My Favorite Things

This entire experience, as many have mentioned before, has been about new experiences, meeting new people, making connections, and in general developing (hopefully) some lifelong friendships. I can definitely say that during this adventure I have done all of those things and more. I will never forget the people that I met, the places that I saw, and the emotions that I felt throughout it all.

I developed some new things to call my favorite along the way. When we visited Morne Rouge orphanage, now that was my favorite.

When we met the students at UNAF and shared similar interests in songs, I can say that was my favorite.

Oh! When we walked the miserable path up to La Citadelle and got to enjoy the amazing view at the top; that was my favorite too.

Or when we got to see all of the accomplishments of the students at CTEAD! Definitely one of my favorite things.

The drive to the hotel, man, that was my favorite. I looked forward to that every single day!

Okay, so maybe I have a lot of favorite moments.... Favorite people..... Favorite memories.... A lot of favorites in general. It's hard to describe this trip in one single blog post. It's hard to tell you how this trip has changed me and the way that I view my life. There are no words to say how generous the people of Haiti were to us. There just aren't enough pictures to show you how beautiful this country is and how connected the people of this land are. This entire trip has been one of the best things that I've ever done in my entire life and I'm pretty sure the whole thing is going down as my most favorite thing so far!

~Casey

New experiences

This trip has been a real eye opener for me and made me see the vastness of the world and all the experiences that it has to offer.  I tried lobster for the first time, swam in the ocean, went out of the United States, stayed up until sunrise for New Year's, and met so many new friends in Haiti and at Purdue.  I experienced what it like to be apart of the racial majority, which was a new experience and like seeing the similarities across the world.  Every time images of Haiti are shown in the U.S.A. they never show the beauty that it has to offer.  The people in Haiti were very welcoming and the smiles on their faces showed true determination.  I was inspired by the people's resourcefulness and meeting people who were the first to embark on new areas of study and those who founded new organizations; in a way we met real live pioneers! The way this trip has expanded me as a person is something I would never trade. I truly enjoyed this experience and value the people I spent it with; love you guys! 

I know that all sounded really cheesy, but hey it's true and it can't be worse than the song titles for Anthony's new Farm House album (lol) 

My experience in Haiti

What an awesome experience! The trip to Haiti was such an eye opening experience. Before visiting the country we learned a lot about how the lack of infrastructure has affected the nation, but it didn’t truly sink in until we crossed the Haitian-Dominican border.

The people in Haiti amazed me. Even though many lived in very difficult situations and struggled to provide for their families they were such open and inviting people. I have a new perspective on life and feel very blessed to live in such a great nation. I have a new appreciation for the little things in life.

My group partnered with UNAF. We had the opportunity to learn how to use the resources that a traditional farmer would have to create a level aid. The university is working to teach the agriculture students practical ways to use the resources they have to work in agriculture. Overall we build great relationships with the students at the university and had a wonderful time getting to know them. I was also completely amazed with the generosity of all of our students. We collected, donated, and packed 104 textbooks which were given to UNAF to stock their new library.

Also on the trip some great friendships among the Purdue students were forged. I left the US truly knowing only one person and returned from Haiti with a new family. This experience has cemented us as a team with a passion to pass on our experiences to the next class to travel to Haiti.  

 

~Katie

Back Home Again in Indiana )=

What an exciting winter break! Words cannot describe all the emotions I felt during our trip to Haiti. Before going on the trip I was nervous to be in a foreign country, I didn't know how well we were all going to get along, and I had no idea what to expect other than what we had been told. I expected to gain knowledge about Haiti and about our group's partner: Heifer International but I did not expect the lifelong friendships I made and the cultural experiences I received. It was a different experience not being about to use a lot of verbal communication to talk due to a language barrier but that made it easy to see the excitement and pride in the eyes of the Haitians. I was kind of shocked at how much more advanced our agriculture in the US was compared to Haiti. I expected them to be behind but not that far behind. We really learned a lot from the students and the people we met. I gained several new friends and have a new found appreciation for the little things such as hot water and water pressure. It also showed me the value of family. I have a close knit family but after seeing the family structure in Haiti it made me appreciate my family even more. It seemed like even in the poorest of conditions they still had something to smile about. I definitely cannot wait to go back and to help continue to improve the lives of those hard working people. 

Words can't even begin to explain my experience traveling abroad to Haiti with 17 other Purdue students. As I'm back at campus starting the Spring Semester, I'm oftened reminded of the life lessons I learned while in Haiti. I truly enjoyed conversing with the students and children there whose passion and desire to gain a better way of life was very clear. They were an inspiration to want to help and allow others to see how good life really can be. It's amazing how positive their mentality was in comparison to many others around the world. I learned that even when our main sense of speech was taken away, relationships can still be formed based off of other senses showing through stronger. The power of a smile is commonly overlooked by many. Although I learned alot about Haiti's culture and way of life, I was surprised with the amount of information I learned about myself. I truly feel that I grew alot as a person even though it was such a short period of time. I know that improving personal relationships is definitely something we shouldn't take for granted and someday...I hope to go back :)
Boiler UP,
Bailey

How I spent my Christmas Break!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Christmas Break!

