Delmas 28

Thursday night I contacted Jeanide and the two of us decided that it would be best for me to teach at Croix des Bouquets on Tuesday of the next week.  That gave me another day to review my music lesson plans before I headed to Delmas 28 early Saturday morning.

Later in the night Kate, my roommate at Commuitere, asked if Friday she could borrow a laptop to show her friend she works with in Cite Soleil.  I had a few to spare so I lent her one that was fully charged and updated.  Kate is a wonderful woman doing some wonderful work in one of the poorest places in Haiti, I wish her all the best.

I woke up Friday, ate a quick breakfast and got to work.  The goal of the lesson was to teach the children about music and sound.  What does a sound wave look like? How does wavelength and frequency of a sound wave relate to pitch? And of course another goal was to learn by doing. As I begin to jot down some notes I see Kate has returned with a Haitian friend, they came in sat down and booted up the XO.  A few hours later I went to see what they were up to.  I climbed out of my mosquito net and headed across the rocky gravel road. As the sound of clanging rocks rang out from under my feet, the man looked up and sent me a big smile.  He introduced himself as Afu.  He is a father of four in Cite Soleil and he has a knack for technology.  Only using the XO once before that day, he had managed to master the music making software and had constructed his own beat.  He was a self proclaimed rapper and even spit some bars for me in English and Creole (that's slang for rapping).

After saying goodbye to Afu, I got back to work.  I constructed a set of three sound waves out of pipe cleaners to model what a sound wave looks like.  I then wrote out some classic beginner piano songs for the kids to play and practice later on in class.  After finishing my prep work I spent the rest of the day applying to internships for next summer.  A very productive day. I finally reached a point where I could work no longer. I rubbed my eyes, closed my computer, and laid down to try and get some rest before my first day of teaching.  I've always pictured myself teaching and it was a strange feeling knowing that the moment was just a few unconscious hours away.  

I had no problem waking up Saturday morning.  Excitement was running through my veins as I hopped in the cold outdoor shower.  I got dressed and within minutes Fefe arrived to take me to Delmas 28.  He serves as my tour guide and translator when needed.  We walked to the nearest intersection and hopped onto a Taptap, which is nothing more than a truck with benches and a roof over the bed.  Taptaps tend to seat around 12 rather uncomfortably.  About two miles from our destination we hit a traffic jam.  No words were spoken, but every last person filed out of the Taptap to walk ahead of the traffic.   Fefe and I piled into another truck and were at Delmas in no time.  

We entered the building and as always was greeted with some curious young stares.  Fefe went to find the principal of the school to unlock the laptop room, and I waited in the lobby.  I pulled out my own personal XO and was immediately swarmed by a group of kids who were anxiously awaiting my next move.  I pulled up my favorite puzzle game and taught them how to play to kill some time.  They quickly caught on and after about three minutes they had beaten the first level.  Halfway through level 2 Fefe came in and ruined all the fun.  It was time to start class.  Fefe was unable to get a hold of the principal but I assured him that we didn't need the laptops until later in the lesson so we could begin.  Fefe gave a brief introduction to the class on what we would be going over and then I introduced myself. Shortly after that Fefe's phone rang and he went to take it in the hall.  So there I was.  24 sets of eyes stared up at me awaiting my next move.  Nothing like being thrown into the deep end.  My creole is far from perfect but I managed to explain the the class that we would be talking about music and we would do some singing.  I informed them that sometimes we would have to be VERY LOUD, and sometimes very quiet.  They understood and we practiced screaming as loud as we could, and then being silent on the cut offs. They definitely enjoyed playing that game and it seemed to make everyone a lot more comfortable.  Fefe returned to our class mid-scream and was impressed at the amount of silence that followed a few seconds later.  He laid the laptops down on the desks and we continued the lesson.  I explained what sound looked like and provided a visual representation with a file I made in Audacity.  I then pulled out the pipe cleaners. The red pipe cleaner represented a low note with low frequency, the blue pipe cleaner represented a high note with high frequency, and the green pipe cleaner was in between the two.  I held up the red pipe cleaner and explained that it was a low note, I let out the lowest pitch I could muster in order to engage the kids. The all giggled and did their best to imitate. I then held up the blue pipe cleaner and explained that it was a high note, I used the little falsetto range I have to let out a raspy high note that was much more of a caterwaul.  As much as I made a fool out of myself, the kids seemed to understand.  We booted up the laptops and I had to switch a few over from English to French.  The creole that Haitians speak is french based and similar enough to that the children can follow along even though they do not speak french. The majority of the class was able to identify the lowest and highest note on the keyboard.   We then went into some basic Solfege (do re mi...).  I wrote the phrases on the board and drew a staff to correspond to it.  Instead of "ti" the Haitians insist on using "si" I obliged.  The children had no problem singing the scale, but a much more difficult time mastering playing it on the keyboard.  I went around the room and helped until each student had succeeded before moving on.  We did ascending and descending scales, followed by thirds, a basic warm-up that I picked up from my high school choir teacher Mary Rashid.  This took a while to get down on the keyboard but the great thing about music is it's just pattern recognition, a universal trait.  The kids who struggled in the beginning were able to become proficient in a very short time.  I then wrote a song on the board they all know and love. The French call it Frère Jacques, but the Haitians call it Tonton Bouki, which translates to Uncle Bouki.  It's a nonsense song but every Haitian knows it.  They had no problem incorporating the solfege so we began practicing it on the piano.  I had some truly amazing students and by the end everyone in the class had played it for me at least once.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuL4YpKcX0M here is a link to the final product, as well as a picture of some of my star pupils. 

