Surgery and Salsa Success!

We had a lot of exciting things happen last week. On Monday, we celebrated the 4th of July with an "American" meal that consisted of potato salad, BBQ chicken, salad, and this amazing red, white, and blue cake that our cook, Jeanine, baked for us! She is the best. I need a cooking lesson at some point!

As many of you heard, a few weeks ago, we got kicked out of a Latino Night at the club down the street...for our dancing. Seriously, the made an announcement in English and Creole that said "It doesn't matter if you are Haitian, or if you are white... but especially if you are white...and you cannot dance, please get off the dance floor!" Obviously miffed, we left the club, but not before being chastised for wearing flip-flops. So, the next weekend, we went to the Leogane market and bought some spiffy new heels and dresses. Although I paid more for the shoes than I would have liked (the woman selling them impatiently reminded me that rhinestones are pricey these days), I managed to buy the entire outfit for less than twenty dollars. I'm proud of my bargaining skills! 

We also have been taking (free) salsa lessons at English club (which really is a salsa club with an English lesson on Fridays...if and only if it is not raining?). Haitians take their salsa very seriously! We are coming along, however. 

Annie and our friend Jeffrey practicing 

This Thursday, we made our salsa debut at Masaj! We didn't get kicked out and there were no announcements made in our honor. Overall, SUCCESS!

Room 232 in our new Haitian outfits! Check out my bedazzled shoes! 

Annie and I taking a break from dancing at Masaj

We also finally got to see some surgeries in the hospital! Nadine, Stephani, and I got to see a woman get a melanoma cut off her foot, while Lisa, Annie, and Jenn got to see a thyroid surgery. The experience was positive for me in the following ways: 

1) confirmed that I am not meant to be a doctor. There was so. much. blood. 

2) confirmed that some people are, however, meant to be doctors. I was so impressed by the way my friends handled the environment! I could tell that they wanted to be there, that they were interested in the procedure, and that they wanted to see more. I, on the other hand, focused all of my energy on trying not to vomit. 

Okay, so maybe those "positives" were tinged with negativity, but in all honesty, I am glad that I got to see a surgery in a Haitian hospital. I was impressed by the cleanliness of the OR, and the doctors' and nurses' skills and smiling faces. The experience gave me hope for l'Hopital Sainte Croix! 

Stephani and Nadine looking likes pros before surgery... I just look nervous!

What a successful and educational week! We made a super long "To-Do" list of tasks to complete and things to explore before we leave in... twenty days! I will keep you updated on our progress. Au revoir!

Vacation and hiking in the mountains!

This past week, Duke Engage took a trip to the mountains. We stayed at a Haitian family's mountain villa, hiked 22 miles, and spent some time with a naturalist named Winny! 

Jean-Marc and Verena's mountain villa

Haiti

Provence-inspired guest house

Me on the hike!

We also helped Ben and Cindy Reese, two psychologists associated with Duke and FHM, with their ally training project. The training is meant to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The PTSD "allies" receive their certificates

Over 110 women were at the Fondwa training! 

On Saturday, Missy drove us to the seaside town of Jacmel, where we met up with our friend Angelica from Yale. Look how beautiful it is! 

Update on the Maternal Mortality Project

We've done 30 interviews in 7 days of field work! On one hand, I am SO EXCITED that the surveys and data are coming in so quickly, but on the other hand, I am devastated by the real-life implications of this. In just seven days, with little to no strategy, we were able to find 30 people who knew a mother, sister, daughter, cousin, or friend who died from complications related to childbirth. I knew from my preliminary research that Haiti's Maternal Morality Rate (MMR, for short) was 630 deaths /100,000 births (more facts on Haiti's healthcare here), which is astronomically high compared to the US's MMR of 13.3 deaths/ 100,000 births, according to the World Health Organization. However, I didn't expect to literally stumble upon so many people who had lost a loved one. Here's a document from UNICEF on the causes of maternal morality, if you care to read more: www.unicef.org/health/files/PreventingmaternaldeathsQandA.doc. What's the percentage of maternal deaths that occur in "developed "(I hate that term, but that's what UNICEF uses) countries? 1 percent. 99 percent occur in "undeveloped" states. 

Sagar and our translator, Valery, doing an interview in a tent city near our hospital. Notice how the siding is donated by Samaritan's Purse, an International Relief organization that identifies itself as being Evangelical. The siding on the next house was donated by USAID ("From the American People" it reads in bold letters), and the next one was from the Red Cross Society of China. I think I am beginning to understand why Haiti is called "A Republic of NGO's."  

Around Town

I thought I would post some pictures of things around Leogane. (Keep in mind that this city was the epicenter of the 7.0 earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010. Around 90 percent of buildings fell, and the estimated number of deaths ranges from 40,00-100,000, depending on your source.  Quick background on Haiti's earthquake)

This mural was painted to commemorate some Duke students who stayed in this building one summer! "Haitians say that you can tell they are smart because they are wearing glasses," said Missy, the in-site coordinator for FHM.

At the "port" of Leogane. "I sailed my ship to safety... until I sank it." The water is so hot, it's almost unbearable to swim! 

(This picture was taken through the van window, so it looks like there are icicles hanging from the roof. I assure you that there is NO ICE in Haiti). This is a hotel (with rooms at a pricey rate of $65/night!)  that was just opened by our friend Fritz, an avid entrepreneur who built the place after the earthquake to give "Haitians something to hope for." He also built a "green" house (clarification: it's "green" because it is painted green-duh!- and not because it is eco-friendly) We watched the Mavs beat the Heat on a flat screen in the lobby! (So glad I got to see this, live!)

