In-Service Week

In-service week is over.  

It is the first time that I planned and/or led in-service for teachers.  It was really odd being on the administrative side of the process and not the teacher side of it.  All in all, I’d say it went okay.  But, then again, I’m not sure what that week is supposed to look like because last year I was only around for two days of it.  

We did most of what I would consider standard in-service type things from an American perspective:

Ø Introduced new staff

Ø Went over new rules and expectations

Ø Signed contracts

Ø Took time to look at new resources and discuss how they could be used in the classroom

Ø Shared what we learned at our summer workshops

Ø Had time to work on classroom decorations

I’ll have to get some feedback from the staff to see what they liked and what they want to change.  For all I know, they hated it!

A lot of my week focused on building and maintenance issues, another new area for me!  We had to repair the front gate because someone drove into and dented it pretty bad.  We had plumbers in to fix pipes and toilets.   A plumber will be back this week because our water tank sprung three leaks. It won’t be fixed in time for the first day of school tomorrow, but I’m hoping it will be done by the end of the week!

There are still some things that I need to get done before the kids arrive tomorrow—the most important being getting TP for the bathrooms!—but they all are do-able.  I think.  I hope.

Interviews were interesting again this year.  I am so used to the scripted interviews at my old public school that the loose interviewing here throws me.  We had a whole morning of interviews planned.  We all knew about well in advance, yet I was the only one of the three on the interviewing “committee” to come with questions prepared, paper, and a writing utensil.  One person came with nothing!  Took no notes.  Nothing.

We called one man to come for an interview, and he brought his wife to interview as well because she had also submitted a resume. Didn’t matter that we hadn’t called his wife for an interview!  He thought we could just squeeze her in; and we did!  Go figure.  The man was interviewing for a 2^ndgrade position, and the two principals asked lots of questions about how he would decorate his room.  Not in the sense of “What will you put up?” but in the sense of “You are a man.  How will you be able to be creative and decorate?”  Irony of ironies—we ended up hiring the wife and not the husband!  Seriously, only in Haiti.

Carrying them in

K-3 classroom

Of course, I don’t know why I should be surprised by these things because one applicant put on his resume that he was married to only one woman.  I don’t know whether he meant to just one woman at a time or that he had been married only once.  Didn’t call him for an interview, so I couldn’t ask.  Which would've been okay here in Haiti!

The coolest part about all the interviewing is that we hired a part-time music teacher!  That rocks!  That’s something we didn’t think we would be able to do until January, but God had other plans.  

Three "extra" for this year go in the play room

The other thing that I’m TOTALLY excited about are our new benches for the kindergarten, 1^st grade, and 2^nd 

grade classrooms.  All 12 were delivered yesterday, and they look awesome!  We now have enough seats for our younger kids without the small rooms looking completely overcrowded.  Again, God is good!  The desks were made by Maxima S.A. here in Port-au-Prince.  They are amazing to work with and do awesome work.  I hope to work with them more in the future. 

We are ready to embark on the first day of our second year of school for the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education—thank you to everyone who has been a part of this over the years!

Righty Tighty Lefty Loosey

           Righty Tighty—Lefty Loosey.

            I remember learning that from my parents when I was a child—turn things right to turn them off; turn things left to open them.  The same concept applied to screwing things in or out.  It’s a decent mantra to live by.

            It just doesn’t work in Haiti.  I’ve learned that there’s no guarantee that you need to turn the shower faucet left to get running water.  In fact, quite often you need to turn it right to start the water.  Same goes for sink faucets.  And, you gotta love it when the handle just spins, and it’s a crap shoot as to whether you’ll get water or not!  I had to turn water off today in the showers at the Center.  Two handles, one theoretically for hot water, the other for cold.  One you turned left to turn off, and the other you turned right to turn off.  We have five shower stalls, all with different configurations of turning the water on or off!  Go figure.

            I’ve also noticed that the hot/cold taps are often switched in Haiti.  Not unusual to find the Hot handle on the right and the Cold handle on the left.  Maybe it’s because most Haitians don’t have hot water, so it really doesn’t matter what side it goes on!

            Haitian Driving.  