Sadly Delmas came to an end and I said my goodbyes to the children until next week.  I went back to Communitere and had an early night so that I could make it to church at Cazeau, where I would temporarily drop the laptops that I brought down with me.  

Fefe's fancy new phone that I gave him the day before was an hour off so he arrived an hour later than I expected him.  Luckily he did, because mass in Haiti is not like the mass I remember back home.  Church began at 8am.  We arrived at 9 am, and mass was dismissed at a little after 11.  Aside from struggling to keep up with what was being said, I got to display my singing voice once again. The church sang songs in both Creole and French.  The people seemed not to notice the difference but it became very apparent when all the sudden we were conjugating verbs. Haitians also have adopted the French/European tradition as kissing on the cheek as a way of saying hello.  I am blatantly an American and am usually greeted with a handshake.  Mass ended with the creole version of Amazing Grace, my mother surely would have been in tears.

After mass Fefe and I dropped off the laptops and I was on my way back to base camp.  I thanked him for bringing me to church and for once again being my guide.  He is a key component of Unleash Kids and his work should not go unrecognized. 

For now that's all the excitement I've had.  This week I'll be spending time at Croix des Bousquets, Silar's Orphanage, and Delmas 28.  It was great to get the first teaching experience under my belt, now I have a lot better idea what to expect from the rest of my trip.  When I'm not writing or talking with people back home, I'm undoubtedly going over lesson plans and trying to find ways to engage the kids in the material I'm teaching.  It's been wonderful so far and I can't wait to teach again soon.

Hang on,

Sean      

  

First Impressions

So following my last post I spent four more days in NYC.  I met my mom and my girlfriend Michelle at our hotel in midtown and we spent a lovely couple of days enjoying the city.  The first day we met up with Michelle's wonderful friend Sam and saw Cinderella on Broadway, starring Keke Palmer. It was a great time despite the fact that Ms. Palmer failed to take up our tweeted offer of Steak and Shake after the show... The next day Michelle and I toured around Central Park and I made a fool out of myself on a row boat.  We saw a few other sights, broke into a few places, and overall had a terrific day.  The taxi ride to the airport was heavy as I said my last goodbyes before I sent the ladies on their way back to Michigan. 

After the airport it was off to the Maker Faire to set up our booth.  Maker Faire is a Do It Yourself/Innovator conference that takes place biannually in San Francisco and New York.  I arrived well before the rest of our organization and had some time to explore.  I saw some pretty incredible things.  A 3D printed car was one of the featured products.  Pretty cool to think one day I might be able to download a car.  Finally I met up with the rest of the group and we began to lay out our stuff.  Immediately people recognized the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO's that we had set up. Everyone was really intrigued and enthusiastic about what we were doing with the OLPC hardware, and they gave us nothing but support.

Maker Faire ended and I spent the next two days running around NYC lugging my 10 laptops and Haiti bags with me.  Nick was kind enough to let myself and others crash at his place, he was both a wonderful host and tour guide.  My flight was set to leave at 6am so I cut my final night short and set my alarm for 3:30am.

