Many, many apologies for my lack of updates over the past two weeks. I know some people are worrying, but there's no need, I promise! I am alive and (mostly) well! (Some bothersome, but ultimately harmless annoyance has taken up residence in my digestive system... I am definitely not at the top of my game but it's nothing too bad.)

So, what's happened since I last wrote? A lot more of the same, I'd say. I've continued with my two classes, and I think/hope we're making some progress. Last week, we focused on political vocabulary in my phonetics class, and that led to some interesting conversation topics - Somalia, Monica Lewinsky, the electoral college... you know. Summer camp is over, which is good, and so now the mornings are filled with a teacher training institute - much less stress over all. When I'm not grading papers or preparing for class or teaching, I'm usually researching grants and educational policy in Haiti. Things are good overall.

We don't get to leave the compound much, so my stories aren't too exciting... We have made it to the beach twice in the past few weeks, and it remains a source of beauty and relaxation for us all. Last weekend, we visited Ti Goave, one of the organization's satellite sites, which was a very challenging experience for me. Ti Goave is significantly more rural than Croix-des-Bouquets and the level of poverty and destitution was unlike anything I had witnessed before. Most of the children we saw had swollen abscesses and distended stomachs, and the adults complained about the lack of educational resources, health care, food, clean water, and jobs. My lowest moment was after lunch; we were serving the kids rice and sausage, but more people had showed up than we anticipated, and we ran out of food. I have rarely felt so powerless, or like such a disappointment. How have I allowed this sort of world to exist? That's a question I continue to struggle with.

On the way back to the compound, we stopped for pizza, which was a wonderful surprise, but as delicious as it was, it was a bittersweet experience. That night, like much of my time here, was a trying lesson in balance - between guilt and gratitude, responsibility and light-heartedness, joy and grief, service and caring for the self. I haven't found it yet, and I'm not sure I will any time soon.

The next day, I took my first tap-tap (Google image search it!), which I had been eagerly anticipating. The tap-tap was fun; the rest of the day was... absurd, in a hilarious way. I spent 7 hours at a Jehovah's Witness service, conducted entirely in Kreyol, and I couldn't help but laugh. It reminded me of the potential silliness of cross-cultural relations.

Other than that, I've just been enjoying the company of my fellow interns and working. I need to get ready for my classes this afternoon, but I'll be back soon with more about what I'm doing, seeing, thinking, eating, and feeling. Until then, know that I'm thinking of you! Last Thursday marked the exact midpoint of my stay here, so I'll be back in the United States before you know it...!