Kiwi Mouse Trap

As you may have guessed by looking at the length of time between my Haiti posts, I am a bit behind, but I am working to catch up. While I'm on, I thought I would share a video I put together on how to catch a mouse without killing it.

It's called a Kiwi mouse trap because I heard about it through a Kiwi (that's New Zealand) mate of mine. There were a couple of guys living in a flat in NZ, and they had a mouse problem, so they devised this trap to catch multiple mice without resetting the trap. The originators actually filled the bucket half-full with water because they wanted to kill the mice. So, they set up this trap in their kitchen before going to bed, and when they got up in the morning, there were more than 30 mice drowned in the bucket. Amazing, eh.

Kiwi mouse trap video by yours truly.

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Accommodating Haiti

On the compound in Gran Goave where we would be staying, there were a few buildings on the site, but everyone staying there lived in the tents that took up most of the free ground in the courtyard. We knew that we would be staying in the tents as well while we were there, so I brought an inflatable sleeping pad and a blanket. To my (and the rest of the group’s) surprise, the tents had full on air mattresses (and a couple of regular mattresses) inside them, one for each of us.

The tents on the compound.

While we knew that we would be staying in tents on the compound, what we didn’t know was that to make space for us, some of the locals had to be evicted from the tents we were staying in. Pastor Tim told us that the night before we arrived, Haitians had been sleeping in our tents and the night after we left, there would be Haitians sleeping in our tents again. It was just a part of the process of living in earthquake-devastated Haiti.

Another pleasant surprise was that there was a water cooler in the main building where we were able to get some ice cold dlo (that’s “water” in Creole) for drinking. Ok, so the 5-gallon bottles of water didn’t get delivered to the compound like they would in the U.S., but it was still cold and clean deliciousness in a bottle. Pastor Tim told us that the water pump on the compound was fed by a well that had been

The open-air, concrete urinals.

tested and was clean for drinking, but he also informed us that all the water that we were drinking from the water cooler had also been purified by some super purifier. This filter had a built-in carbon filter, UV filter, triple bypass, loop-the-loop, skip to the loo my darling filter (ok, so I made that last one up). For all intensive purposes, this water was as pure as the stuff that melts off of glaciers. There were two types of toilet facilities: porcelain toilet/shower combos and concrete open-air urinals. The latter was obviously mainly for men’s use. The toilet/shower combos reminded me of my time in Japan. Both of the apartments that I

The toilet/shower combo setup.

lived in there had combined toilet/showers, which means that the toilet and shower are in the same room with no divider. The main thing you have to watch out for with these is getting the toilet paper wet. The showers and porcelain toilets were supplied by two water tanks, a 100-gallon and an 80-gallon tank, which were filled automatically by an electric pump from the well. There were even sinks for brushing teeth and washing hands behind the toilets, which is more than I expected.

The water pump was the center of much social activity on the compound. From the time it was unlocked in the morning to the time it was locked up in evening, there was a line of people with 5-gallon buckets waiting to get their hands on the lever. Even though pumping the water was monotonous and definitely not easy, most of the people pumping the water had smiles on their faces and would carry on conversations with the people waiting in line. I imagine this was the Haitian version of the water cooler in many U.S. offices. On our first morning in Haiti, Janelle decided to give some of the locals a break from their daily chore of pumping water. She used her best sign language to let the people know that she wanted to pump the water, and

Janelle pumping water for the locals.

once they understood what she was saying, they were more than willing. As she pumped the lever up and down, water started gushing out. After a few minutes of pumping, the 5-gallon under the spout was full, but as soon as the water level reached the top of the bucket, it was replaced with another empty 5-gallon bucket. This continued for about 10-15 minutes. After the first few minutes, the smile that had permeated Janelle’s face when she was first allowed to pump some water faded to a chagrin. You can see the look on her face yourself in the video.

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Haiti, the Beginning

We flew from to Miami the first day, spent the night there, and then went on to Haiti the following day. In Miami, we stayed in the Embassy Suites Hotel. It is a very posh hotel, and it felt a bit strange staying there when we were on a mission trip to one of the poorest countries in the world. That didn’t stop us from enjoying the pool and breakfast buffet, though. For me, it was great to be back in the warm weather and humidity. I’m always so cold in Colorado, even in summer.

When we got to Haiti, it was even a bit warmer than Miami, and they threw everyone right out into the heat. Immigration was in a building that looked like it was originally a warehouse. It had a roof made of metal sheeting and felt like a human oven. It honestly must have been about 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than standing outside in the sun.