  

After tossing and turning for a short while I finally fell asleep, when I woke up I was groggy and confused.  I hadn't the slightest idea what time it was, but I didn't hear my alarm yet.  So I walked over to the nightstand where my phone was sitting and hit the home button... 5:03.  Realizing I slept through my alarm, I sprang into action rounding up all my bags. I ran to the nearest intersection and flagged down a taxi. As I sit down I look up at the screen and see that the time is now 5:07. My flight leaves in 53 minutes.  I'm 15 minutes away from the airport.  After managing to hit 3 lights in a row red I began to be overwhelmed with the reality that I might miss my flight.  The driver seemed to be in no hurry and the minutes seemed to be racing by.  Finally he dropped me off, I paid, and ran across the street to check my bag.  Being a flustered sleep deprived mess I waited in line for a bag check with the wrong airline... I finally pulled it together and found where I was supposed to be.  The gentleman checking my bag saw I was in a rush and cruised through the procedure.  He even chased me down when I walked away without my boarding pass.

One benefit to a 6am flight is that nobody wants to be on a 6am flight.  The line for security was short and I blew right through it to my gate D-1.  The closest possible gate to security.  I boarded the plane and let out a sigh of relief at 5:40am. Miraculously I made it and I was on my way to Miami for my connecting flight.

Landed in Miami and had no problem finding my connecting gate.  Upon arrival I was approached by a surfer dude like figure with dreads and a polo.  He looks at me smiles and says "are you Sean?"... Baffled I reply "Yes? Do I know you?"  "I'm Sam, the director of Haiti Communitere." (the place that I'm spending my first 10 days in Haiti).  We chatted for a while about Unleash Kids before we boarded the plane and took our seats.  

I read for most of the flight and before I knew it we were starting our decent.  We touched down and the un-boarding procedure began. 

Walking towards customs we were greeted by a Haitian band playing traditional music.  Customs was a long wait but went off without a hitch.  I proceeded to baggage claim and once again loaded everything up for one last haul.  Now most of you have not been to the airport in Port-au-Prince, so it'll be hard to convey the utter chaos that it is.  Upon leaving baggage claim you are greeted by a flock of taxi drivers who will all tell you that they are there to pick you up.  They will reach for and often times grab your bags and try and lead you to their car.  I explained about 15 times that I had an arranged pick up and that I am calling my driver.  Finally I reached Bourdeau and he took me to his car.  We raced off to Haiti Communitere.  Taxi drivers in New York are crazy, but they do not begin to compare to the taxi drivers in Haiti.  Cutting people off and driving on the wrong side of the road to do so is something that I'm slowly getting used to. We safely reached our destination and my home for the next week or so.  My first day in Haiti was spent inside the compound of Communitere, resting from my long day, and preparing for the day that was ahead of me.  

The next day I met with Jeanide, a younger Haitian woman in probably her mid 20's.  She would be my tour guide for the day.  We walked down to the main road and tried to flag down a taxi to go up the mountain.  After about 10 tries we finally found a willing driver and we loaded into his van.  The vans contain 4 rows of seats and comfortable can fit 12.  18 isn't all that uncommon though.  After hoping from one taxi to another we finally arrived at the Digicell office where I was to receive a SIM card for me to use and later donate to a school for their server.  After some confusion on what plan to use we met with Jeanide’s friend Thompson who is an employee at Digicell.  He was very helpful and even took us to lunch after we finally settled everything

For lunch I was presented with 3 options.  Chicken, beef, or vegetables.  Chicken.  We sat around the table waiting for our food and my attention slowly drifted to the TV in the corner.  It was the equivalent of MTV and they were playing the music video to Wiz Khalifa's "We Dem Boyz", the uncensored version.  I appeared to be the only one phased.

The food arrived and I chowed down, I was then brought the nectar of the gods.  Ji ceri.  Cherry juice.  There are no words precise enough to even begin to hint at how amazing of a creation ji ceri is.  I won’t even attempt to try.

We finished up our meal as someone changed the channel to Planet of the Apes.  Jeanide was very interested and asked me if I had seen it.  I explained the plot to which she replied with a soft giggle.  She then began to watch and did not stop laughing the entire time.  I had no idea that apes destroying San Francisco was so hilarious. 

