Running Sucks

The problem I've always had with running is that I hate doing it...but at least I don't run like a girl. We've all seen those people out there with really awkward strides, but hey, give them credit because at least they're trying. I'm fairly confident that I have a normal looking run, due to running around a lot in my childhood, my brief encounters with playing soccer, my years playing tennis, and now racquetball. But please, if I have an awkward looking run, be a dear and tell me.

So I have been running now for two days. In a row. My first day was a little overkill. I ran from my place in Allston down Commonwealth, cut through the BU campus, took the pedestrian bridge over Storrow Drive, and ran on the bike path by the Charles. The weather was gorgeous! I could feel myself physically getting a little tired, but eventually the endorphins kicked in and I suddenly didn't hate running as much, imagine that. And I felt great for the rest if the day.



Still feeling a little tightness in my legs from yesterday, I decided to go on a short run today. I have since travelled to RI and did a short 20 minute run through my little town in Wakefield. I thought I had packed everything, since I tend to brag about my packing skills, but this time I think it went to my head. I forgot socks. But the great thing about having a shoe size of 6 is that I easily fit into my 11 year old brother's socks. His shoes however, are way too big for me. It's a little sad.

To spend some quality brother/sister time, I ran while he rode his bike. We took my step dads route which went through our neighborhood, through the center of our little town, up hills, and down hills. It was a welcome change of scenery...not that I'm complaining at all about my proximity to the Charles River...but I do enjoy my time at home, and a break from the city every once in a while.

Oh little town of Wakefield...

 

Admittedly, I still have to take some breaks and walk. When I first started running years ago during my undergrad, I was walking more than I was running. Surprisingly, on my first run, I was running far more than I was walking, and the same goes for today. When I walk, I set a brisk pace, and it's more of a break than a "I can't possibly run anymore so I'm going to walk for 15 minutes, and run for three".

 

Running has also made me more aware of the benefits of eating healthy. I'm eating lean turkey on 127 grain bread (if only such a thing existed) with baby carrots for lunch, usually a bowl of Cheerios with soy mik for breakfast, and for dinner I have a small bowl of whole wheat pasta. It's easy to fall into the whole "Oh, it's okay I ran today" mind set and walk into the McDonalds that's disturbingly close to my apartment, but I don't want to undo what I've already done. Granted, I did that last time I ran a lot with Wendy's, but it was okay because I was running. But then I stopped running and kept eating Wendy's...and we all know how that story goes.

 

 

Even though this is a 30 day challenge, I am not going to stop running after 30 days. It usually takes 30 days for something to become habitual, so with that in mind, I am going to keep running, and eventually start training for some races. It's exciting. I'm a runner now. 

An Early Start to April

Here's something I've never done on this blog before. I'm going to start my April challenge early. But before I get to that, I have one more thing to say about this month's current challenge, which for me was to work with young musicians in Haiti. If you will be in Boston next week, I would like to invite you to this event:

There will be a discussion about our time spent abroad working with kids, a video screening, and talk about what MESDA hopes to accomplish in the future. There will also be a short chamber music concert, in which all the music is written by composers from Latin America, as well as a reception to follow, where we will be mingling and talking about our many life changing experiences.


On to April!

It's time to announce my new challenge...which will be (drumroll please)...

..........running.


Running sucks, and I pretty much hate it, and for a lot of people this wouldn't be a challenge. The problem for me is endurance. I've been plenty active. When I was younger I did ballet (no running required), then I moved on to horse back riding (requires strong legs, but no running), and then in high school I was a pretty damn good tennis player (requires running, but in short spurts). Today I play the occasional game of racquet ball, or perhaps spend some time on the elliptical at the gym, but I haven't seriously been on a run since being in my undergrad.