          This is another topic near and dear to my heart.  I first thought Haitian drivers were just plain bad.  They didn’t know rules of the road; they didn’t know how to shift with ease; they didn’t understand the point of turn signals and/or lights. I learned over time that the turn signals and lights and shifting had nothing to do with drivers’ lack of knowledge. It’s most likely that the vehicle is in such bad condition that lights don’t work, gear shifts are old and temperamental, or the signal is broken.

            I then thought that Haitian drivers were crazy.  They fly all over the road, making up lanes as they go.  They drive down the wrong side of the road.  They turn a four-lane street (two lanes going each direction) into three lanes going one way and the fourth the other.  Then you’ve got folks deciding that the sidewalk or shoulder of the road should become another lane.  Chaos ensues with lots of honking.  If people just followed the rules of the road, 90% of the traffic jams would disappear.

            But, crazy didn’t seem like the right term either.  I mean, it’s not as if Haitian drivers have a death wish or drive the way they do because they like the adrenaline rush.  

            I’ve decided it’s impatience.  Haitian drivers, I think, are simply impatient.  In general, Haitians don’t do lines.  At school, kids don’t wait in line for a drink—they simply crowd around and push to get to the water tank.  They don’t wait in line to go up the slide—they push others aside so that they can climb up.  Adults are like that, too.  They push their way to the front of the bag check at stores.  They line jump in stores.  

            So, if Haitians don’t wait in line in other places, why wait in line while driving?  Why wait your turn at an intersection when the sidewalk is free and you can use it as a driving lane?  Why wait for the big truck to make its turn when you can speed up and sneak through the gap quickly?  Who cares if the sneaking ahead and creating extra lanes causes the very traffic jam that you want to avoid?  

            That’s my conclusion—Haitian drivers aren’t bad or crazy.  They’re just impatient! 

Panties in a Bundle

           I’m back in Haiti with five days under my belt.  I’ve settled in nicely, but the first night was rough.  

            No, not rough.  Horrible.

            I was picked up on time at the airport. My luggage came in just fine. But, Gertrude, for some reason, forgot that I was staying at Notre Maison right away.  Needless to say, my room wasn’t ready.

            Not only was my room not ready, a bed wasn’t even prepared for me.  I stood in the hallway with my bags while they tore dirty sheets off one bed and put clean one on for me.  Whoever had been sleeping in the room had to relocate, and I felt like an unwanted intruder.

            In just a couple of minutes my room was ready, and I had some privacy.

            I started sobbing.  Gut-wrenching, heart-breaking sobs.  I was ready to buy a ticket home for the next morning and just give up.  I went up onto the roof and cried.  I came back to my room and cried.  As I lay in bed, crying myself to sleep, I didn’t even know what to pray.  So, I settled on the prayer that my parents would say with me every night when they tucked me in:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

Guide me safely through the night,

And wake me with the morning light.”

            

            I felt better.  I felt a little connection to home.  I fell asleep.

            When I woke in the morning, life was better.  It always is!  

            On Tuesday morning I was able to meet some friends with truck at Morning Star, and they helped me bring the first load of my stuff back to Notre Maison. I had to put it all in the therapy room, which I wasn’t thrilled about because I really wanted to get settled in my room, but it was better than nothing.  And, at Morning Star I said "Hello" to friends and former colleagues.  They made me feel wanted and missed.  I almost started crying again, but I didn't!

            I did work on Center stuff that afternoon hat needed to get done, and that made me feel good.  Gave me focus and purpose so that I didn’t sit and feel sorry for myself!

            The 15^th is a holiday in Haiti—the Assumption of Mary—so I went to the Center for a bit and dropped of some supplies and looked around.  We have a TON of stuff to do to be ready for school on the 3^rd, but somehow it will get done.  I hope.

            I miss the “easy” life at Morning Star—the electricity 24/7, AC most of the time, strong WiFi so that I can stream Netflix.  But, I don’t miss sitting in my room all the time.  I may not have as many creature comforts at Notre Maison, but I love sitting up on the roof to do my work.  I’m pretty much up there all the time.  I get lots of fresh air, and I don’t feel cooped up like I did at MSCA.

            Thursday I felt very accomplished.  I went to a place called Maxima to order really nice bench/desks for the Center. I then had to go from there to the airport to meet someone who was donating orthotic-type things.  I took them to the Center where I met Debbie and George who were there to introduce me to a young lady they know who is looking for a job.  I always love seeing friends in Haiti, but this time was especially important because they brought me a Diet Coke!  Yes!

