On a journey...

Hello hello,

Yeah, so I changed a few things around here with the pictures, I hope you don't mind. I just figured that having Ireland photos up while I was in Haiti didn't make much sense (but they were nice pictures, right?).

This post is going to be rather short and sweet today as Matt and I leave for Gonaives early tomorrow morning...and again, it's already way past my bedtime. We have the truck packed up with materials, and I just finished packing my clothes, but I figured that I should leave a quick post as I may not have internet access for the next week or so. I may just have to do one super-post when I get back from Gonaives and Milot :).

This week was great in that I spent the entire time in Filter Technician Training...and I am now an official Filter Technician, woo hoo! Actually, according to my diploma, I'm an official "Teknisyen Filte", being that the course was taught in Creole. I've learned a ton about how to set up and maintain a successful filter project, and that's exactly what Matt and I will be doing on our trip to Milot.

Our graduating class :). Chris & Leslie (the teachers) in the back center.

Yesterday, we (yes, myself & Matt) walked to our friend Ricardo's house who lives about 15 minutes away from CWH. We've been practicing our Creole with Ricardo and his friend Evans a couple days a week after work, and it's been working out great. The deal is, they have to speak English, and we have to speak in Creole, and it's a learning experience for all of us. So, for the first time, we decided to go to Ricardo's house instead of him and Evans coming to CWH. It was really neat to walk through the village and have some one's house to go to, and not just be walking around like a tourist. Plus, Evans was with us, so it was like a free pass to walk in that area. When we met up with Ricardo, he took us for a walk to a nearby lake that was gorgeous, and then we climbed to the top of a mountain just next to lake...again...awesome views.

Ricardo, myself, & Evans...the traditional Oreo cookie (when you're living in Haiti, you can say things like that without them being off-color :) ...right?)

View from up top: Pierre Payen, Haiti

Also, I know I've mentioned that Chris shot a rat some time ago, but today he shot a woodpecker with his BB gun :). They are rather nice looking birds, but it turns out that they peck at the coconuts on the property, and ruin perfectly good coconuts. So, Chris kills them when he sees them, and lays them on a rock at the end of the driveway. When little kids walk by, they take the woodpeckers home and eat them...so he's really doing everyone a service...except for the woodpecker.

Chris with his prize...nice shot Chris.

Ok, I said this post was going to be short and sweet, but it's no longer short, so I'm hoping it's some variation of sweet. Please say a prayer that our travels go smoothly this week, and I will make another update as soon as I am able.

As always, thanks for reading.