At one point I considered myself a runner, and was addicted to it. Then one day I skipped a day, and got really busy with music, and never continued. My problem with running is that I can't run for very long before I feel like I'm going to expire. I can't even run a full mile without stopping. So here's my plan:

I am going to start like I did when I began years ago. Running for as long as I can then walking for a bit, and alternating running and walking (until I run more than I walk, and then until I don't walk at all). I'll probably have to invest in a stopwatch and time myself for the times that I am actually running to track my progress. The great thing about April is that the temperatures are getting warmer, so I won't be freezing, and I have just the right amount of time to get a little more in shape before bathing suit weather...(yay!).

After spending a month running (not every day, mind you...muscles need a day to relax and heal every once in a while) I am going to start training for a race, so I'll be running quite a bit once I start getting better at it. I hope to find a 5K to run in the summer, and I really hope to some day be able to run a half marathon. If all goes well and I start really working on my times, a marathon could be feasible (a nice goal would be to run in the Boston marathon, since I live in Boston). But all that is a long way off...so I will start one day at a time, one step at a time.

This will end up being a relatively long challenge, but I'm sure I can find some other things to accomplish while running as well, once running becomes a habit again.

http://funny-pictures-blog.com/2013/01/17/lol-running/

The Rest of Haiti

 Okay, where did I leave off?

Yes, I know I promised to fill you in each day on my adventures in Haiti, but on the third day the electricity wasn't working, and I was having so much fun that I sort of...put it off. Thinking that I would finish my posts in Boston, I returned and have been deathly ill for the past week. Now that I'm feeling almost better (or at least, less miserable), I will give you a some what brief overview of the rest of my time in Haiti, with lots of pictures. It's possible I'll get the days confused since they all end up blurring together anyways, so I'll just go by what I sort of remember. Since I've already covered days 1 and 2, lets start with day 3, a Wednesday, doing more of the same kind of thing we had been doing all week...

Mercredi
I started my day with an early morning lesson, it was technically a 45 minute lesson, but we had the room and the whole morning, so it may have turned into a two hour lesson. We then made our way down to the primary school to teach in our big, slightly rickety van. We actually found out later in the week that our van was an old UN vehicle, with a siren, sealed engine, and periscope (for underwater use), so we were really quite safe. After working with my students and practicing in between during a long, hot day at the school, I was able to unwind a bit in their large, chapel-like setting while the orchestra started rehearsals. That evening we ventured out to a grocery store to get some snacks, which were put to good use as we sipped rum and cokes and had chips and salsa.
Then we had the brilliant idea that we should go swimming at the hotel across the street! We found out that we can use the pool as long as we purchase something...a pretty great deal to cool off and feel refreshed. One by one, people started dropping out and got less enthusiastic, so it ended up being me and one other person. When we got to the hotel, they were super accommodating. Pool hours were kind of over, but since it was only the two of us, as long as we didn't create a raucous we could have access. They even asked us if we wanted to swim first and then have drinks, or drink first and then swim. We decided to swim first which was extremely refreshing, and then we sat by the pool with equally refreshing, yet very strong gin and tonics.

It was a very lovely night...too lovely for a Zombie drink. 

Jeudi 

The morning began with our flute player and I heading down to the primary school early in the morning for a pedagogy class with the teachers. We talked about the importance of structuring a lesson, practicing scales, and gave them some resources where they can acquire sheet music, since they lost a lot of music (and so much more) in the earthquake. 

As the week went on, I learned more and more about how the earthquake effected the school, and everyone who was there. It happened during the day while the school was in session, and they lost about 100 lives: both students and teachers. Seeing all those little kids at the school so full of life, I can only imagine how they could possibly live through such a tragedy; but they did. They have done their best to rebuild the school, but reminders of the earthquake are everywhere. These kids and their teachers come here every day, to teach and play and learn together, and there is such a wonderful, strong sense of community. No matter what has happened in the past or present, or what is to come in the future, these young musicians still come to school every day, and they still play Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Vivaldi, Handel, all on instruments that for the most part are shared, because not everyone has their own instrument...it was truly an incredible experience to be a part of. 

