Gua Guas, Tap Taps, and Motos

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Well, you may or may not know that I went to Haiti last week. It was quite an adventure to say the very least.  Traveling there is unlike any travel experience I have ever had.  The trip starts with a Gua Gua out of Puerto Plata. A Gua Gua is a small 20 passenger bus. They pack them as full as sub-humanely possible and you ride shoulder to shoulder with a stranger for an hour. We then had two more Gua Guas and a Tap Tap when we got into Haiti. A Tap Tap is the same thing in Haiti OR it can be a small pick up truck with a camper shell and two benches in the back. We were fortunate not to have to ride in the back of a truck. Crossing the border wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but then again we got really lucky. You only have to pay if you are a Gringo. Luckily, as we were walking across two huge trucks went across at the same time and we managed to get through without paying. There are no real border restrictions. Haitians and Dominicans can come and go across the border whenever they want. If the border is closed and you need to get across you need only to swim across the river underneath. If you don’t want to swim you can get in a wheel barrow and be pushed across by a Haitian or one will pick you up on their shoulders and carry you across.

At this point you might be asking “Amber, why don’t more Haitians just cross the border into the Dominican Republic?” Well, I’ll tell you. Dominicans don’t like Haitians. Haiti has invaded the Dominican Republic twice. One time they occupied for 25 years and closed all the schools and opened all the prisons. Dominicans have been let’s say upset at Haitians ever since. Haitians that do live in the DR are poor. They live in Agua Negra and Playa Westa. They also form their own sort of towns in the abandoned sugar cane fields. 

When you cross the border in DaJambon the first thing you see is a big muddy feild filled with motos.  They swarm you and pull you to get on their bike.  James, Dove’s Haiti Director, decides which ones we take and tells them where we need to go and before you know it you’re off.  Roads in Haiti are the most trecherous. For every 5ft. of cement there is 10ft. of pot holes. It is terrible to drive on. I wanted to look around, but was afraid that at any moment I would fall off  if I didn’t pay attention.  There were people everywhere, most just getting out of church. From there we got on our last Tap Tap and made it into Cap Haitian.

Cap Haitian wasn’t hit by the earthquake. Port Au Prince  was the city destroyed by the quake,  Cap Haitian just felt the tremors. However, it is very much a city distressed. There are people everywhere. Many buildings are made in the French two story style; think  New Orleans French Quarter. The buildings, however, are made of cement and if people live in them they live upstairs. Often there are no doors or windows, it’s almost as if they are squarters. Below are usually stores. You can’t tell what stores are what because they aren’t usually marked. If they are marked it might be an old sign. Many people sell things on tables or out of wheel barrows on the side walk. A quick fact about the side walk. The roads are lined be ditches full of trash and sewage. The sidewalks are are all along these ditches and one misstep will land you in a pool of disease.  Not to mention there is trash everywhere. There is no public sewage or trash program.

This is my first glance of Haiti. We will call this part one.

Agua Negra

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As I sit here getting ready to tell you all about Agua Negra I realize it has been quite awhile since I have written or updated at all. This in mind I will give a brief sparknotes version of the last week of my life.

Last week I had the classic what am I doing here melt down. Liz and I had a great talk and the next day I finally got to see where the kids live; Agua Negra.  I discovered my real love of teaching English as well. Sunday we left Haiti where we stayed for a few days and now I am back to my regularly scheduled programming.

So, back to Agua Negra.  Agua Negra translated in Black Water as pretty much anyone could translate. Most of our families live there or in Playa Westa (West Beach) which is a mirror bario.  The streets are dirt. There are newly paved elevated side walks that help to keep down the mud slide that occurs when it rains. There is no sewage system so often the streets are a mixture of dirt and sewage, the sidewalks help to keep everyone out of the mess.  However, the sidewalks are far from perfect and often end in some areas where they are needed the most. They were also not built for the people. Agua Negra is a port city. Trade ships are always coming to port in Agua Negra, there was also once an active cruise ship presence. Puerto Plata is a tourist city in many respects and the country would love to again attract cruise ships to this area. Agua Negra, being the first thing you see, needs all the help it can get.