            At that point of the week, I was feeling pretty good about being back.  I had my motorcycle, and that was working pretty well.  I was slowly getting all my stuff to Notre Maison (Morning Star had stored some shipped items for me as well).  I discovered that I can still understand/speak 

Creole . . . okay. Thankfully, the despair I felt that first night has not returned.

            At this point, you’re probably wondering about the title of this blog. You know--the whole "panty" thing.  I’m getting to that.

            I wake up Friday morning and get ready to head to Université Quisqueya for the workshop that I signed up for.

            Only, I discover that I have no clean underwear (you discover these things too late when the bulk of your stuff is still packed in boxes in the therapy room). No time to wash a pair and have it dry.

            So, I head out commando!  

            Don’t think anyone at the workshops noticed, but I certainly was aware of the fact.

Medium-sized shirt?

            In spite of the lack of underwear, the seminar went well.  I understand 90% of it (the whole thing was in Haitian Creole), and I could participate and share my ideas.  The seminar was on how to help struggling readers, which helped because I already know a lot about the topic in English, so it was fairly easy to figure stuff out in Creole.  

            I am now in possession of my first seminar certificate, which are highly valued in Haiti as signs of professional development.  I also received a T-shirt as part of my participation practice.  They gave me a medium.  I asked for an XL.  They didn't have that size.  Never did.  They assured  me that a medium would fit.  I walked away thinking there is no way my upper body is fitting into a medium shirt!

            Back to the panties.  

           Now, back in June when I first got home for summer vacation, I purchased 21 pair of new underwear for reasons that make perfect sense when someone else is handwashing your underwear for you.  They weren’t in the suitcases that I brought.  Went to the therapy room.  They weren’t in the packages I had shipped through Morning Star.  I looked through the bins I had packed and left in Haiti—maybe I didn’t take all the underwear home in June.  No luck.

            My only hope was that they had been packed and shipped with the stuff sent to Agape.  Otherwise, the four pair I had were going to get worn out.  Quickly.

            I did hand wash a pair in the sink so that today I was able to wear clean underwear.

            Fortunately, I worked at Agape this morning, so I had the perfect chance to check for underwear.  The boxes were there, but I had no way of getting them home because I was on my motorcycle.  What to do. What to do.

Happy Camper!

            I finally thought “Screw it.”  I took my Swiss army knife and cut open my two boxes.  Found some of the new underwear!  Took a package out and casually walked over to my backpack and slipped it in.  Don’t know whether anyone noticed.  Don’t really care! 

            I have clean underwear!

A New Beginning

            

          Summer vacation is over.  I’m sitting at O’Hare airport waiting for my flight, reflecting on the summer I had.

            I front loaded my first weeks home by running around shopping for Center 

supplies, buying personal items I would need in Haiti, and then shipping it all in time to get on the cargo container being sent by Morning Star Christian Academy. I can’t thank Pastor Jay, Mrs. Linda, and Morning Star in general, enough for their support in my ministry in Haiti. Even though I no longer work at MSCA, they allow me to take advantage of its resources, which allows me to do so much more than I could do on my own. Friendships developed there that will stay with me for a lifetime. 

          A part of that unpacking will also include putting together the Ikea items I bought for my room at the orphanage—love Ikea!  I will have drawers to put together and a clothes hanging rack to assemble.  I also have new sheets and towels—I think both are green with polka dots.  I think I also packed some new clothes for myself. Maybe.  Can’t really remember!

I had a ball shopping for the school supplies that the teachers wanted, and I’m excited to pick up the boxes and see what I sent!  I have always loved (and still do love) office supplies, so going to Office Max and The Scholarship, a teacher store, was no chore!  Seeing all the fun arts and crafts supplies for elementary school teachers almost made me want to be an elementary school teacher.  Almost.

            Once that initial flurry of activity ended, I was able to relax and really enjoy myself.  I spent some time up in Whitewater with family and friends.  I had the privilege of speaking at First English Lutheran Church again and sharing with the congregation about the work being done at the Center.  They continue to walk with me on this journey, and without their support (of all types), so much of what is being done at the Center just wouldn’t happen. I also spent TONS of time with friends in the Geneva area and hung out with my dog Boo as much as I could.  I love that dog to pieces and miss him terribly while I’m gone, but he’s in good hands with Susan.  And, Boo gets to live with his girlfriend Nelle, the cutest little Rat Terrier you will ever see.

