Morgan Dibble Has Become Unstuck in Time...

The title is an allusion to the protagonist Billy Pilgrim in the late Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. So it goes. Although Sunday morning marked the beginning of my final week in Bayonnais, you would think I was just arriving with the plethora of tasks we have yet to finish. Last week we purchased the lumber, rebar, and wiring for the construction of the bunk beds, the termination of the bridge, and the installation of the ceiling fans, respectively. The batteries arrived for the solar power system (for those of you keeping up with that saga) and this weekend I will perform my first “equalization”. A closer look revealed that the sponsor information was not collated correctly with the corresponding pictures and I have spent several hours chasing down very mobile elementary school students. The English classes continue to thrive and the students are anxious to perform a new song for the delegation from Charlotte whose arrival we have also been preparing for. Among the task performed by this group will be the installation of reading lights in all of the rooms of the guest house so that visitors may read in their spare time.

I am sure that many of you have plenty of your own “to-do-lists” and do not need to read another, no matter where it comes from, so I will highlight some of the eccentricities that make Haiti interesting. April marks the beginning of mango season and the people of Cathor are graciously devouring nature’s annual banquet. I was startled the first few times I caught a rustling out of the corner of my eye and realized that it was a young child scaling the high limbs of a tree but after a few weeks that has become commonplace. Contrary to the abundance of mangoes, the bottled water ran out a few weeks ago and I was left drinking soda and a syrupy artificial juice. Eventually, I buckled under pressure from the sweetness and began drinking the local tap water which I found is not only plentiful but more flavorful than boring American H20 (vitamin enriched?). With many of the OFCB staff out of town (or out of the country) and no visitors, our meals have been very unconventional. I used to think “breakfast for dinner” was such a novel idea when I was a child and we were served big sausage links, Belgian waffles, and scrambled eggs at 7:00pm. Waking up first thing in the morning to hot spaghetti and Coca-cola surprisingly does not have the same appeal. “Oatmeal only” and “Saltines for supper” evenings have proved that the Haitian weight-loss program puts Atkins, Weight-Watchers or any other American fad-diet program to shame. The only thing unhealthier than my eating habits may be may hygiene. The cleaning lady took my clothing to be washed and a suspicious rain cycle stifled any chance of drying. I ended up wearing the same t-shirt for several days in a row and I subsequently learned how to create a personal space for myself.

I am going to write about all of the friendships I have made and what an impact this experience has had on me but with five days of hard work and fellowship left, there is no need to get nostalgic yet…