What remains of the school's old chapel

After our class, we sat outside and tried to practice up on this little roof deck area, which was not the most productive. It was hot, we were tired and hungry, so for the most part we talked and snacked on the crackers we brought while waiting for the string players to arrive from the Annex. I still managed to practice my excerpts though, and be a good student!

My babies on vacation

Actually practicing. 

 That evening, Pere David took those of us who were up for it (our director, flutist, violist, and I...we self-dubbed ourselves the "Quartet" since we had a "Trio" in the DR) to Hotel Oloffson, a famous hotel and bar in Haiti to see some traditional Haitian music. It was so much fun. By the end of the night I finally learned my first lesson of being in Haiti: Haitian drinks are so much stronger than American drinks. We each had a few Rhum Punch drinks, which were served in little plastic cups with straws, and they were pink and innocent looking. Oh, how appearances can be deceiving.

Rhum Punch

 The music started and we went over to the next room to check it out. I'm not sure whether it was half an hour or four hours, but from the time the music started to the time that we left we danced (probably like crazy people), I lost (or rather, completely forgot about) my blazer, and our violist got his wallet stolen. Our violist had a surprisingly good attitude about his missing wallet, since he took all his major credit cards out as well as his passport. We then continued to dance all night, and then it was time to go home with big smiles on our faces.

Haitian music.

Vendredi

This was our flute players last day, which was bitter-sweet, and a reminder that our trip was starting to come to a close. The two of us went down to the primary school early (which proved to be difficult after the night before) for another pedagogy class with the teachers. There was a funeral being held in the church so we found a room in the back of the school. After the class, she had to leave quite soon after, we said our goodbyes, and then I found myself...alone. It was the first time for the whole trip that I was absolutely and completely by myself. I was safe, because I was at the school which has guards and gates (for the family members reading this), I couldn't practice because of the aforementioned funeral that moved into the back part of the school, so I went inside the church that had cleared out since the ceremony and started to read and listen to music. It wasn't long until I made a friend. 

The Haitian community was very welcoming and appreciative of MESDA group, and it was extremely easy to make friends, even if there was a language barrier. I made friends with a student who goes to the university, who spoke English incredibly well, and made fun of me a little for not knowing Creole. He then told me that I was to learn Creole, so that the next time I come that's the only language we will speak. I have a lot to learn. 

The string players finally arrived from the Annex with my lunch, and lessons began. I had about three students that afternoon, which was pretty usual, but I felt so much more relaxed...whether I was getting used to teaching long days, or just had a lovely morning to myself I'm not sure. Probably both. 

Two adorable Haitian girls, young flute players, that I hung out with.

That evening, the Quartet was now a Trio, and we went out to eat with a friend of our directors. There was always something going on at a nearby restaurant called Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter), and that night there was a band playing a combination of jazz and reggae. We also had pizza/pasta for dinner which was pretty darn good, and I avoided the rhum punch and had an ice cold Prestige instead. Since my roommate wasn't going to be around that night, I was the holder of not just our room key, but also the gate key. The violist and I were dropped off outside the Annex, while our director went with his friend to sort of see where things were in Haiti, and to check out some nearby cool hotels.

(To the family members reading this who were concerned about my safety, you should probably stop reading here...)

With every trip to a foreign country, or actually, just life in general...a certain mental list gets made called the "things not to tell mom" list. The following story was on that list, but it makes an exciting story, and may I remind you all...I am still alive, and it wasn't even that bad. So there might have been a slight miscommunication as to which key was the gate key. As I found out the next day, she meant the metal gate to our door, and not the actual gate to the compound. Assuring my director that I did, in fact, have the gate key, they had already driven off, and when the key didn't work...well, we were kind of screwed. 