          I love going to Whitewater and worshiping at First English Lutheran Church, the church I grew up in and in which I first learned to love the Lord.  I love just as much worshiping at New Hope Lutheran Church in Aurora, IL.  This church is my church home now, and they have walked with me since I first visited Haiti in 2009.  Without their continued love, support, and prayers, I would not be where I am in Haiti.  They, too, deserve a shout out for the work they are doing in Haiti at the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education!

            The best part about being in Whitewater, though, was spending time with family and friends.  At the end of July, I attended my 30^thclass reunion and caught up with some life-long friends.  I didn’t know it was possible to laugh that much!  Seriously, my face hurt from smiling so much, and my stomach ached from all the laughter.  Teachers often told me that they thought the class of ’88 was a special group of people, and being with those friends again reminded me that those teachers were right—the class of ’88 was, and is, a special group of people.

Rafting the Powder River

Look out on the one-lane road
through Rocky Mountain National Park

            One disappointment of the summer occurred early in July.  My four nieces and I planned to fly to Haiti on August 1 so that they could spend time with me there as they did last summer.  Unfortunately, pretty bad civil unrest broke out the weekend of July 6-8, and we decided that it would be best for the girls to forego the trip.  On the upside, however, Grandma and Grandpa stepped in and changed the trip to Colorado!  Thanks to the generosity of my parents, my mom, my four nieces, and I spent an amazing week in the Loveland area of CO.  Oh my gosh, we had fun!  Hiking. Four wheeling. Laughing.  Mountain biking.  Swimming in 59-degree mountain lake water (Okay, that was just Michaela, RebA, and Alyssa.  Sarah and I had the good sense to stay dry).  Whitewater rafting.  Eating great food--steak anyone? I couldn’t have asked for a better time with family.

Go Cubbies!

  It's hard to beat the beauty of Colorado, but it does get better! An amazing friend gave me tickets to see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field!  The seats were awesome—I could’ve talked to Jason Hayward if I had wanted to! The Cubs lost, but Wrigley always delivers.  The Cubs didn’t let me down, though.  They came back Sunday night (7/12/18) to beat the Nationals 4-3.  The ending was every ball player’s dream: bases loaded, two out, bottom of the ninth, down 3-0.  Bote is at the plate and hits a Grand Slam Homerun!  Go Cubs Go!

            And now I’m heading back to Haiti.  To work full time at the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education.  To work at the school that I have dreamed about opening for the past seven years.  When I moved to Haiti two years ago, I wasn’t sure how long I would be in the country or whether the school would ever become a reality.  I still don’t know how long I will be there or how the school will develop. But, I know that God had blessed me by allowing me to follow what I believe is His call for life at this point in time.  I know that He has brought many people together to support me in this work.  And for now, knowing that God’s hand is in all of this is enough.

It's a Wrap

The first year of the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education (HCIE) is in the books!  We did it!  

This dream of mine took hold back in 2012, and since I first started talking about working with Gertrude to open a school for special-needs children, many of you have encouraged me; supported me; prayed for me; and listened while I complained, cried, and vented about the challenges.

The kids love playing with Phonsely

The school year started on Monday, September 3, 2017.  I couldn’t be there that day because I was working at Morning Star Christian Academy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  That will be different in the coming school year—I will be present on the first day of school at HCIE because I now work there full time.  That is both an exciting and a scary step for me because it means stepping out even more in faith and relying on God to provide for my every need.  

There have been growing pains this year (and over the past six years), but none have diminished the purpose of the school.  Originally, I planned to open a school just for special-needs children, which I believe is desperately needed in Haiti.  However, when we opened our doors last fall, the school was an inclusive school which means that children with special needs, children with learning disabilities, and children with no known needs all attend school together.  That’s very rare in Haiti.  Yes, the vision changed, but it was a change for the better!

Our first graders

Gertrude and I had planned to start small—begin with kindergarten.  Unfortunately, through some misunderstandings over the summer, students up to 3rd grade were enrolled.  We rolled with it and made it work.  Our goal is to keep growing and begin adding the “extras” that we need to help all of our students: a music teacher so that we can use music as a way to engage all students in lessons; a physical therapist so that we can provide therapy for our students who are wheelchair bound; a life-skills program that includes cooking, laundry, farming, etc.  

