Gray water and green roofs

My biggest concern coming here was what it would be like to live here – with the heat, the mosquitos, the sun, the shared living space and the relatively confined life within the walls of the school. So far, I have been pleasantly surprised that none of the above is nearly as challenging as I imagined it would be. To be sure, it’s hot here during the day. I try to avoid the noon sun as much as possible, because it is powerful. But to my surprise, it’s not really humid at all here, and there is often a beautifully refreshing breeze. It has rained on many afternoons, and the evenings have mostly been cooler, breezy and lovely. The other night was so cool – just above 80 – that I seriously considered wearing a long sleeved shirt to bed1

The mosquitos are no joke. I never seem to see them (what a surprise …) but they have been enjoying an all you can eat buffet around my legs. I hate bug spray, but I think it’s just going to have to become more a part of my daily routine.

The living space is definitely crowded, but luckily the people with whom I’m sharing it are so delightful that it’s really not so bad. There are 9 American volunteers living in the upstairs living space, along with 6 - 9 (depending on he day) of the Haitian staff who live here. We share 2 bathrooms, one small common room, and a wide open, breezy hallway. Downstairs in the main administration building is our eating and cooking space. We’ve spent the better part of the last week working on renovating that space. I’ve watched with a certain degree of awe as some of the guys have rebuilt a few concrete walls that were crumbling. We’ve scoured and repainted three huge rooms, and yesterday managed to open a wrought iron gate that had been blocking a sliding glass door which, according to one of the staff, “hadn’t been opened since Christopher Columbus came.” Fun with sledgehammers!

I know it’s all the rage in the states to try to figure out how to engineer and build “green” buildings, and in many ways, I’m living in the developing world version of one. The school is completely solar powered, which is a huge benefit considering the limited infrastructure in this country. Tricia, where does Haiti fall on the CGLA rankings?? Similarly, we don’t waste anything here. Anything. When you shower, there’s a big bucket underneath the shower head to catch the so called “gray water.” That water is then used to flush toilets (since there’s not enough water pressure to do it, it’s necessary to pour water from a bucket down the toilet to flush it.) And naturally, since water is such a precious resource, people here absolutely follow the “if it’s yellow let it mellow …” rule. Any leftover food is composted. Glass jars are reused. There is a rooftop garden whose purpose is not so much to reduce cooling costs – since air conditioning is non-existent – but actually will produce food. I’ve never been so aware of my carbon footprint as I am here!

On the other hand, there’s no EPA in Haiti. Trash is burned – all of it. That includes plastics that certainly should not be burned, but there’s not really anything else to do with it. When we wash clothes or dishes with bleach, the dirty water (if it’s not used to flush a toilet!) is just tossed outside. I can’t imagine that’s good for any living creature … Outside of the school the trash problem is overwhelming. There’s just trash everywhere, because there’s nowhere to put it and no infrastructure to deal with it.

The school grounds are really quite beautiful. The buildings are all white and yellow, and there are tons of trees and gardens surrounded by low concrete walls to sit on. There are 2 basketball courts – which are constantly in use – and a soccer field. There are lots of little tables and benches all around where people just sit around and talk or play cards or play dominoes for hours. There’s a beautiful little playground in the back with swings and 2 big plastic slides and a jungle gym. Yesterday we invited all of the little kids from the neighborhood around the school to come in for an hour to play. There were about 30 kids running around that playground laughing their heads off. The hour flew by! There’s also a library here that PHA teachers would envy! What I can tell so far is that there is a real culture of reading and books here, and I’m eager to see that in action once the students all arrive.

So far, I don’t have any sunburns, I haven’t melted from the heat, I’m enjoying my cold showers and not feeling imprisoned at all. Let’s hope it stays that way!