Haiti Day 2 by Alysha and Hunter

Day 2 In Haiti: Wednesday, February 20th

Today we woke up to a beautiful Haitian day around 7:30. We were well rested and ready for what lay ahead. Around 8:00 breakfast was served, which was absolutely delicious. It was a Haitian version of grits accompanied with an assortment of fruits. We sat after breakfast and waited for our tap-tap, a bus of sorts. We waited, and waited, and waited. The tap-tap showed up about an hour late, but we boarded the back excited none the less.

We began our 20 minute journey on the back of the tap-tap to the farm, stopping to get tools mid-way. We traversed an actual road today, but soon found ourselves driving down an empty riverbed on the way to our destination. Upon arriving we were greeted by smiling farmers and a soapstone carver with a small amount of his carvings on a table. Two of us climbed on a near-tree with Emett, Leah Penniman's son as we waited to start our tour. We climbed down and started shortly after.

Our first stop on our tour was a ravine that showcased the water erosion situation in the area.  We then walked a little ways to a steeper erosion gulf after traversing a goat path (cross it off the bucket list!) We then went to see a 7 year old 'mango forest.' It was quite beautiful.  We went back toward the village to see the nursery. We are all pretty tired right now while writing this so we're going to sum up the rest of the day in bullet points.

* We went to a few nurseries for various plants.

* We also saw the toilet project that was implemented last year from TVHS.

* We hung out in the community center with a few locals for a couple hours and kept Emett entertained for the duration.

* We went to a house in the village and had a very good lunch that consisted of chicken, platano, spicy salad, and chips. We also got to try two new kinds of soda.

* After lunch we got to try coconut water followed by the pulp on the inside. A first for most of us!

* We then went to plant Venever, a super plant. (I apologize if I spelled that wrong, it's late and I'm ready for bed. We've got a long day tomorrow.)

* Again, more food! We all had the chance to try sugar cane. This was absolutely delicious and I used up about a foot and a half of it. Definitely something I wish I had back home.

* After planting and sugar cane these we went to a community meeting to plan out the rest of the week in further detail. This consisted of farmers from the area that wanted Mango Trees planted on their land.

* As nightfall came we loaded into the tap-tap once again for our journey home.

* We were given the same thing for dinner as we had for lunch, it was delicious all over again.

Tomorrow we are going to have a long day! Until then, goodnight readers.

-Hunter Fortuin and Alysha Gagnon