Days 144 & 145 (03/08 – 09)

Thursday – We just had our Du Plan medical team this morning, my final, final Grant Proposal was in and I didn’t have any meetings scheduled (how could that be?) so – it was a perfect day to take Linda sightseeing. It was an adventurous day and an exercise in communication. Spana’s knowledge of English is about as limited as my Creole, so we sometimes struggle. I wanted to go to the studio and workshop of Einstein Albert, a woodworking artist that is gaining worldwide recognition for his beautiful handcrafted bowls. I had gotten one for Linda for Christmas and was very interested in seeing his studio. Spana had taken Sarah there several weeks ago, so I thought he knew where it was. Wrong. He didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. So, I gave up on that one and said we wanted to go to the Iron Market. The Iron Market is one of the oldest market places in Port au Prince and gets its’ name from the ornate iron work of the 2 buildings and the connecting towers and archway. Spana took Tom, Sarah and I there last year. However, I soon noticed we were heading in the wrong direction. I asked “Spana are you sure this is the right way to the Iron Market?” “Wi, Wi”. I knew where he was going and sure enough he pulled up in front of Giant Market a local supermarket.  “No, no, Spana. Iron Market not Giant Market. Mache fè, mache fè”. “Oh, OK, OK”. This time we headed off in the right direction. But after a while we started veering off a little right of the course that I thought we should be taking. “Spana, mache fè?” “Wi, Wi.” Well by this time I knew where he was heading – Crois du Bouquet. Crois du Bouquet is east of Port au Prince and is where many metal working artists have their studios and workshops. I’ve been through Crois du Bouquet many times, but had never had time to stop there and see the studios. Sure enough we soon pull up in front of the studio of Michee Remy and Johnson Augustine, two of the better known metal sculptors in Haiti.

The metal art work in Haiti is made from used oil drums. They cut the tops and bottoms off then cut them lengthwise down the side. They then flatten the metal out into a sheet. This is all done with tin snips, hammers and chisels. Then they take a pattern template and trace it out on the flattened metal; cut it out with snips and chisels and then form and decorate it with a hammer and various punches and chisels. It was really interesting to watch the process. Linda and I both bought a couple of small pieces. Linda really liked a rather large mask, but we couldn’t figure out how she would get it home on the airplane.

It wasn’t the day I had planned, but it all worked out well. We saw some artisans at work, got some nice metal pieces and Linda saw some parts of Haiti that she had not seen before.

Friday – Sarah and Mario were in charge of getting 1 team off to the airport and 1 team to their site in Les Cayes because Tom, Linda and I had to pick up Pastor Paul and go to Mellier. Pastor Paul wanted to see the church again and make some changes in the sacristy. The changes involved taking out a wall that he had already moved twice. He also wanted to remove a couple of columns, but I convinced him that the mezzanine would fall down if he did. We then visited some of the houses that are under construction.

On our way back to Petionville we stopped to see WHA’s (World Hand Alliance) block making operation. This is the place that Tom, Sarah and I tried to find a couple of weeks ago and ended up driving through the hills of Carre Four. It turns out it is only a few blocks from Pastor Paul’s house. Constantine (WHA) and his partners have finally got the operation going and are starting to make the lightweight concrete blocks. It has been a struggle, but the end results are going to be great. I really like this product.