My First Haitian-American Thanksgiving!

Because my camera has crapped out on me, I don't have any of my own Thanksgiving photos to accompany this blog. You will find a few on Ashley's blog though so I borrowed them. To check out her blog click here!

As my title suggests, last week marked my first American Thanksgiving, in Haiti. One of the teachers in our apartment complex organized the entire meal. We split the grocery list and signed up to purchase specific items (all with the help of a google doc.). When I noticed mini-marshmellows on the list I was both excited and somewhat leary of what they might be for. I had spent the week listening to students describe their favourite Thanksgiving dishes and there were some strange ones. Turns out the marshmellows acted as the topping for the sweet potatoes! A totally weird combination, but delish nonetheless.

We had a half-day on Wednesday, which marked the beginning of our long weekend. We got home and immediately Carrie got to work on the turkey. Unlike at home, where my mom is adamant that we all participate in the cooking of the meal, Carrie is the sole master of her kitchen. We were banished (or maybe we just unanimously decided to desert the field) until the final touches were being made to the table.

We ate outside, in the large upstairs alcove that connects my apartment to Carrie's. The spread was outstanding with something for everyone, including the gluten-free and vegetarian. Some of the gastroniomical highlights were the brussell sprouts (my fav!), mashed potatoes, creamed corn, sweet potatoes topped with marshmellows, turkey, cranberry, green beans, and stuffing. It was really fun to share a meal as a big group, and we did our best to include enough dysfunction to make it feel homey. One of the best things about the whole meal? No dishes. Our lovely housekeepers took care of them all!

Turns out that the tryptophan (you that stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy?!) works double-time in tropical climates. None of us could keep our eyes open for long after gorging ourselves, so it ended up being an ETB (early to bed) night, which suited us just fine since we were all headed off on long-weekend adventures the next day. Of course, I made the mistake of starting a book before bed. Divergent by Veronica Roth kept me up until 2am, when I had to call it quits or end up concussed from dropping my Kobo on my face one too many times. I'm on a dystopian teen-fiction kick and loving it!

Kreyol Lessons

Tonight will mark my third Kreyol lesson in two weeks. We've arranged for one of our local friends to teach us, in exchange for English conversation. As far as I can tell, we're getting the better end of that deal. We met Joseph at Giant, our favourite supermarket. He was a friendly, and constant face, and gradually we began to chat more at each of our trips to the grocery store. Joseph had asked one of the other teachers in our complex about English tutoring, in exchange for Kreyol lessons. While that avenue fell through, the rest of us were happy to offer our services. Now we meet twice a week (on Tuesdays and Sundays), at this great restaurant called La Reserve. The atmosphere is fantastic -like sitting on a patio in the middle of the jungle. It's dark and quiet, unless they're playing jazz-lounge remixes of 80s and 90s pop songs.

We're working out of a book that teaches the basics of Kreyol in 16 lessons. It's great having a native speaker to reinforce pronunciation and word order. There are some definite advantages to knowing French, however, the spelling of Kreyol is so phonetic that at times the French root word is unrecognizable. Pronunciation also differs greatly from French. It's exciting to learn another language though and the reaction I get to even attempting to speak Kreyol is well worth the effort.

My favourite word = bagay (stuff), pronounced BAH-GUY.

Media Literacy Unit & Mindset

I have recently launched a new unit in my Grade 7 & 8 writing classes on Media Literacy. I'm using an e-book that was purchased and given to me by another English teacher. In it are comprehensive lesson plans that break down different types of media and teach students to deconstruct the messages they are bombarded with on a daily basis. It's exactly the kind of vehicle I need to deliver my lesson on Jerry. If you've read my old posts, you'll know that Jerry is a famous graffiti artist here in Petionville, and that his work is displayed on the walls we drive by every day. It's gratifying to see how excited my students get about making connections between the images they see from behind their tinted, reinforced windows and the lessons they're learning in class.

While it's very helpful to have pre-made lessons to use, I continue to struggle with them. There's always something that doesn't quite suit my needs, could be worded differently, or just scratches the surface when I want to delve deep. There's no doubt that I'm a perfectionist, and anal about the formatting of my handouts, but there has to be some happy medium to be found. I often supplement these lessons with images or videos, but there is so much information out there that I get easily overwhelmed. As I teacher, I feel that it is my job to know what is a good versus mediocre resource and yet, I could spend days combing the Internet, looking for that "just-right" thing I'm missing. It's discouraging. At times like that, I have to remind myself that I have plenty of years ahead of me to change, improve, and perfect the lessons that I will teach.

I am definitely struggling with my mindset, and often think of the book Mindset, written by Carol Dweck. I like being good at things right off the bat, and have very little patience for myself when I flounder. Being a teacher is a study in organization, group-management, self-discipline, and compassion, and the learning curve is steep!

Marine Ball

Last Saturday (Nov. 10) I was invited to the Marine Ball, in celebration of their 237th birthday. To say this was an event, is an understatement! While I was incredibly excited to attend, I had neither dress nor shoes, appropriate for a black tie affair, nor did I have the foggiest clue of where I might purchase such items. Port-au-Prince is the antithesis of Rodeo Drive. From the streets, all one sees are the crumbling concrete walls and forbidding iron gates. Occasionally, if you know where to look, you might spot a colourfully-dressed mannequin, but window shopping here is like playing Where's Waldo or I Spy. Not an avid shopper to begin with, I quickly realized that my hastiness is accepting the invitation to a ball was ill-advised (I am always complaining that you can never be spontaneous in Haiti). What I needed was a fairy godmother!

She ended up manifesting in a multitude of forms: I got advice on where to shop from several of the local teachers, my apartment-mates were very gracious about letting me steal the car repeatedly, and my hair and make-up on the day of were courtesy of Ashley and Carrie.

The ball was being held at the historic Parc Canne a Sucre, a beautiful outdoor venue, near the U.S. Embassy. I was happy to have found a full-length dress when I arrived, as the women were decked out in some of the finest gowns I've ever seen. The men wore tuxedos and dress-blues. I was fascinated by the different adornments on the Marines's uniforms, and regret that I didn't get much of a chance to discover what they meant.

The U.S. embassador to Haiti was the guest of honour, and she read Hilary Clinton's statement from her recent visit to the country. It was interesting to hear about the role the Marine Corps plays in the security of U.S. personel and interests abroad. There was also a video presentation and the usual pomp and circumstance of the raising of the colours (some of this stuff should probably be capitalized). It made me think about Rob and his tours, the commaraderie that he has spoken of that comes with the dedication and unique circumstances of being a Marine.

There was cake, and dancing, and of the course the open bar, which proved to be my demise (and gives a whole new meaning to drinking the Kool-Aid). Despite the over-indulgence, the evening was a great success and a chance for me to get yet another glimpse of the glammour and glitz that the ex-pat lifestyle can entail.

My advice? If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of these events, don't turn it down!