Haitian Project Halloween

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Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

-Fran Libowitz

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Hello everybody! I hope that you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween. In typical THP fashion, we spent our Halloween clearing brush and mulching. After a very relaxing week of proctoring exams, we settled in for an equally relaxing four day weekend knowing that Saturday was reserved as a work day at the Nuncio's house--which was gorgeous. We started the day off right--sleeping in until 6 then enjoying a delicious breakfast of Haitian oatmeal. The night before we were able to celebrate one of our volunteers, Samantha's, birthdays with three cakes, costumes, and star gazing. After breakfast, the first group set off to get the work going...we don't yet have a car that can fit everyone together. Upon arriving, we met the Nuncio then began hauling tree limbs to the wood chipper.

For the group of volunteers, hauling and chipping brought back fond memories of orientation from a mere four or so months ago when we cleared and mulched at a house in Keowee Key. However, this clearing wasn't quite business as usual. For one thing, a lot of the clearing was being completed in the trees by men who shimmied up the trunk and hacked away at limbs with machetes. It was an incredible sight There were no harnesses or power tools, just brute strength.

Meanwhile, we began hauling the fallen limbs to the wood chipper and tried to ignore how large the pile was growing. Group two showed up and began clearing brush in the back, and before we knew it, we were deep into our job and didn't quite have the time or desire to acknowledge how much work was ahead of us.

Moral stayed high as we got into a rhythm. I was thrilled to be assigned to the chipper team and was handed a machete. While a few people sorted piles and made umbrella bundles (to put into the chipper,) Benoir and I got to go to town on the larger stuff, chopping the little limbs off of the big limbs then cutting the big stuff up...(did I mention) with machetes. About five minutes in I was sore from my shoulders to my calfs with two popped blisters, but I was enjoying myself entirely too much to care.

At about 2:00, we took a break for a very extravagant lunch of potato salad, macaroni salad, bread, cheese, olives, and steaks. Since it's been about three months since we've had an adequate amount of protein in our diets, we very daintily and discreetly gorged ourselves on the meat.

After lunch it was back to work until the pile was knocked out and the back yard was mulched. We worked until about 4 o'clock then went to mass with the Nuncio. After mass there were beers and conversation on the lawn. The nuncio told us about what it's like being Haiti's nuncio, and told us how bishops are appointed. It was all very interesting stuff.

Around 6:00 we headed back home and saw a car stuck in a ditch. Patrick exclaimed "It's a church car!" and that was it; the boys jumped out of the car to help. Within two minutes, they had lifted the car out of the ditch and we were back on our way. It was an interesting little blip in our day. Driving through Haiti on Halloween, we heard a lot of Voodoo music (which sounds like rap) and got to see the marchands (street vendors) at their stands with candles to light the night.

All in all, it was a very fun, very full day. We are all incredibly sore and scratched up. I am very proud of the five (yes, five) popped blisters on my machete hand. There are plans for the Nuncio to come visit the school at some point, so more on that later.