The Haiti team in Miami

Thankfully, there were several fans blowing waves of heated air at us while we waited in line. After being dragged painfully slowly through the immigration line, we picked up our bags and made our way outside to experience the heat and humidity first-hand. One of the Haitian guys working with the missionary organization was supposed to meet us outside with a sign. As we left the warehouse, we entered a narrow area between the building and a chain link fence. We were bombarded with offers from people to help us with our luggage and give us a ride to anywhere in the world, but there was no one with a sign waiting for us. We walk the half-mile distance the gate that would let us outside of the secured area. Sure enough, waiting at the gate was Jeanson (pronounced like Johnson) waiting for us with a sign. Unfortunately, on the way to the gate, we managed to pick up a small group of Haitian men who were “helping” us get our luggage to the truck, but $10 later, we were free of them. Shortly thereafter, Pastor Tim, the missionary we would be working with in Grand Goave showed up with the truck. We loaded up, hopped in the truck, and we were ready to hit the road. The only problem was that Pastor Tim was waiting for some building materials to clear customs, and he didn’t want to make the 5 hour round trip again to pick them up when they were just on the other side of the fence. He told us that they were meant to be cleared in about an hour and that he was going to take us to a place where we could get some lunch. The lunch stop was a gas station not far from the airport that had air conditioning. Apparently, it was also the place where the local community gathered to watch the World Cup football matches on TV because it was nearly full. However, instead of a football match, we got to watch and hear the Shakira “This Is Africa” video about 18.5 times.

After lunch, we headed back to the airport to pick up the goods. Once we arrived, Pastor Tim told us that it would be another 10-15 minutes, so we got out of the truck and sat down under a tree to wait. After about an hour passed, Pastor Tim came back and told us he needed one more signature from someone who was out for lunch, but that the signer would be back in about 10-15 minutes. About 45 minutes later, Pastor Tim came back and said that the signer still hadn’t arrived, and even though the signer would probably be there in about 10-15 minutes, he was going to send us on ahead to the mission site in Grand Goave. He told us that on a normal day with no traffic, the drive from the airport to Grand Goave took about 45 minutes, but there was never a normal day, so the trip would take about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Loaded up and ready for our 3 hour ride to Gran Goave

The cab of the truck had room for three people, so we sent Estela, Rich, and Becca up front. The rest of us jumped up into the bed of the truck with all the luggage. It was pretty cramped, but gave us the opportunity to see a lot of scenery along the roadways and get some “fresh” air and by “fresh” I mean straight from the exhaust pipes of the other vehicles. We even had the privilege of experiencing it for nearly three hours until we arrived in Grand Goave.

Driving through Port-Au-Prince, we saw a lot of the damage done by the earthquake and loads of tent cities, but we also saw how the people are moving forward with their lives.

Some of the damage leftover from the earthquake

While everyone else in the bed of the truck was taking pictures of and staring confoundedly at the ruins of many of the buildings, I was watching the people, the survivors, and how life goes on because it has to. People were buying and selling, coming home from work and school, bathing, eating, drinking, laughing, and crying. While life in Haiti is different in many ways from life in the U.S., a lot of the everyday activities were the same. No matter where you go, people are people. They have hopes and dreams, jobs, responsibilities, and families. Parents want a good life for their children, and everybody wants to be loved.

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Haiti, A Brief Summary and a Movie!

Well, I’ve made it back from Haiti without a hitch. So much happened during the trip. Overall, it was a great trip with great people. I’ll try to split up the details over several posts in the next week, but for now, please enjoy this video that Matt put together.

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Haiti Map Action

I thought I'd post some images to show where Haiti is and where it is in Haiti that we'll be going.

This is where Haiti is in the Caribbean

First off, Haiti is in the Caribbean, near Cuba. It is actually on the same island as the Dominican Republic. You can view a larger version of the image by clicking on the image.

Map of Haiti

This is a map of Haiti. We will be flying into Port-Au-Prince early Wednesday morning from Miami, Florida.

Grand Goave location from Port-Au-Prince

After we fly into Port-Au-Prince, we will drive to Grand Goave, which is about 55km (33 miles) west of Port-Au-Prince on the coast. Apparently, we will be riding in the back of a pick up truck the whole way, so I hope it's not raining when we arrive.

