Haiti is awesome right now, temperature wise. We meet as a church/team with a few other foreigners every Sunday night and this past Sunday brought some new items from our drawers. Our normal wardrobe includes nylon shorts and tank tops, but this past Sunday was very different. I wore a long-sleeve t-shirt, one girl wore a cute sweater thingy, and one team member had on a pair of jeans.
Let me take you into what it means to wear jeans here in Haiti and specifically in our city. It is very hot here. We do not have air conditioners. Fortunately it is no where near as hot as it was in Texas this summer, but it is hot. The biggest kicker here is that it stays between 75%-100% humidity for most of the year. Jeans are not the desired choice of clothing here. Jeans are thick. They retain water very well (meaning they hold your sweat). And, jeans are dark. The sun on dark pants makes your legs swelter. The fact that this team member had on jeans did not mean that he was trying to make a fashion statement. It meant he was cold.
It has been incredibly cool here in Haiti. Not dry, but cool. Specifically in the evenings. Multiple ones of us are turning our fans off at night because we are getting so cold. My feet are currently cold because they are still a bit wet after my shower and I do have a fan blowing on them. The wind from the van has become like a security blanket. You know, you get used to stuff. The last 3 nights I have slept under (not on top of) my sheet and bed spread, and I wish the bed spread was thicker. I'm sure these sentiments will only last a few months but it is so nice to have them.
On the down side it is very rainy which means it's muddy everywhere out here. Our city is a bit rural which means we have less paved roads than Port-Au-Prince does. We also have, in my opinion, more beautiful scenery like mountains, sugar cane fields, and the occasional rice field, but we have a lot of mud. When I go out into the villages to practice language I come back with some extra love on my feet and ankles. Love meaning, mud. This north Dallas girl has come a long way friends and family.
Except for the rats. You may or may not have seen a video recently (I sent it with one of my email updates) of the girls in our house not so calmly nor successfully trying to capture a rat and get it out of our house. The rats have not been around for 2 days. 3 passed away (via Nick's flip flop), and 1 just left. My favorite quote came from my dad, "Rat movie....so funny!!! You ladies run generators, prosper in a harsh land, etc., etc, but you squeal like little girls at the sight of a "rat" (i.e. mouse). So funny!!" A rat is a rat, that's all I have to say.
Keep checking in for Tuesday night updates, and I once again am soliciting for comments. I love them soooo much! 11 days from now marks 8 months here!!!!!! So crazy. Thank you for reading and praying. We feel it here in this "harsh land," (It's not that harsh).
Let me take you into what it means to wear jeans here in Haiti and specifically in our city. It is very hot here. We do not have air conditioners. Fortunately it is no where near as hot as it was in Texas this summer, but it is hot. The biggest kicker here is that it stays between 75%-100% humidity for most of the year. Jeans are not the desired choice of clothing here. Jeans are thick. They retain water very well (meaning they hold your sweat). And, jeans are dark. The sun on dark pants makes your legs swelter. The fact that this team member had on jeans did not mean that he was trying to make a fashion statement. It meant he was cold.
It has been incredibly cool here in Haiti. Not dry, but cool. Specifically in the evenings. Multiple ones of us are turning our fans off at night because we are getting so cold. My feet are currently cold because they are still a bit wet after my shower and I do have a fan blowing on them. The wind from the van has become like a security blanket. You know, you get used to stuff. The last 3 nights I have slept under (not on top of) my sheet and bed spread, and I wish the bed spread was thicker. I'm sure these sentiments will only last a few months but it is so nice to have them.
On the down side it is very rainy which means it's muddy everywhere out here. Our city is a bit rural which means we have less paved roads than Port-Au-Prince does. We also have, in my opinion, more beautiful scenery like mountains, sugar cane fields, and the occasional rice field, but we have a lot of mud. When I go out into the villages to practice language I come back with some extra love on my feet and ankles. Love meaning, mud. This north Dallas girl has come a long way friends and family.
Except for the rats. You may or may not have seen a video recently (I sent it with one of my email updates) of the girls in our house not so calmly nor successfully trying to capture a rat and get it out of our house. The rats have not been around for 2 days. 3 passed away (via Nick's flip flop), and 1 just left. My favorite quote came from my dad, "Rat movie....so funny!!! You ladies run generators, prosper in a harsh land, etc., etc, but you squeal like little girls at the sight of a "rat" (i.e. mouse). So funny!!" A rat is a rat, that's all I have to say.
Keep checking in for Tuesday night updates, and I once again am soliciting for comments. I love them soooo much! 11 days from now marks 8 months here!!!!!! So crazy. Thank you for reading and praying. We feel it here in this "harsh land," (It's not that harsh).
I'm so happy for your cool weather. A little reprieve from your maker :)
ReplyDeleteThis quote comes to mind after seeing your video... Even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat! I laughed so hard at the video by the way!!
ReplyDeleteHahaha you always make me laugh! I'm glad you're making the best of the rat situation and it's awesome that it's cooler! Enjoy it! Good luck with the language learning, too (I know that was the last post but I'm behind!)!
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