Thompson paid for lunch for which I expressed my gratitude, and Jeanide and I headed back to base camp.  On our final taxi back we packed into a van of 18 people.  I was sitting across from a younger Haitian man who seemed to love the sound of his own voice.  He looks at me and says “Blan (word to refer to white people)…. (Haitian gibberish that I couldn’t quite understand.)” I told him I don’t speak creole well and he began to address me in English.  “Why don’t you rent a car man? You’re taking up all the room in this taxi.  You’re American, I know you have money.” I laughed and explained I’m a college student working for a non-profit and that I can’t and don’t need to rent my own car.  He then went on some long rant in creole about America and white people.  We finally arrived and I said goodbye to my Haitian heckler.  Jeanide and I walked back to Communitere and had a good laugh about how that guy was full of himself and loved his own voice. 

Finally I was back at my place and free from all the hustle and bustle of the city.  I spent the rest of my day reprogramming laptops and talking to people back home.  All and all my first couple of days have been a great experience.  I’ve truly gotten to see some great sites and I’ve met some people along the way, some were wonderful, and some not so much.  If you actually read all this I’m thoroughly impressed.  I didn’t realize I had so much to say.  Tomorrow I will be teaching music with Jeanide at Croix des Bouquets, and Saturday Fefe and I will teach music at Delmas 28.  Should have a lot to write about and I should have another post by Sunday. 

Hang on,

Sean  

Preparation

So back in January of this year I decided to take this fall semester off to pursue volunteer opportunities.  My motivation stems from my interest in the power of information, and also the influence of technology in education. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) mission was precisely that.  To bring laptops to every child no matter where.  As I started to surf the web and survey my options, this seemed like a great place to start.    

Back in February I contacted the people at OLPC, and was put in touch with Adam Holt.  After a few back and forth emails he introduced me to Sora, the mind behind Project Rive.  http://projectrive.wordpress.com/  After reading up on Sora's blog and seeing the brilliant work being done by her and her peers, I knew I had found the right fit for me.  The project, in short, is a designed curriculum to teach both teachers and students how to use the XO laptops as a tool for education.  But it goes far beyond that. I really do recommend that you scroll back up and click that link I gave you.  Project Rive is just one project of the greater organization that is Unleash Kids.  Due to questionable distribution methods and a failure to follow through on training and maintenance, OLPC is on the verge of dying.  Unleash Kids is the organization picking up where they left off.

After talking with Sora for a while I started my first bit of preparation by beginning to learn Haitian Creole, a language based in French, but with far different grammatical rules.  As reality set in that I would be spending my fall semester abroad, I began to look into the impact it would have on my scholarship/financial aid.

After I was bounced around a few times I ended up in financial aid where I was told that in order to keep my scholarship, I had to be a full time student... yeah.  So the solution I came up with was to take 3 independent studies, 4 credits each.  Most teachers I approached seemed bewildered by my proposal.  But I kept emailing hoping for at least one helpful person.  And lo and behold I found her.  Professor Jennifer Law-Sullivan is the Associate professor of French, and the department chair of the Modern Language department.  Right away we set up a meeting and started working out the logistics of what I would need to do in order to receive credit.  She then put me in touch with Professor Alan Epstein who is sponsoring my second independent study for International Studies.  Mark Navin helped coordinate my third independent study with Professor Mark Rigstad on the topic of Global Political Philosophy.

From that point forward the preparation has seemed to be non-stop.  Wake up, practice creole, read, go to school/work, sort of have a social life, repeat.

As time grew closer and closer to my departure date, I began to plan the lessons that I will be teaching in Haiti.  Naturally, as a physics major, I started to play with the ideas of sound, and the universe.  Space is my truest passion and it seems only natural that I share that with the people I meet.  Even as I write this post 6ish days before I leave for Haiti I continue to tweak my lessons in the hope that they will be a success.  My first workshop will be taught on September 27th in Port-Au-Prince, at Delmas 28.  The topic will be music, with the following weeks workshop on space.

The preparation has been a long road.  I'm definitely a little nervous, but mostly I'm anxious and excited to finally be doing something I truly believe can make a difference.    

Hopefully that gives you all a good idea of how I got to this point.  I'm currently in New York training with some of our IT people, and I fly out of LaGuardia at 6am a week from today.  Be sure to stay tuned as my voyage is bound to get much more interesting from here.

Hang on,
Sean