Starting the way we did (bigger than anticipated) caused me great stress!  And, at times I wasn’t so nice about it.  Part of the learning process for me has been balancing my American way of thinking with my ingrained sense of planning and organization with Haitian culture.  I am learning which educational things to fight for because I know they are stronger ways of teaching/educating children and what things to let go of simply because of my own preferences.  It’s often a daily battle!  

The amazing HCIE staff

Some of those challenges result from the language barrier.  I don’t know enough Creole yet to clearly share my vision for the school, and I don’t understand Creole well enough to grasp the principals’ vision for the school.  For the most part we’re on the same page, but the lack of good conversational skills on my part means that I miss out on a lot of the brainstorming and dreaming that comes during casual conversation.  Because of that, I often feel left out of the decision-making process; by the time the group sits down to plan, it seems as if the other three have already hashed everything out and I’m left to catch up.

A major growing pain for me has been in the area of leadership.  When it comes to leading, I am much more of an Aaron than a Moses.  I am more comfortable and better skilled at walking alongside  the out-front leader than I am at being the out-front leader.  As an administrator of HCIE, though, I am often called on to be a Moses instead of an Aaron.  I prefer to lead through example rather than words.  Unfortunately, I often don’t have the words in Creole to lead that way even though I am expected to.  I also don’t know whether the “lead by example” method is seen as “real” leadership in Haiti.  If garbage needs to be picked up, I pick it up.  If the front gate needs to opened or closed, I do it.  If I child needs to be fed, I feed her.  I wouldn’t say that those things are frowned upon, but I do sense that hierarchical roles are much more established in Haiti than I am used.  The best leaders I’ve worked with are those who do any job that needs doing regardless of whether it fits into their job description—you just do the work that needs to be done.  So, when I try to lead that way, I don’t know that it is valued.  I will have to work on the Moses-type skills in order to grow into my administrative position.

Jackey and me

The kids.  That’s the area that has been the most awesome for me—and isn’t that what it’s all about, really?  The kids are learning.  They are growing.  Nothing beats having children run up to you to give you hugs and kisses when they see you in the morning.  And, for all of you that know Gus, there is no better sight than having him run up to you in his awkward gait with that huge smile spread across his face.  I got that every Tuesday and Thursday from him when he arrived at school. Pretty cool.  Back to the learning part, though.  We have one girl who is 14 and in 3rd grade for the second time.  She passed this year and can now read!  And, she enjoys reading!  She’ll be in 4th grade next year, and now that we have a better idea of her strengths and weaknesses, I bet she’ll pas 4th grade the first time through.  Another student finally passed 2nd grade (at age 11).  One of our 2nd graders who is 11 developed a strong relationship with her teacher and was able to share that she hesitates to speak up in class because of how Dad treats her at home.  Because she feels she has no voice at home, she feels she has no voice anywhere.  She’s finding her voice which will serve her well in the future.

Learning to do laundry!

I'm learning along with the kids!

So, what’s next?  For me, I quit my paying job at Morning Star Christian Academy so that I can work full time at HCIE.  That means that I had to move all my stuff to Notre Maison because I needed a place to live.  Gertrude has been kind enough to let me rent a room there so that I didn’t have to figure out how to live on my own in Haiti.  Quitting the paying job also means that I will need to rely completely on the support of family, friends, and others who believe in this mission.  That’s a totally scary step for me, but I’m doing it.

Working at HCIE full time means that I MUST improve my language skills so that I can contribute in a meaningful way to the processes that go on at HCIE.  I have knowledge and skills that can be helpful to the teachers and principals; now I need to make sure that I can share that knowledge and those skills.

Alexandre--one of our special-needs students

For the school, we will continue to fundraise to cover costs not taken care of through tuition such as school supplies, teacher in-services, food for snacks, and supplies for the chicken coop and garden.  We will write grants so that we can hire a part-time music teacher.  We will work with universities to create a PT/OT internship program.  

We have big plans for the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education.  With God’s grace and blessing we will continue to grow and serve the children.  If you want to know more about how you can help support us, please feel free to contact me via email at jamieschumacher34@gmail.com or to send me a message via Facebook.  

PS. I knew it had been awhile since I'd blogged anything, but I didn't realize it had been this long!  So sorry--I will do better in the future (I know. . . I've said that before, but this time I mean it!  For real.)