The houses are no bigger than most average American bedrooms. Cement floors and walls that are poorly constructed are typical and when built too close to the coast have been swept away. Roofs are tin panels hammered or held down by rocks or rope. When the water does rise families can only open their doors and let the water run through in an attempt to save their home. If it does get swept away hopefully you have family you can room with because there is no government program or housing you can enter into. Most families have 5 to 15 living in one of these homes. Inside the house the rooms may be sectioned by cement walls or cardboard, maybe wood panels.

There is no real electricity in Agua Negra. The bario is next to a port and power plant where everyone splices power from. This forces the rest of the city to experience random power outages. The power plant will shut down power to the city in order to save money since so many people have electricity but dont pay for it.

I have never seen a beach like that of Agua Negra. Trash as far as you can see. Floating in the water, covering the beach; trash is everywhere. It is a very overwhelming sight. The water is black from pollution from ships, sewage and trash. You can see where it changes color in the ocean.  There are other mission organizations working there.

Pastor Jacob has a church for Haitian kids living in the Dominican. Dominicans do not like Haitians. Haiti invaded the DR twice and once occupied for 25 years. During the occupation Haiti closed the schools and opened the prisons. There have been bad feeling ever since. Haitian kids are teased for looking different and most have a very hard time getting jobs. In Agua Negra there are still not necessarily considered Dominican, but neighbors help neighbors regardless.  What Pastor Jacob does is teach the Haitian kids Spanish so that they can transfer into a regular school. 

I know there are probably so many thing I am leaving out. The families I met there were sweet wonderful people. There are for sure problems in the families, but there is always hope. Comment me questions and I’ll try to cover what I missed!

Crazy Blog

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Ok really quick my last post, Dulces, got cut off from crazy internet and crazy blog. Long story short; this is still an incredible experience and I am eager to soak it all in!

Dulces!

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Amber is a very hard name to say in Spanish. I’m not sure if I’ve told this to you or not, but it is! Sonya, one of the mom’s, calls me Dulce. This can me sweet, sweetie or candy. We had quite the talk about how calling me Candy could be misunderstood, but in the end decided it would be an ok Dominican nickname. Sonya’s daughter has sinse started calling me Dulces and so have some of the other kids. Even better though, is that many of the kids have learned my name. I was really apprehensive when I first got here that the kids weren’t going to like me. Beter to say, there have been so many volunteers here this past summer that maybe they just didn’t care to interact with me. However,

August Letters from Abby

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Abby tries to keep lessons at the orphanage fun, while dealing with challenges presented by a sometimes apathetic orphanage staff. As she learns more about the kids at the orphanage, she is continually impressed by how inventive and resourceful they are. She also takes a trip to Cape Coast, a city home to a national park and two historic slave forts.

Reading practice at the orphanange

A section of the canopy walk at Kakum National Park

The slave fort in Elmina

A Ghanaian guide leads a group through the slave fort.

Abby continues teaching lessons at the orphanage while also getting to know the kids better – she is quickly adjusting to the realization that kids half her age are much better than her at soccer. She also discusses the importance of price negotiation when purchasing everything from wooden crafts to taxi rides, as well as her trip to an amazing waterfall in the Volta Region.

Flag drawings from a lesson at the orphanage (some of the kids may have taken some liberty with the colors...)

View from the tro on the way to Wli Waterfalls

Making the climb to the upper Wli Falls

Wli Falls

Abby and a few other volunteers take the kids at the orphanage on a day trip to the Boti Waterfalls, as she continues to confront the challenges of teaching geography and other subjects to the seventeen kids of Mt. Zion Orphanage. She also discusses her weekend trip to Accra, the capital of and largest city in Ghana.

The kids head to Boti Falls.

Boti Falls

Abby in front of Independence Arch in Accra

Abby talks about the challenges of organizing lessons for the seventeen children of the Mt. Zion Orphanage while they are on holiday from school, as well as her trip to Kokrobite Beach.

Teaching geography in the orphanage dining hall

Kokrobite Beach

Beads for sale in Kokrobite