holidaze

i know, i know… i've been a very bad blogger.  

what can i say?… got caught up in life!      

anyway… i had an amazing winter holiday in the states… hitting up ohio, san diego, utah and montana! highlights:  canyons, hot springs, cabins, snow, home cooking', family, bison burger and deep love.  

Happy 2012!  

we're still alive (so make the most)!  

one rad little camp stove :)

check this out... so, i discovered this more than a year ago and i've been meaning to post about it ever since but... better late than never, ey?

it's a little camp stove made out of an aluminum soda/beer/whatever can. it burns methyl alcohol (you can pick up a bottle of HEET at any auto parts store or gas station). it's super efficient (about a capful can boil a liter of water). and there is essentially no cost for materials. here's a video on how to make one.

I heard about it from a couch surfer that i hosted while living in Seoul, Korea.  He was living in a van part-time and he said he used it to heat water, to cook, for basically everything.  I was stoked to learn about it, cuz it's pretty much the same thing you get when you buy a fancy camp-stove at REI, only it's free!  I never got around to making one myself, but the nice couch surfer dropped one off at my apt his next time passing through Seoul.  Now that i live in haiti, where electricity is scarce &/or spotty, i've been using it regularly to make my morning coffee, boil some pasta, etc.  now i've just gotta spread the wealth... cuz such a thing shouldn't be kept a secret.  below are some pics of the one i use (made w/ a red bull can... extra compact).  this model is a bit different than the one in the video, but same concept.  

this simple little thing seriously makes my life better and i love it for that.  i hope you try it out.. let me know if you do!  :)

nifty little stand, ey?

morning coffee, gotta have it

late night ramen fix ;)

all aboard the CATALINA CHERIE!

in the words of my good friend, sabina, .... "Does your country have a boat on wheels that goes around selling snowcones only if you talk to a man in a helmet via the old payphones glued to its side? ... I didn't think so."


 well, we do!... and no, we don't live in NYC, San Fran or burning man (although would make a killer art car).  ;)

check him out...  he lives in Cite Soleil and goes around selling "FRESCO" (shave ice/snow cones) in the Catalina Cherie, a lovely boat rigged up w/ telephones to make your order (if you speak to him directly, he'll just ignore you).  he always sports a football helmet and big headphones, which are connected to the phone lines.  




classic!    zo bagay.  

Sun City Cribs

Welcome to my home in Bwa Nef, Cite Soleil, where i've been living now for the last  5 months.  :) 

I needed to upgrade from my initial temporary shelter, which was essentially 4 blue, plastic tarp walls, one door and a tin roof.  I had pitched my tent on the rubbly floor inside to sleep.  Needless to say, it was as hot as hell in there.  I had nowhere nice to chill during the day because it was too hot inside, and i had no yard or personal space outside.  Plus, there are so few trees in Cite Soleil that it's nearly impossible to escape the fierce, haitian sun.  

cozy, eh?

So, with all this heavy in my mind, one day, I spotted some trees [!] that were popping up over a small fenced in area.  On tippy-toes, I peeked over the fence to look inside and I saw a little shady yard w/ a little, rusty tin shack in it.  A woman and child were sitting in the yard.  I said hello and that I really liked her spot and then expressed to her that I wished I could live there.  She said, "Really?  Ok, then!".  So I replied, "But if I were to move in here, where would you then live?", to which she replied that she would just find another place and to come back tomorrow to talk.  And that is exactly what I did.  Within the week, I had my very own shanty house and shaded yard for the price of $250 for the year (and I was being generous)!  

cooking station

It was/is definitely an undertaking, but I'm one who loves these types of projects.  I painted over the rusty scrap metal walls, started replacing the dilapidated and dangerous scrap metal fencing with woven coconut palm fronds, had a new front door built, and got some free scrap wood to bang together some simple furnishings.  It sure has been a process, but I'm now living quite comfortably.  

composting bucket

There is electricity most of the time so I have a 2-burner electric stove for cooking and an oscillating fan for staying cool at night.  I now have 2 beds (a double for me and a single guest bed).  I use a simple bucket composting method for a toilet.  And I had a private water line run into my yard (it's all about who you know), so no more hauling water for me!  For bathing, i use the simple, yet refreshing, bucket bath method in an enclosed area outside.  I've also organized the rubble in the yard and hauled in some good soil to make a vegetable garden.  Life is shaping up for me in Sun City.  