We started by checking and double checking both keys, because it had to be there, right? No. Then we remembered that there was a doorbell! We rang it. And rang it. And rang it. The doorbell consisted of a low-pitched hum and every once in a while a bell would ding...on the first level. People were staying on the third level. And since Haiti is loud at night, they were all wearing earplugs. Oh wait, we had the number of one of the girls living here! But that number was in a phone up in the violists room. But I had my phone! We called the director since I didn't have anyone else's number, but he was using his Haitian phone, and his american phone was off. Second lesson in Haiti learned: always get everyone's phone number...just in case. Wait I'm kind of small...what if you lift me up and I try to climb over the fence? Not only does that look super sketchy, but there were spikes and barbed wire up there. So there we were: two white people (one of us is technically Serbian, but still...we stuck out), locked out, in the middle of the night...in Haiti. I chucked my wallet over the gate of the compound so it wouldn't get stolen and we took a seat on the stairs, waiting for our director to get back. I was so lucky I was in the company of a.) a guy and b.) a guy who spoke French fluently (helpful when understanding Creole) because had it been anyone else I would have been scared out of my mind. It wasn't even 10 minutes before we were approached. We had also noticed that there were a few policemen directing traffic nearby, in case we had any trouble, and they would maybe help us. So this man walks up to us, and asks us if we were okay (in Creole). Yes, we're fine. He asks us if we need any help. No...we're good, thanks. Keeping our responses short, kind of avoiding eye contact, trying to stay calm even though my mind was on high alert. Then he walked behind us...and I was sure I was going to die. He reached into his pocket...and took out the freakin' gate keys and opened it for us. We had never seen this guy before, but he had the keys. We thanked him profusely, introduced ourselves, and entered the Annex. Yeah...we lucked out. 

Samedi

The wonderful thing about the Haitian students learning music was that their parents were learning the instruments with them, and there was even a parents orchestra! We gave a class in the morning for all the parents, musicians and non musicians alike, on how to practice with your kids at home. We told a few stories of what it was like for us as kids to be learning music, and gave the parents some ideas in case they had any trouble motivating their kids. We had a little time before lunch (the lesson schedule was different since it was a Saturday), so we found a Haitian guide to take us around downtown Port-au-Prince, because Haiti apparently isn't safe when you're a foreigner. Yeah, probably could have told you that from the adventure we had the night before. Instead of describing to you in great detail what we saw, I have a few pictures to tell the story:

Symbolizing Haitian independence 

Downtown view of the mountains

Henri Christophe, key leader in the Haitian revolution 

I soon learned the third lesson of being in Haiti: Jaywalking in Boston=fine, if you're cautious...jaywalking in Haiti=death wish, if you're cautious. We saw lots of other monuments, a museum for Haiti, and an unfinished tower that was meant for snipers, but remains unfinished because there is no army. There was also a big concert going on with a band called Chic Poulet...or "Fancy Chicken". 

We returned to the school, and I had a short sectional with the clarinet and saxophone players in which they were rehearsing the 'Stars and Stripes' Sousa march. They were also working on the Haitian national anthem in another band. After that I quickly ran to the back of the school to work with two bassoon players on their parts for the Handel concert that was to take place the next day. After we finished, we head on over to the concert venue for the dress rehearsal at Auditorium Ste. Rose de Lima which was a beautiful church where there was housing for nuns: 

Me, making use of the shade

The grounds were beautiful, and the auditorium was air conditioned! It was here that we met up with two other students who were joining the MESDA team: a bassoonist and cellist from Harvard, two of the sweetest girls ever. Hung out for a while outside, since it was the greenest, and prettiest place we had been so far, and then it was a little too hot so I went inside to watch the rehearsal. The concert was technically called "Festival de Musique Baroque"...but we referred to it as "Viola Fest". Unfortunately since it was all baroque music, there were no clarinet parts, so I wasn't able to perform, but it was great to watch!

That night, Pere David took us all out to get some seafood. It was the second to last night, and with the end drawing near, and some new musicians there to take over, it was fun to tell them about the week we had, and what to expect. 

