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[Deutsch unten<\/a>]<\/p>\n October 23, 8.30am<\/em><\/p>\n I apologize for not posting more frequently, but as you can imagine this week has been full with experiences and impressions, leaving me rather exhausted in between. The heat and some mild stomach problems obviously didn\u2019t help either. Instead of going through the week one day at a time, here are the projects I\u2019ve been involved in:<\/p>\n Teaching English<\/u>: On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings I assist Stien (who has 30 years of teaching experience) with English lessons for about 12 young men from the camps surrounding the GVN house. GVN built a shelter with some benches for this purpose. It\u2019s the first project I chose, and I enjoy helping and spending time with them (the fact that they have to spell their names is very useful, too). Obviously there\u2019s the occasional distraction, but generally they\u2019re happy to do all the exercises, including the alphabet song. <\/p>\n Rehab<\/u>: On Monday and Wednesday afternoon I accompanied Stien and a couple of others to a rehabilitation centre, where a local man is offering free physical therapy to people with various ailments. GVN volunteers come in to offer massages, a service that is very welcomed even from us complete amateurs. It\u2019s a peaceful, positive place, and while massaging in this heat is quite hard work, I enjoy it a lot. The only thing I could do without is the fact that the ladies expect us to massage their fronts as well as their backs, but it\u2019s almost worth it to see the look on the male volunteers\u2019 faces. Mother Theresa\u2019s<\/u>: This compound run by six nuns and 20 or so local staff is wonderfully clean and well-organized, but there\u2019s little time for one-on-one attention, because they care for about 120 adults and 60 young children, from babies to about 6 years old. GVN volunteers come to play dominoes with the old men, pamper the old ladies (me and Kris did some more massages there), play with the older kids (which can be trying, as they are very demanding) and give the babies some much-needed attention and affection, at least for a little while.<\/p>\n Peace of Mind Hotel<\/u>: At the destroyed hotel where we had that wonderful feast on Friday, they\u2019re planning on re-opening as a restaurant for the time being. We go there for clean-up, mostly weeding the flower beds, so that the employees can focus on actual building work. It\u2019s quiet work, which is nice, although working outside is very exhausting. (I don\u2019t know how the volunteers who\u2019re helping build a classroom at a school are doing it, seriously!)<\/p>\n Painting at Ecole Baraka<\/u>: Right next door to us is a church which also operates a school, and on Thursday and Friday afternoon a group of us painted their two classrooms, following the instructions of the local artist who did some cute murals there. My first experience with brush and roller, it was quite fun, especially because you get to see clear results of your labour.<\/p>\n Monday to Wednesday after lunch us new arrivals also had Creole lessons from local man Fannel, which were fun and will hopefully come in useful. My free time is usually spent resting and reading, although on the way back from projects we usually either walk for a bit or stop somewhere for drinks, my favorite being Hotel Florita near the rehab, which is beautiful French Colonial building.<\/p>\n Friday night there\u2019s usually pizza at the house, but due to a mix up yesterday we had a fun picnic of crackers, mozzarella, avocado and chips. Kris had found lots of glowsticks, which we handed out to the excited kids and then sat on the roof and watched them glowing in the dark.<\/p>\n By the way, for security reasons GVN decided not to do any runs to and from Port au Prince in the week before and after the elections. Therefore a couple of people who were planning on leaving at the end of November will be leaving on November 20 instead, because otherwise they can\u2019t leave Jacmel until December 6, I think. And mid-December GVN Jacmel will close its doors, at least until they have found a reliable local partner organisation. A pity, but apparently there were hardly any sign-ups f\u00fcr 2011. Looks as if I had perfect timing.<\/p>\n Oh, and don’t worry about the cholera outbreak – the affected village is north of Port au Prince, a safe distance away. Also, us volunteers are probably the least likely, as we have access to plenty of clean water.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n![\":)\"](\"http:\/\/www.volunteerjournals.org\/wordpress\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/icon_smile.gif\"){kind=icon}
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