Next upgrades will be a kiddie pool and a hammock!     :)  

i have a big bed!  :)

I've also recently placed my guest bed on Couchsurfing and hope to host some adventurous spirits in Cite Soleil soon and show them that it's nothing like what they've probably heard.  It has its days, for sure, but I like my life here.  Feel free to visit!

lakay se lakay [home is home]

ah!  bucket bath w/ peppermint bronners!

front gate

simple things..

after a few days of being under-the-weather (just feeling weak, tired, no appetite), i finally awake this morning feeling rejuvenated and back to my normal self.  i'm not one to fall ill so easily (even after drinking the tap water and eating street food on a regular basis, even in the slum of a country such as haiti), so when i do catch a bug, it really makes me realize the value of good health.  there is nothing that comes before it.

and now that i'm feeling normal again, i can once again appreciate all of the other simple, beautiful things that life has to offer.  for example… these teeny, weeny flowers have been raining down from the moringa tree in my yard for a week now, littering the floor of my outdoor bathing area.  and, although i've always appreciated seeing them, scattered about at my feet, i'd never taken the time to look closely and realize just how exotic they are… like miniature orchids.  

so, that's all.  i just wanted to share one of the itty bitty things from my daily life that give me great pleasure.  don't forget to take time to smell the flowers.   have a wonderful day!

i'm back!?

seriously, it has been so long since i've posted, and i only keep putting it off because i really just don't know where to begin.  catching up….. since my last post…  a lot has been going on!  

spent about a month in the states from early august to early september… family, friends, love & my first burning man.  vacation well spent.  :)

snake (soley leve's graffiti artist) tagging his way thru the cite

back in haiti, things are rocking & rolling in Cite Soleil.  Soley Leve (the rising sun movement) has been getting lots of attention and has found some financial support!  this means that not only can we achieve a lot more regarding community development, but also that i will have a stipend to cover my living expenses, allowing me to stick around a while longer!  you see… just go after your dreams, do what you really love, and things generally work out for the best.  love it!  

soley leve truck brings the sound & the party

So life in the Cite is pretty good… there has been some violence in my hood since being back, but things seem to be stabilizing now.  Each day this week we've been holding community action days in different neighborhoods to revive the movement in a big way.  The events have been a big success… every day we load up the Soley Leve truck (yes, we have a truck now!) w/ a big sound system, bringing the party to the street where the action is happening… envision crowds of people dancing w/ brooms, shovels and paintbrushes in hand.  It makes getting dirty a lot of fun!  Monday is a Haitian national holiday commemorating Dessaline's death.  There will be a big march through the Cite, followed by a big party in Plas Fyete, the public plaza.  i love my life.

Here's a nice excerpt from the book i'm reading now (Just & Lasting Change: When Communities Own Their Futures, by Daniel and Carl Taylor), which pretty much sums up what i'm doing here in Haiti: 

Go to the People.

Live with the People, 

Learn from the People.

Plan with the People, 

Work with the People.

Start with what they  know, 

Build on what they have.

Teach by showing, learn by doing.

Not a showcase, but a pattern.

Not piecemeal, but integrated.

Not odds and ends, but a system.

Not to conform, but to transform.

Not relief, but release.

~Jimmy Yen

a student of the world, I'm learning every day.  we all have something to offer.  let's help each other out.  

love, light, peace and joy!   will post again soon!  :)

yummy seasons :)

Those who know me well probably know how excited I get about mango season, particularly in Haiti.  I’m talking mangoes EVERYWHERE; lining the streets in pretty little green & yellow piles, heaped in baskets atop the heads of women en route to market, loaded to capacity in big trucks from the country to the city, the sound of one falling from the blow of a sandal, rock or green mango cast by a young boy or girl, and the smell of them fermenting on the ground during peak season (there are that many).  Mangoes of some forty different strains, varying in shape, size, taste, color & texture, can be found in haiti.  I, of course, have my favorites, but it’s fun to try them all.  Another thing that makes mango season in Haiti better than anywhere else is that you can buy a whole big pile of ‘em for about fifty cents (that and people are always gifting them)!  I almost live on mangoes alone through the months of January - July in Haiti.   

And just when I’m about to turn into a mango… avocados come to the rescue!  Mango season is petering out now & the avos are starting to roll in (the absolutely best time ever) here in haiti.  Since the day I spotted the first avocado in the street about a week ago (the lady selling stuff had only one &, after doing a double-take, I turned around to snag it up) I have, no lie, been thriving pretty much solely on avocados an mangoes.  It’s just too friggin’ hot for me to eat a plate of hot & heavy rice w/ beans & sauce.  …but a nice avo salad (avo, tomato, onion, olive oil & balsamic vinegar) has been my daily pleasure (maybe next week I’ll switch to guacamole w/ homemade tortillas ;).  And, here, a beautiful rich avocado sells for about 20 cents each.  Eating those imported things in the temperate US just doesn’t do it for me.  Haiti’s got me hooked.    ;)        

       

ps: i borrowed these pics from the web.