The Palace

Sitting on the hill above Sousafilip is what we refer
to as "the palace". The structure is concrete covered blocks and tin roof with outdoor facilities for cooking, shower and toilet. We like the added touch of the satellite dish for a modern flair.

Ten solar panels adorn the roof and provide power for 2 to 4 lights and the wire-less and computers. Ice is purchased each week and stored in an old freezer that once used propane tanks.

The large catchments that we cleaned today is used to fill one room of the large cistern during the rainy season. The well a mile on up the hill fills the other room of the cistern during the dry season.

We asked only for a private dwelling and aside from the 3 to 10 adults who gather in the back each morning and evening, and the children who play cards on the steps and run in when they think there may be something of interest on our laptop, we have as much privacy as most in Haiti. A tap on the wall announces company.

We do share the dwelling with some gray striped rats who enjoy line dancing or roller boards from early evening to about 4 am at which time they get cool and climb noisily into the dresser drawers . Other frequent guests are welcome geckos that eat the moths and flys they can catch on the window screens. An occasional tarantula comes in out of the rain. They are stealthy and are generally discovered when furniture is moved to sweep. They can jump very high. So can I.

As all chairs were very hard with rattan seats we brought some foam filled seat cushions and commissioned a carpenter to build a sofa. Later we discovered high humidity makes padding uncomfortable and it was a first ever sofa to be built by the carpenter. The arms extend about a foot beyond the seat and leave interesting bruise formations on the thigh. We did ask him to saw about 4 inches from the legs so our legs could reach the floor.

I am writing about this luxurious living as an enticement to any GBGM Long Term Volunteers who may be seeking an experience that will fill their life with blessings.

Each morning, early, I open the door and look out to the sea which is a beautiful teal green over the reef and then dark Caribbean blue with occasional white caps. Sometimes there are early sailboats leaving the pier and the occasional large freighter out in the deeper canal. Generally quiet there are mornings when the sea speaks a quiet thunder to the wind, and I know, I'm not in Kansas anymore.