Back to School...

As fun as it sounds, I didn't just come to Haiti to go spider hunting and hang out in our beautiful house.  I came to learn and to do something.  The way the program works is that each volunteer, in addition to some general tasks, works on some project.  These vary depending on personal preference, skills, etc. but have included setting up a program where boys could play soccer after school and working on a literacy program for adults in a poor community.  Before we figure out what our project will be, however, we're focusing on getting a firm grasp of the language.  Despite our wonderful teacher in the Bronx and the huge head start we got from the classes, we still have a long way to go before we are fully comfortable and confident in our ability to listen, speak and understand.  To achieve this, we are spending the first few weeks learning the language.  As I said before, we started more Creole classes this week with Madanm Chals.  She used to work at the school in Fon Ibo which is the school the sisters have the strongest connection with.  She taught first grade, but recently broke her leg and is unable to stand for long periods, so she had to stop being a teacher.  She comes every morning from 9 to 11 to our basement classroom to work with us.  Madanm Chals speaks practically no english, so we've had to struggle through and find ways to communicate when we don't understand.  We are continuing to use the same text we used in the Bronx as well as a Grade 1 reader that is used in Haitian schools.  It has been difficult to understand, and we have played several rounds of charades in order to fully know what is happening, but we have already come so far after one week.

We are going to continue these classes for at least one more week.  After that, we will be sent on an emersion trip for a week or two.  This means that each of us is sent somewhere and we will only be able to speak and listen in Creole.  Some volunteers are sent to a village that's about an hour's drive away.  There is a medical clinic here where volunteers can help and learn and occasionally see the birth of a baby.  There is also a school where some volunteers help out and attend some of the younger grade classes to continue learning Creole.  Going to the school would be fun, but I'm pretty sure I would spend the week passed out or throwing up if I was at the clinic, considering I don't do well with such things.  Instead, I think I am going to be sent to the house of a sister who works with families to plant gardens so they can grow their own vegetables to sell and eat.

It has been amazing to see how far we've come after just a week of classes.  I am able to understand more when people talk to me and speaking is coming much more naturally and quickly.  I still have a lot to learn and my grammar, specifically the use of articles like "the" and "an" could use some work, but I definitely have learned a ton and I am looking forward to continuing classes and learning more of the language.

Here are a few more important phrases/words:

• M'ap swe (anpil):  I'm sweating (a lot).
• M pa kompran:  I don't understand.
• M pa konnen:  I don't know.
• Ki sa ou fe?:  What are you doing?
• Ki lè li ye?:  What time is it?
• N ap fe photo pita:  We will take photos later.  (We say this over and over to the kids we meet - they love having their pictures taken.)
• Blan!:  White (This is technically the color, but we constantly hear "blan, blan" when we walk down the street, in reference to our skin color.)

Below are some pictures of the work we have done in class.  They may be a little difficult to read, but at least you can see that I am doing some work!!

For the past few days we have been doing listening exercises.  Madanm Chals reads sentences and vocab words, we write them down and then we go over them after to check spelling and comprehension.  

Some of our book work.  This unit was on location words - under, on, in, next to, etc.

The beginning of each chapter starts with a brief dialogue.  We read these to each other to practice speaking and pronunciation.  I'm going to toot my own horn a little bit and say that I am now reaching the point where I can read the dialogue in Creole first and understand what is happening without having to read the English translation.