Grand Goave satellite image

Here is a satellite image of the village of Grand Goave. It's right on the coast, but not sure there's much of a beach there to visit.

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Haiti Training, Part 3

We had our last training session today. It seemed like more of a review of things we discussed in the previous two sessions, but there was still some good information. We each got assigned a task for the trip like logistics, thank you notes, writing an article about the trip, etc. My task is security. I guess since I practice karate and asked about safety issues in the last session, I get to be the security guy. I’m not sure

From back left: Estela, Becca, Rich, Matt, Jason From front left: Me, Tyler, Tim, Janelle

exactly what that means, but I guess I’ll figure it out. We practiced more Creole, and Becca brought a phrase sheet with some other common phrases. As promised, I did get a picture of the group, but it didn’t turn out so well as there was a window behind us.

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Watch What You Say

I was listening to Mornings with Brant this morning on the way in to work, and Brant, one of the three hosts (and obviously the person the show is named after), was talking about how he has difficulty remembering things that he has on his schedule. Two phrases he used really stood out at me while I was listening. He said that when he has an important event on his schedule, he always tells himself over and over, “Don’t forget this. Don’t forget this,” but he inevitably forgets. On a slightly different topic a few minutes later he stated that he takes anti-depressants because if he doesn’t, then every time he makes a mistake or feels like he’s made a mistake, a recording plays in his head that says, “You’re a failure”. He explained that by taking the medicine, he is able to stop and say, “I’m not a failure”. So, the two phrases he used that really stuck out were 1.) don’t forget and 2.) I’m not a failure. These statements are phrased in the negative, using the word “not”. The problem with this is that the human brain only recognizes positives. This means that if you tell yourself “Don’t forget this”, your brain only hears the positives and so it hears “Forget this”. Likewise, if you tell yourself “I’m not a failure”, your brain hears “I’m a failure”. Most people are not aware of this aspect of the human brain and, therefore, use ineffective language when speaking to themselves. It’s best to use positive language when speaking to yourself. So, instead of “Don’t forget this”, you should say “Remember this”, and instead of “I’m not a failure”, you should say “I’m a success”. It takes a while to get used to this form of self-speak, but it does make a difference.

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Shooting Up For a Good Cause

I had an appointment with the travel consultant in Denver a few days ago. We went over the safety and health precautions for travel to Haiti. She suggested tetanus, typhoid, and hepatitis vaccinations. I had already begun my hepatitis vaccination series through the Denver STD clinic since they offer it for free as opposed to the immunization clinic’s fee of $65 per shot. She also mentioned the rabies vaccination, but since it cost somewhere around $600 for the series and it only gives you an extra 24 hours to get to a hospital if you are exposed, I opted not to get it. So, I ended up getting the tetanus shot and typhoid pills. I had heard a lot of horror stories about how painful and sore the tetanus shot would be, even from the woman who gave me the hepatitis vaccination just before I went to the immunization clinic. While all the stories about the pain of the tetanus shot may be true for some, or most, people, I didn’t have any pain or soreness from it. It may have something to do with the fact that I went running for 2 hours after I got the shot, but maybe it’s just that I have some superhuman immunity to pain from immunization shots.

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Let It Snow

The man on the radio was talking about a big storm moving in last night. You may be reading this thinking, spring storm, no big deal; however, when I woke up this morning, there were 3 inches of snow on the ground. Check out the photos.

A shot from the driveway looking out toward the lake

This hanging basket might not be doing so hot this year

Tree being weighed down by the snow

Simple shot of the rocks next to the driveway

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Haitian Training, Part 2

We had our second round of training for the Haiti trip today. Our homework was to do some research on Haiti and share something interesting we learned about the country and to bring some type of foreign food for a potluck. I checked the CIA World Factbook website to get some information. I thought it was interesting that 80% of the population in Haiti claims to be Christian, yet more than half of them practice voodoo. Matt explained that they practice voodoo more as a good luck charm than as a serious religion. My foreign foods were dried squid and mochi from the Asian market. The dried squid is like squid jerky. It’s white and very salty. I actually haven’t tried it myself because I’m allergic to it. Most of the people said it tasted alright, but it was very chewy and salty. Mochi is pounded rice, rolled into a ball and filled with red bean curd. It’s meant to be a dessert. It is sweet, but not as sweet as American desserts. It wasn’t too popular among the other missionaries.

