Prayer is scheduled at 5:30 am with the brothers.  I woke up on my own.  Knowing that I was alone at a distance from the brothers’ house was a little scary, especially when I heard noises I could not identify.  Back home in NY the sounds I hear are of traffic and the occasional people shouting- but here, the sounds of the various animals both lull me to sleep and greet me in the morning.  It was pitch black outside.  Thank goodness I had my flashlight and my Old Brooklyn Lantern.

When I left my room to go to the Chapel, it was still dark.  I did not see the depth of the side step.  I stumbled but did not fall flat on my face (thankfully).  If my daughter was around, she would laugh and most likely say “no one saw that!”. I noticed in Haiti many houses do not have rails next to the steps or near landings. I was much more careful after that.

Br. Lozama first drove us to Cafe Lompre, after picking up Marie Joe.  We went through Carefour Dufort, Carefour St. Etienne, Nan Labapen.
At this site, PTFT have a professional center (ebenistrie, feronnerie, art floral, art ménage–couture, cuisine, broderie–catering to 96 participants.  The school: Immaculate Conception has about 250 students.   It takes three years to complete a certificate education and vocational training.  The PTFT hire 9 teachers for the elementary school and 7 for the vocational school.

We also visited the construction site for the new school being built.  The German/Luxembourg group, who is contributing to the construction, had two members actually working along the workers.  Br. Frederique gave us some bread and coffee.  There I met Br. Jones Saintelia who is studying economics. He is in his third year at the university.

Construction site

We went back in the direction of Rivière Froide and stop at Palmist a Vin.  There Br. Olizard had us visit his facilities.  We look around the ‘Auberge Theresienne’.  It can accommodate about 60 sleeping guests with refectory and a large conference room.  The cost is about 1,000 gordes per person for room and board.  Although, there was a convention going on we visited some of the rooms.

This site also has a ‘transformateur’ to prepare liqueurs from fruits and ‘manyòk’ into ‘kasav’. At the entrance of the site, there is a storefront to sell the products produced in this area. I bought a few liqueur bottles for my husband.

While there, I met Br. Ramongue who works at Beausejour which site I did not visit.  There under the leadership of four brothers, they manage a women’s group (total of 380); a professional center for sewing, cassaverie, pepinière, and corn grinder.
While at the auberge, I met Sr. Jacqueline Estama in the order of St. Paul de Chartres.  I also talked to Sr. Ghislaine Landry, Sr. De la Providence, who has been in Haiti for the past 21 years teaching and accompanying spiritually ‘postulantes’ who feel called to religious life.
Traffic was impossible at some points mostly on the return trip to Rivière Froide. Some part of the road was smooth but most of it was rocky, rough terrain.
The tap-tap or kamyonèt were frighteningly overcrowded with no regards for passengers’ safety. Some part of the road was smooth but most of it was rocky, rough terrain.
At supper we had another brother discussed vocabulary related to corn for one of my books.