I woke up on Tuesday, feeling sad that it was my last full day in Corail. I spent the morning at Hope on a String, helping the staff input the previous day's attendance into the spreadsheet I created to keep track of attendance, both on the individual student level and on the larger class level. Hopefully, through the Excel classes and the help I provided, the staff will be able to input hte attendance regularly. The challenges that they face (which occurred on this day), is that when HOAS runs out of electricity, and the HOAS computer is not charged, they can't input the information. I charged my computer at the house and then brought it down to do the attendance.
Currently, HOAS uses a battery system for electricity. They bring their batteries somewhere to get charged, and then use them at HOAS for light, fans, charging instruments. However, they do not have something that indicates how much electricity they have left, so they don't know when they are almost out of electricity until they are completely out of electricity. HOAS recently received a grant, which they will use to improve their power system. They are going to buy solar panels and a generator, which will greatly improve life at the center.
There was also an adult music theory and recorder class going on, which I was able to snap a few photos of. The teacher, Maestro Nelly, is very popular, as are his classes.
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| Adult Recorder Class |
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| Learning about reading music and playing the recorder |
I also walked around the music practice that was going on. Many
students came at this time to borrow instruments and just practice!
There was a a beautiful cacophony of sound at the center as people
practiced clarinets, trombones, trumpet, saxophone, keyboard.
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| Music Practice |
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| Maestro Nelly (right) helping a student |
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| Practicing the trombone! |
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| Friends coming to practice the clarinet together. They practiced for over 2 hours! |
Afterward, Bennett and I walked around Corail with Zach Niles, an American filmmaker who is currently working in Haiti to film and produce a film featuring Haitian musicians, called Lakou Mizik. He hopes to explore Haitian culture and resiliance through the music and stories of local artists. It is also his hope to connect listeners, like you and I, directly with the artists to show our support. Visit the website - http://www.lakoumizik.com/. We showed Zach Hope on a String and he was able to see the wind class and music practice, then we walked him down to the Corail Market, which is open now, for the first time in 10 years.
On this walk, I was able to see a lot of my Chante Timoun and Dans students and other friends who live in the community. It was very sad to inform them that I had to leave the next day. Whenever I told someone I had to leave, I explained that my work was starting soon and that my vacation time was ending. "When will you return?" everyone asked. "When will you come back?" I had to be careful to promise anything, so I said, "I don't know, but I have vacation in December."
The rest of the afternoon was spent learning about Zach's projects and teaching him about Hope on a String's mission and vision. I had my last lunch, which again, made me sad. Viola really made a fantastic spread for my last big meal in Haiti - piklez, potato and carrot salad, fried plantains, dirty rice and beans, fried chicken, and even brought us each a Prestige.
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| Viola and her delicious meal! |
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| From left to right: fried plantains, carrot and potato salad, piklez, tomato/oil sauce with potatoes, onions, and carrots, fried chicken, rice and beans |
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| PIKLEZ! |
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| The best last lunch. |
Afterwards, we visited the soccer field because Mitan was playing Basin-Mahee. Going to the game gave me a great opportunity to see even more people to say goodbye to. Next, Bennett and I attended our last staff meeting with Hope on a String. They discussed how this session is going and talked about how they would improve and execute the upcoming registration for the fall session. They have to time the registration and their classes with the beginning of school and the length of the school day. Unfortunately, the Haitian school system is not nearly as organized or reliable as the American school system. The start day has not been confirmed - it might start in the first week of September or the second week. Because June was particularly dry, to the point of disastrous for some farmers and their families, school might start later to give these family the opportunity to catch up on their crops. So Hope on a String is making plans for a variety of start-dates. At the end of the meeting, I was able to say a final THANK YOU to everyone - Watson, Clyn, Velouse, Cassy, Armonie, and Mumay. They are so wonderful and I will miss them (and Bettie, Violette, Florence, Viola, Asmathe, Sadrac!)
After dinner, we walked down the the solar lamp by the Catholic Church
to hear the Twoubadou group play. The moon, two days shy of being full,
sat brilliantly in the sky; the music filled the air; and I sat and
danced enjoying every moment - trying to soak in everything I was
seeing, hearing, and feeling during my last night in Corail.
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| Some of my friends from Corail and who go to HoaS |
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| Twoubadou |
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| Bennett dancing with Mishu and Lara dancing with Marteen |
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| Twoubadou group with Jwa Chen on drums and Gren on Manouba |
