a really awesome market to buy a corkscrew (I forgot my Swiss Army knife.) This morning I had bought a bottle of Chilean Malbec - Bernadette said she likes wine, so I chose that over beer. NO LUCK finding a corkscrew. BUT, they had cold Prestige (the Haitian beer) club soda so I was really happy! I got a beer for my driver, too – AFTER he gets home! He's really great and somehow manages to keep his cool through the hellacious traffic. Dinner was tuna, dijon mustard and sliced beets...capped with a few fig newtons. Wow, it's nice to have something that's not drenched in fat. AND tomorrow I get to make oatmeal – with bananas! (oh, and did I mention anything about my coffee...tomorrow I will be able to make my own!)

I'm doing OK, but pretty danged tired...driving through the streets, seeing what people are doing day to day...it is so danged hard to live here. Guys digging through rubble piles, pulling out metal to sell or use – a little hack saw used to cut pieces apart. A woman carrying a live turkey, holding onto the feet. Children bouyantly flooding out of school and on their way home...A man, walking his daughter to school because he has no work. The streets are still filled with rubble, really bad smells and pollution, trash, noise, air pollution...at least I'm seeing latrines along side of some of the camps.

Gotta stop and go for the horizontal mode. g'night!