Quotidian observations.

After being in Haiti over a year now, I'm sure everyone has noticed the decreasing frequency of blog posts as tree frogs in the kitchen, revival services at 3am, and poverty have (for better or worse) become normal. So here are a few things that have caught my attention - in no particular order - over the last few weeks since we've been back.

1. We use a lot of bleach. Every time we wash dishes we use a bleachy rinsewater which has led to some sad clothing mishaps - white splotches if you're lucky and holes if you aren't.

2. We use a lot of matches. We light a new match every time we use the stove, candles, oil lamps, incense, and mosquito coils. I even have a preferred brand of matches which happen to be made in Gonaives, Haiti. These little suckers are nice.

3. Coming to the office one day we saw 4 or 5 young guys sitting around a laptop right outside of our driveway, pretty obviously filching our wireless signal. When I came into the office and mentioned this, everyone else thought they were just enjoying the nice shady patch in the road. Needless to say, I put a password on the wireless signal as we do pay for a meager 400 MB per day and a couple of young men on the internet can eat that up pretty fast.

4. Trying to get through a blocked intersection in Port-au-Prince, I stopped to let an old lady with a wheelbarrow pass through the mess of cars. The guy next to me decided to hit her wheelbarrow instead. She simply straightened it up and rushed away from the driver without saying a word.

5. I got a new pair of shoe/slipper things when we were back in the U.S. and they are the most amazing thing in the world, especially for Haiti living. Sanuk.

6. A pretty tough virus is going around Haiti. Half of the Port-au-Prince staff was hit by it and one of our team members in Desarmes was out for a week with it. Despite the fact that he is a very devout 7th Day Adventist, he believes it was an evil spirit that overtook him in the night.

7. Last week Sharon and I hiked about 2 hours into the countryside to visit a school. The trail had us following a river for awhile, then hiking up a mountain to go around a narrow, cavernous section of the river, and then back down to the river until we arrived at the school. On our way back we decided to walk back along the river the whole way and discovered a new waterfall and pool, and another new waterfall that we had to bushwhack to get around as we didn't want to jump into an unknown pool of water. The big question was answered though: "Is it faster to take the mountain path or the river?" Answer: The mountain. But the river is prettier.

8. Progress on the cargo-bike welding project is happening. Almost everything is welded; we just need to get a longer chain, brake, and derailleur cables. Photos forthcoming.

9. I sat down on a hammock and instead of falling into its pocket I fell off and whacked my head.

10. Work is somewhat slow during this season so I’ve read a few books: The Power of One, and I've just finished The Brothers K (700+ pages).

11. Desarmes is still really hot.

12. Driving to the MCC office in PaP I accidentally snagged a drooping power line on the metal cage covering the bed of the pickup. Oops. A passerby kindly pulled it off for me.

13. Ben and Alexis got a new place with two bedrooms so now we can sleep indoors when we visit the city. Bonus.

14. I saw one of those 3-wheeled motorcycles with 2 wheels in the front and one in the back. Hmmm, these displays of wealth always seem odd - I know I'm a wealthy person here in comparison but then you see one of these and you know there's lots of money here, somewhere. Check out the MSRP.

15. Our rooftop garden is a thirsty, thirsty place, which is not much fun. See point 11.

16. I try to keep up with U.S. news, and as someone who couldn’t afford health insurance for a while despite having a full-time job, I’m all for government-sponsored healthcare.It just seems like everyone that is lucky enough to have insurance is against the rest of us getting it. Really, if I break my leg the day I return to the U.S. I will kill our savings and drown us in debt. Yay!

17. From the padlock that falls apart every time you open (on the gate to our yard) to the one that no longer will open (on one of our trucks), we see all kinds of padlocks here.

18. Utensils: Sharon and I have a favorite spoon and a favorite fork. You know you’re loved when your spouse gives you “the” spoon or “the” fork.

19. Despite having carrots and potatoes at the local market and a usual healthy cooked-from-scratch lifestyle, we keep a stash of Ramen noodles in the house for all of those “I don’t feel like cooking” moments. Well, Everybody Loves Ramen...

20. We miss Josh and Marylynn and their visits to Desarmes and all the good talks about God and development. Oh, and watching movies together.

21. We got scolded by our landlords/neighbors about locking the gate too tightly and not locking it often enough. Their request: lock it every time you go in or out no matter who is home - just don’t lock it too tight. (Update: now we're not supposed to lock it if they're home. I might need a wallet-sized cheat sheet on this.)

22. Fireflies are amazing. They're in the house at night and their cool green abdomens float above us as we lay in bed.Unlike ‘merican fireflies, they don’t flash; they just light up and fly around.

23. I am on an all-things-bicycle reading spree right now. It's kind of boring reading when I can’t actually get my hands on the stuff, but I’ve just finished The Art of Wheelbuilding by Gerd Shraner, and now am reading Tim Paterek’s bicycle building manual. Maybe Barnett’s Bicycle Repair manual will be next.