Author Archives: biffy317

About biffy317

This blog is about my year in Haiti. I came here not speaking the language, not having a clear idea of what I will be doing to a small, impoverished country in the middle of a crisis. Haitians have A LOT of sayings and one of them is Piti gren fe gro pie bwa, which means a little seed makes a big tree. I hope that my time here will be fruitful and also to participate and observe as Haiti grows and flourishes as well. Seeds need a lot of time, a good foundation, and help from others to grow.

Baby Doc

Upon Duvalier’s return to Haiti, Sr. Danielle at lunch was saying how she felt sorry for him. I thought how the heck can she feel sorry for him-the man who stole millions from his own country, he killed thousands, he … Continue reading

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I see London, I see France

Playing with kids is a lot different here than in the United States. There is a lot more yelling and a lot less crying. I never have kids come up to me crying, “ he hit me” or “ he … Continue reading

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Haitian Power

Seriously you have to have some mighty strength to survive here. What is really amazing to see are the elderly who come to church. There are old men and women who come, doubled over, limping, or walking on crutches. I … Continue reading

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Nursing duties

Since I ‘ve been back, we have been nurseless at the school. The school nurse found a better job at the hospital which now leaves the sisters and me to nurse duties. We have to watch out for any kids … Continue reading

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Maille-Love

One of the challenges I’ve had here is learning names. At least in conversation, I can get a general grasp of what’s going on and recognize most words but their names have no context and are completely foreign. There’s an … Continue reading

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POP! POP!

Since I’ve been back, I’ve been somewhat disturbed because there has been a lot of loud popping sounds outside. At first I thought it was gunfire but the Sisters assured me it was only a game. I thought what kind … Continue reading

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typical day in the life of ti-blan

5:00am wake up 5:40 walk to church with the sisters and aspirants (the sun is just now about starting to rise) 6:00am Mass 6:45am walk back to the school (usually by this time the streets are bustling with motorcycles, wheelbarrows, … Continue reading

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fyi: electricity

So it’s been a while… I will try to be a more diligent blogger but internet access much less electricity is hard to come by. For those of you more detail oriented and curious, you might wonder how electricity works … Continue reading

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The Belt

On our way back from church in the morning about seven, Ouanaminthe is pretty much already alive and going- vendors are on the street, children are walking to school, wheelbarrows, donkeys, motorcycles, goats. The day after the riots started in … Continue reading

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Cap-Haitien

Sr. Danielle, the head of the community here, had a week long meeting in Port-au-Prince and was supposed to fly out of Cap-Haitien. She went on Monday- the airport was closed. She ventured out on Tuesday and ran into the … Continue reading

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