Everything is going really well at the school, and we are getting ready for the year-end and coming home. The kids are pretty excited as well, but I think it's starting to set in for me that we're really going home. I don't like to say it much, but I miss home. I feel like when I say that it means I don't want to be here, but it's true. I like Haiti, and I love what we get to be a part of, but I really am ready to be home and hug my friends and family... I can;t wait to eat food that I know where it comes from, and be able to drive some sort of car... I sold my Ford Focus though, so I'll need to find something, or get rides for the month, but being able to go outside and walk around, or go somewhere by myself will be great...
Update for the school: Not much is new, but I have seen so much growth in my middle school class so far. High school turned out to be the harder class, but they are getting by... Middle School History is learning about the Native Americans and the Western Hemisphere this year. High School is all U.S. History, so we are studying the Middle Ages and all about Christopher Columbus right now. It's so interesting though to be teaching it in Haiti- right around where Christopher Columbus landed. It's strange, 'cause they basically hate him here. With his arrival, everything really changed for the region, and not all for good. Woodeline, the one Haitian in my class, litterally opened the book to his picture, slammed her hand on it, and said "Ug! I hate him!" I never realized how person his actions still are to them, and how different a perspective on 1 event another culture may have... I am realizing how behind I feel, ,and no matter what I can't seem to catch up. :( I want to slow down and really teach, but only have about a month left. Less than that actually... We have 15 teaching days left, and I still need to make finals or something, but I haven't gotten into how to write essays, and yet my High School class has to read at least 3 books, compare and contrast them, and learn how to really write all different types of essays... Def need prayer, and any advice teachers can give on what to teach and how to teach it... :) High point: Askin my middle schoolers to pull out their flashcards and giving extra credit to those who had their cards- Harry litterally stood up, dumped out his backpack, and searched through everything to find all 15 of his cards. It was a time waister, but way too funny to get mad at him. He drives me crazy sometimes, but that kid knows how to crack us up :) Low point: I have an eye infection (not pink eye) in my left eye, so today it was really distracting. After much prayer and some eye drps I am feeling much better though! Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back to normal. God point: We pray every morning together as a class, read a scripture together, and take prayer requests/'thankful for's' before we do any kind of classwork related activity- everyday should start with prayer.... Today, Woodeline said she needed prayer for her arm. She showed me what was wrong with it, and I was shocked!! She had some kind of skin bubbling in a circle on her arm- it looked kind of like really intense warts, but it as all swollen around it, and looked aweful! We were able to lay hands on her and pray right then and there, which was awesome and edifying for all of us. It was able to happen again with my middle school class, when Shamma asked for prayer for a fever and just feeling sick. We all came and layed hands on him, and about an hour later he was healed! His fever was gone, and he was feeling well enough to play around! God is so good, and mm
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So I have been meaning to write this blog for a while, but I just never got around to it, so here is what I got :)
The money here makes my head hurt. :) Yup, it litterally hurts! Haiti has fake money. Well, not so much fake, as non-existant... Confused yet? Me too :) All the prices here are written in either Haitian dollars, or in Gouds. For every 1 American dollar, there are 8 Haitian dollars, or 40 Gouds. $1 USA = $8 Haitian $1 USA = 40 Gouds We go to DeliMart every Friday, which is basically a gas station AM/PM plus pharmacy type store. At Delimart, the prices are all written in Haitian dollars. So if we have American money, we have to divide the price we see on the item by 8... Here's the catch though- there is no such thing as printed Haitian dollars. They are just a thought- no paper what so ever. (Please pause here and think about that for a second- you're probably going, 'wait, what?') :) Yes, that's right- they have non-existant money. Gouds are the only printed money in Haiti, so no matter what you want to buy, if it's written in Haitian dollars you have do the math from American Dollars to Haitian Dollars, THEN convert from Haitian dollars to Gouds. So whenever we go to the store, we do at least 2-3 math problems in our heads per item we buy... Ex: A can of Sprite costs $7.20 Haitian Dollars, which means if you want to know how much it is in American money, you have to divide by 8. ($0.90 U.S.) Great, it's cheaper here than in the states- awesome! Now you have know how much it is in Gouds, which means you have to multiply the $7.20 Haitian Dollars by 5, OR multiply the $0.90 by 40... So just for a can of Sprite you have the following equation: $7.20 H.D. / 8 = $0.90 U.S $0.90 U.S. x 40 = 36 Gouds OR $7.20 x 5= 36 Gouds 36 Gouds / 40 = $0.90 U.S. I love Haiti, but needless to say I don't buy much, simply because of the insane amount of math involved to go shopping. I am not a Math person, and I praise and thank the Lord every day that Lindsey is the one who teaches Middle school and High school Math :) We all have cheat sheets in our wallets which has helped a bunch, but I will be very greatful when i'm back home where all the money exists and EVERYONE!! Please be praying for one of our babies! Michelet, age 4, had surgery last week for Hydrocephalus, which is fluid around the brain. His body can't drain it on it's own, so he needed a shunt to be put in at the base of his brain to drain the fluids out and have it drain on it's own the rest of his life... We aren't really sure why, but the surgeon didn't put the shunt in. The fluid was drained and he was doing well, but since the shunt was not put in, the fluids in his brain filled up again. After a few days, Michelet started throwing up and getting sick, but he was throwing up a green substance for about 2 days, and it wasn't stomache fluids. Stephen, Autumn, Makencia, Simeon, and his potential adoptive mom, Gayla, rushed him back to the hospital yesterday afternoon, and it was not looking good at all. The specialists who performed the surgeries are already gone, so we were waiting to hear back from a Haitian nero-surgion instead. There is too much pressure on his brain, and he has been almost completely unresponsive since yesterday afternoon. Please, please be praying for him, the Mission staff, the kids here, the doctors, the hospital, and especially for his caretaker, Makencia, who will be with him the rest of the weekend. Michele LOVES her, and she's the only one who he would want to really be with through this hard time. Please keep her always in your prayers. The hospital give no food, no water, and doesn't have beds. It's goine to be a rough weekend for all of us, but especially on her. Please be praying she finds her stregnth and peace in the Lord, and she is comforted knowing this is in His hands. <3 -------------------------------- WRITTEN Sunday, 11/6/2011:UPDATE!! :) Michelet is still in the hospital, but he is awake now and was playing yesterday!! He still needs surgery, and the doctor who was supposed to come in, didn't. Unfortunately this isn't uncommon for Haiti.... He is stable, but is still going to be a while before he can come home, and Makencia is still there. Kerry and Joy Reeves are on their way to Port right now to bring her food, water, and a mat to sleep on.... He is not out of the woods yet, so please keep praying for him, the doctors, and Makencia... thank you so much for your prayers and concerns <3 <3 <3 |
AuthorWelcome! My name is Nicole Garcia, and this is a tiny snapshot of my adventurous life. I am 26 years young, an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs personality chart, and am loved by Jesus. I like Cheez-Its, Star Trek (everything minus Enterprise), Pinterest, Swing Dancing, Country Music, reading & studying God's Word, prayer nights, Wine & Cheese nights with my girls, and action movie nights with my male friends. I got to go to Haiti for 6 months on mission for Him, and experienced and learned a lot. I am glad you are here, and would love to hear from you if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! Thank you for coming by, and I hope you enjoy yourself while you're here. I pray also that you fall deeply in love with the wonderful man & God who is Jesus Christ, so you may know His true joy and peace that He lavishes upon us all. Archives
July 2013
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