This is the Nursing School of Leogane! I wish I had a panoramic setting on my camera, so that I could capture the huge tent city that lies beyond the gates surrounding the school. Many of the nurses who work in l'Hopital Sainte Croix (where I live) were educated here. (I took this picture for my mom, who is a professor at the University of San Diego's Nursing School! Go Mom! And nurses!) 

This is a tribute to my friends who go to school at the University of Notre Dame! ND has a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation (who also fund Duke Engage!) to treat and eradicate neglected tropical diseases, like Lymphatic Filariasis, in Haiti. This is the guest house where the people from ND stay when they come....pretty swanky, if I do say so! Read more about ND's efforts in Haiti here: http://haiti.nd.edu/

Some things are universal

Yesterday, I met a thirteen year-old girl named Linda in one of the tent cities. Although she can speak very little English, and I speak even less Creole, we somehow figured out that we were destined to be friends. I love her sassiness! 

Linda taught me that some things are universal. The list (so far) includes

1. A friendly smile

2. fist-bumping

3. high fives

4. laughing (at or with someone)

5. Shakira's "Waka Waka" dance

6. Justin Bieber. Seriously, the kid is painted on tap-taps next to Jesus! And I sang "Baby" in English with three Haitian kids today.

Other popular American artists include: Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Rick Ross, Akon, and Jason Derulo.

Typical Linda. She was probably making fun of me when this picture was taken.

Today we went back to the tent city and ran into Linda again! Yesterday I asked her why she wasn't at school, and she told me that she was "taking a day off." When I teased her about skipping two days in a row, she told me that she didn't have enough money to go to school. I felt foolish for joking about it, and chastised myself for assuming that she was lazy. She also told me that her dad is in Port-au-Prince and that he won't pay for her to go to school. She has five brothers and sisters as well.  I still have SO MUCH to learn about life in Haiti.

BABIES at the compound! A Haitian woman was educating her peers on healthy habits, pregnancy myths and facts, and how to avoid cholera. Yay public health!

Big and little brother 

INSANITY!

Mama Bear Nicole (our family tree will be explained in a later post) enjoys doing a DVD workout program called Shaun T's INSANITY workout when she is not training for ultra marathons (her personal insanity will also be explained in a later post-- just kidding! We love you, Nicole!) We've done Insanity almost every day since we got here, and I have to say, we are going to be looking fantastic when we leave Haiti! It's like doing the most intense workout in a bikram yoga studio, considering the hospital does not have air conditioning, and we are, after all, in Haiti, where it is hot.

My personal workout studio! From Target: A yoga mat, jump rope, and Jumpstretch bands! 

First Weekend in Leogane!

The weekend brought many new things for us to explore, including some nearby restaurants, a talent show, Clowns Without Borders (whose mission is to leave "No Child Without a Smile"), a 2-hour church service (that's on the short side, apparently), and goat for dinner tonight! 

Friday night a few of us went across the street to"Masaje" and danced in the rain! Sagar taught us some Bhangra, Nadine and Sedlin showed off their traditional Haitian dance skills, Lisa and Steph demonstrated the basics of salsa, and Annie and I danced in the way that white girls do: like fools!Despite my apparent lack of dance skills, I had a ton of fun blowing off some steam, dancing until the club closed and laughing until my sides hurt. When I knocked on Nicole's door to tell her that we were home, she responded with, "Are you sweating? Or is it raining?" I hadn't even noticed that I was dripping wet. "Uhh... a little bit of both...we were dancing the entire time... outside." This indicates two things: it was a great night, and I have completely abandoned the cause of keeping up my appearance. (See pictures for further evidence). 

On Saturday we woke up early and went into the field. We got lucky and ran into a Haitian midwife (Miss Tiot), who had many fascinating stories about the hundreds of babies she has delivered since she was fifteen! We told her that we are having trouble finding people who know someone who has died shortly after childbirth (we know you are out there...come out, come out, wherever you are!), she advised us to make an announcement over the radio station. We found the address of the station and set out to find it, but once we got there, we saw that the building had been ruined during the earthquake. About to turn around, a woman pointed us to a "Chinese Red Cross"  tent that was almost hidden behind the remains of the building. Unfortunately, the price they quoted for us was too expensive. I guess we will have to rely on old fashioned word-of-mouth to inform the population that we are looking for people to interview!

Saturday night, we met a group of people from All Hands Volunteers, an NGO that specifically works in areas that have been affected by natural disasters, at a restaurant called Joe's. They put on a talent show, and Nadine, Lisa, and Elisabeth managed to whip together an impromptu (yet perfectly harmonized) version of "Amazing Grace!" Mama Nicole was so proud, she said we can keep our privileges to leave the hospital (aka "the nest" or "the compound" and even "home" by now). 

We went to a two-hour church service at 7AM this morning (doesn't that count for extra Holy Points?).  Although the service was in Creole, and they sang the same song at least 4 times (I recognized the tune, if not the words), I still enjoyed seeing Haitians in their Sunday best (even the kids were dressed to kill) and was again stunned by the open-mindedness of my peers. Not all of us are Christian, few of us speak Creole, and none of us enjoy getting up early, yet all of us passed on a rare chance to sleep in (and breakfast!) in favor of exposing ourselves to something incredibly unfamiliar and exciting. Duke Engage Haiti really does attract amazing people!

After church, we went over to "Mon P'tit Village" to watch some Haitian kids show off their newly-learned karate skills! We got a kick out of "Clowns Without Borders" (seriously, it exists: http://clownswithoutborders.org/), who were also a part of the show. Once we got back to HSC, we ate dinner, which included goat, rice and beans, some veggies, and yellow cake for dessert!

Our (Lisa, Steph, Annie, Erin) room! Our white hospital beds in a line remind me of "Madeline." The only thing that we have that she didn't is white mosquito nets! 

My favorite picture that I have taken so far! Steph was overwhelmed by the kids at the school, who wanted to see their faces on her camera!