The first few nights I was here, I slept with earplugs to muffle the noises of Haiti ... fans blowing, dogs barking, and roosters ... making rooster noises? The word escapes me. There's also the soft hum of the generator reminding me that the power is out. Losing power has become a regular occurrence, and by regular I mean ALL the time.
The guest house operates on battery power, and on most nights, we get city power (aka EDH). If the batteries are not sufficiently charged and/or there is no EDH, we are on generator power. Please don't ask for a more scientific explanation. What I've learned about generators is that they are loud and produce heat. Add that to the current inside temperature of 91.4 degrees (51% humidity) and you've got yourself a party.
Energy is a little different at school in that generator is always on. Today, not so much.
The day started with me covering the 2nd grade class because Mr. Luchner wasn't there. About thirty minutes into 3-digit addition and subtraction, Katrina poured glue on my chair. Tibo and Keso alerted me before I sat in the sticky stuff, and I quickly escorted her to Mr. Ivens (new Haitian principal for the fall). We continued with math and then headed off to recess. Recess occurred without incident (I think), and then it was time for Community Circle.
At about 10:15 the fans stopped turning. Hmm ... I can still hear the generator. We made an executive decision to dismiss classes for the day, notified the teachers, and then watched as the fans turned on and off, over and over. The power may have stayed on after that, but trying to get 40 kids to come back to school when they aren't thrilled to be there in the first place is like herding cats.
As for the noise, it's become part of the ambiance. When it's time to sleep, I put on my headphones, set the sleep timer, and head off to dreamland.
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