I was curious what the safety policy was for everyone on the trip. More specifically, I was wondering what the policy was if we woke up in the middle of the night and heard one of the others being dragged out of their tents and being kidnapped. Matt said that his plan was to come out of his tent ready to take action. That sounded good to me. I just wasn’t sure if the policy in those situations was compliance rather than resistance. I’m sure there won’t be any problems, but it’s always good to be prepared.

I was planning on taking a group photo to post with this entry, but I forgot to do it before everyone left. I’ll be sure to include one with the report on the next training session.

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Singled In

Let me start by saying that I have absolutely nothing against marriage, and I do not think poorly of people who are married. Everyone is different with different desires and different purposes for their lives. Now, on with the show.

I listen to Christian radio on my way to work every day. The station I usually listen to is called Way FM, at least here in Colorado. In the morning, when I am usually listening, there is a talk show interspersed between songs, called Mornings with Brant. There are three people on the talk show who participate regularly in the conversations. Their names are Brant, obviously, Pablo, and Nikki. Brant and Pablo are married, and Nikki is single, which is the point that I am getting to if you’ll just be a little more patient.

One morning several months ago, I heard them discussing marriage, or more accurately, people who are not or do not get married. I would guess that Nikki is in her mid-twenties, which may as well be ancient for a Christian woman who is still single (at least according to most Christians). I turned on the radio in the middle of the conversation, so I didn’t catch how they got to talking about this topic, but they were basically discussing the fact that many people think there is something wrong with people who never get married. It seemed like Nikki was upset by something she had read or heard from someone about older single people. Brant and Pablo referenced the verse in I Corinthians 7:8-9 where Paul talks about people who don’t get married, and they used this to justify the fact that there is nothing wrong with remaining single. I was a bit annoyed by this because the verse does not say that there is nothing wrong with staying single. It actually says that there is nothing wrong with getting married, but that it is better to stay single. Paul clearly states that there are two paths people can choose in life, to get married or to stay single, and he clearly states that the higher (better) path is to stay single. He says that if you cannot control your urges, then it is perfectly fine to get married, but the better path is to stay single. So, the verse that Brant and Pablo used to justify single people should actually be used to justify married people. Just before I arrived at work and turned off the radio, I heard Nikki say that she would be perfectly fine if she never got married. I thought that was really cool because for most of the women (and especially the Christian women) that I’ve met, their highest priority seems to be getting married.

Well, I guess that I’ve ranted on long enough on this subject, but just wanted to get the word out on this or my opinion anyway.

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Haitian Training, Part 1

No, it’s not training to become Haitian. It’s training to prepare for the trip to Haiti. We have three 4-hour sessions lined up to get to know each other and to learn more about missions and Haiti. At the meeting this afternoon, we discussed the purpose of missions trips, we came up with a slogan for our team, we learned a little bit about cultural differences, and we finished by learning to speak a little Haitian Creole. The slogan we came up with is “Go”, as in don’t just sit around waiting for something to happen, go make something happen. I think it’s a bit simple, but it works. I thought something like “Building bridges” would be a bit better because we are going on a construction project, but we are also going there to build bridges across cultures and spiritual boundaries. As for what we learned about cultural differences, it was focused mostly on realizing that even though we are going there to build a school or church, the real reason we are going is to reach out to the people and make a difference in their lives. Learning Haitian Creole was interesting. It sounds a lot like French, but it is spelled quite differently. Kouma ou ye (pronounced koo-mah oo yay) means “how are you”. Mwe rele Nick (pronounced mway ray-lay Nick) means “my name is Nick”. Those are probably two of the most useful phrases that we learned. Also, Bonjou (pronounced bohn-joo) means “good morning”. Apparently in Haiti, if you don’t say bonjou to someone you pass on the street, they will think you are very rude.

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Haiti is Where It's Happening

I found out that Crossroads Church is organizing a missions trip to Haiti to rebuild a church or a school a few weeks ago, when I saw the announcement in the trail map, which they give out as people walk in to the services on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. When I first heard about the earthquake there, my initial thought was to get on a plane and head down there to help out. Unfortunately, I had just started teaching a course in ecology that lasted for two months, and there was no chance of getting out of it. The deadline for turning in the applications was today, and mine was on the top of the pile (yes, that means I turned mine in last). The church is sending two teams. One team will be going at the end of June, and the other will be going at the beginning of July. The team I’m on is supposed to leave on July 9th, and we will be there for about one week working to rebuild a church or a school.

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