New Long-Term Volunteer

Today the long-term volunteer arrived! He will be staying at the orphanage for a year (just like me!), but he will not be working at the orphanage. He will be working next door at the school. He is responsible for the different project proposals of the foundation and other things that I am not sure of. Before he came, all I knew was, he is American and will be staying here for a year.

So his name is Will Stanley, which the Haitians here have to get use to not calling him Stanley, because that is his last name, not first name. (In Haiti, Stanley is a very very popular first name!) He is 26 years old and just recently engaged. Wow! That's gotta be hard. Saying to his fiancee, hey I want to marry you, but I'll be away for one year in Haiti. Best of luck to them both. Won't be easy that's for sure.

So I showed him a little bit of the compound and talked to him about what programs exists for the foundation. He came really late in the day, so there wasn't much day light left to show him around. We'll do more visiting tomorrow, since another group of visitors are coming.

Will brought his bike with him from North Carolina!!!! Oh my goodness. That is a first for me. I've never seen someone actually having a mountain bike as a checked luggage before. There's a first for everything. He said that it cost $150 USD just to have it as a checked luggage. That's a lot of money, sheesh. I am not sure what he is going to do with the bike, because he is not going to be allowed to leave the compound and go bike riding. This is his first time in Haiti, so I think it is quite a shock for him to learn that the roads in Haiti aren't exactly the same as in the states. Even if you have a mountain bike, it is still quite hard to get around. Plus the traffic and the way people drive here, not exactly safe to be on a bike. He had in his head that he would be able to get around Haiti on a bike and sightseeing with it. Yeah, not going to work out the way you planned buddy! Sorry!

He doesn't speak any French or Creole, just English. It's going to be a hard year for him. I am going to do whatever I can to make it easier for him this year! Good luck!