This past Christmas break was very different from any other Christmas break I have experienced in the past. I not only met many new friends but I was able to open my eyes to all the different cultures in Haiti. Many of us know that the culture in Haiti is very different than ours in the U.S. but I don't think you truly understand what it is like until you experience it first hand, and I am sure many of my classmates would agree. While in Haiti we did various things ranging from visiting the UNAF and donating over a hundred textbooks to visiting an orphanage where we had suitcases full of donated items. Being able to interact with the students at the university was one of my favorite parts of the trip, they were so excited to show you around and tell you all about what they are doing at school. Just seeing their faces and how happy they were for us just being there made it worth it and I knew that with the books we donated them and the relationships that we started we will be able to continue helping them.
If asked to go back to Haiti I would say yes in a heart beat, I feel that it really did give me a new outlook on life. I am blessed for what we have in the here in the United States and I feel it is now our job to not only help others but provide them the knowledge to succeed in their careers and life.

-Shelby Englert

Experiences through the New Year

**Originally Written Tuesday January 1st.

Looking back, I cannot believe that tomorrow is our last full day in Haiti. At the beginning of the trip the days seemed to go by really slow. I think part of that has to do with the serene atmosphere at our hotel. You can always hear the waves crashing against the beach. When we are out working and interacting with our partners though the day goes by super fast. 

When we were at the university on Saturday, we talked with the students for a few hours and it seemed like no time at all. One of my favorite memories was talking eith Reggie and talking about different kinds of music and then being able to teach him the Cupid Shuffle.  After visiting the Antenor Firmin University, we went to visit the orphanage.  I was definitely hesitant about visiting the orphanage unsure of how in need the children are.  We were immediately greeted with smiles and the kids all latched on to someone.  Playing with the kids at the orphanage for the few hours we were there seemed like no more than a half hour had passed by.  Sarah who hung around with me the entire time loved my hair and gave me a new hairstyle.  I normally wouldn't wear my hair in the pigtail style she gave me but it made me happy to help her pass the time doing something she wouldn't normally do.  I couldn't communicate with her very easily as she knew little English, but I did find out that she was 18 years old.  She didn't want to play soccer with the other kids but spent the time watching everyone and telling me I was beautiful.  I left the orphanage feeling sad that we had to leave so soon but I was proud of all of the gifts we were able to provide.  Between last year's class fundraising money to provide food for the kids and all of my class' donations, we had more than enough gifts for two orphanages.  

On Sunday, we attended the Antenor Firmin University graduation ceremony.  Dr. Oliver participated by giving a speech with the help of Branley translating.  I definitely felt like an honored guest as we were given the same flower pins as the graduates.  Even though I could not understand what was being said throughout the two hour ceremony, it was interesting to see.  I appreciated having Purdue and all of us there being publicly recognized during the ceremony for the vast amount of textbooks we had donated.  In total, I think we gathered at least 105 books to give to the university.  Gideon Eugene was also excited about the chemistry labs that we could possibly bring in the future.  

Monday was a very busy day for the group.  We woke up bright and early to have breakfast and visit North Coast Farms.  While there, a group was able to make candles from beeswax.  The molds for the candles were beautiful and they had different candles ranging from two kinds of angels, flowers, and cool spheres.  Edson gave my group a tour of the rest of the farm and we learned a lot about the different plants being grown and what they were used for.  He also took us to see the goats which they have been breeding.  He said when they started, they had only ten goats and were up to 34 goats now.  He had questions for us about them such as how soon they should be bred and I could see the need of a different kind of mating system or crossbreeding to be done to help improve the milk production of the goats.  There will soon be a cheese factory built so the milk from the goats will be very important for its success.  After leaving the farm, we started the journey to the Citadelle.  It was an intense drive most of the way up until we reached a parking lot and had to walk the rest of the way.  We were told the walk would take about 45 minutes from that point, and it was definitely a workout.  The path was very steep at points and challenged most of us athletically I think.  When I reached the top where the Citadelle was, it was a beautiful view.  We were going to tour the inside of the Citadelle but we needed to wait for the rest of the group before we started the tour.  While waiting, some clouds blew in and we were inside the clouds.  The view disappeared to a fog and it became really cold.  Unfortunately we missed out on being to see the view from the top of the Citadelle because the clouds blocked the view.  Because we were so high up, our tour guide said that the clouds move in and that happens fairly frequently, so we just had a little bit of bad luck.  We then headed back to the hotel for a long night of dancing bringing in the new year.  

The next day we just stayed at the hotel resting and recuperating from all of the New Years celebrations.  A good number of people were able to stay up until the sunrise.  I could not stay up past 4, but I did wake up again at 6 to be able to see the sunrise.  I had planned like most to lay out on the beach for most of the day and tan, but unfortunately, this was the only rainy and cloudy day we had on the trip.  We did find time to make the Boilermaker Special in the sand which was finished to actually look like a train by Sarah and me. 

 Tomorrow I am looking forward to visiting CTEAD, as my group is looking to collect as much information as we can to help this partner in the future.  The week has passed by so quickly but I feel like we are learning a lot and are definitely becoming a close knit group.

Boiler Up, 

Kim Karlin