The picture does it no justice. We finished three 40oz fish, with fried plantains, rice and beans, and appetizer with spicy coleslaw, and of course: Prestige. 

Dimanche

Our final day. We got to sleep in quite a bit, as we didn't have to leave until around 11. I spent the morning packing what I could, had some breakfast, and finally got ready to attend the concert. Technically I wasn't performing, but I still opted to wear black and white, since I wanted to look nice, and part of the organization. We arrived at Ste. Rose de Lima and the musicians warmed up. The cellist and our violist both played a short excerpt from a Bach suite, and then the orchestra came out. It began with two viola Telemann concertos, and one was a concerto for two violas played by two of the Haitian teachers that our string players gave lessons to. Then our violist and director, who are very good friends, came out and played Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 (two violas), and then the violist stayed out and finished with a Handel viola concerto, that was orchestrated by Henri Casadesus which was a gorgeous piece, and played with the utmost musical sensitivity and emotion. 

On our way to the concert...11 people, 1 cello, a whole bunch of violas and a bouquet of flowers. ONE van. 

Brandenburg 6 performance

MESDA Group after the concert

Then we were treated to an afternoon at the beach. While others back home were freezing in the snow, and barhopping in celebration of St. Patricks Day, I went swimming in the Caribbean sea at Kaliko Beach.  

We stopped at a store for some ice cold Prestiges for the ride...

Just wanted to see some palm trees...

Beach, ocean, mountains, sunshine. 

I may have eaten all of this. 

This trip to Haiti was one of the best and most enlightening trips I've ever been on. Working with the students who were so excited, appreciative, well behaved, and respectful was truly inspiring. Seeing Haiti for the country that it is, and experiencing the culture and community first hand instead of staying at some resort was eye opening. And of course meeting everyone along the way was the best part. The students, the teachers, and the other members of MESDA group are people that I will be seeing again...some in the near future, and some in the more distant future, but the music world is a small place, and we are all bonded by our love for music.

Second Day in Haiti

Today was the first relaxing day we've had...or at least that I had. Which was nice after the night we had last night, "Dominican style". Staying up late while in a different country tends to be the thing I do on these trips, with the promise of "I'll sleep when I get back to Boston" (coined by Jordan and me). The days are full of teaching, which I love to do, so staying awake is never a problem, but this morning was glorious because I only had students in the middle of the day, when we travel to the school. After sleeping in, and taking my second cold shower (which I'm getting used to by the way), we were on our way down town. 

The hotel across the street where I had the infamous "Zombie" drink.

Every day seems to be a little different; I began by having a quick lesson outdoors, then came back inside to collaborate a little with the flutist on our pedagogy class, and to run a clarinet sectional, then I taught three more private lessons outdoors in the shade and the breeze. One of the best lessons I've had so far, well they've all been good, but so far, the most memorable has been with an oboe/sax player. Many of the students I've been working with haven't brought music, but I have so much to say that it's not a problem, talking about breathing, technique, intonation, etc. Even when my student only speaks Creole and I only speak English (with the exception of knowing a few musical terms) I still have a hard time sticking within the half hour or 45 minute time limit, and I always go over. That was what happened in this lesson, because my last student was running late. After talking technique and finding out that a lot of things that work on clarinet don't necessarily work on oboe, I decided we would play through a few of my technique excepts together. After that we did scales. Then we had a little bit of time left, and I took out my clarinet excerpt book, and played some of the beautiful slow legato passages (Rach 2, Brahms 3, Beethoven 6, Beethoven 4), transposed of course until his brother came to pick him up. 

The usual chicken running around the school. 

What I love about teaching these kids is the energy and enthusiasm they have for music. It's what keeps me going. 

Also, the best thing about warm weather, is that anywhere can be a practice room. 

First Day in Haiti

The day began with a cold, yet refreshing shower...and possibly the fastest shower I've taken since being in the DR. You know it's cold when you mentally have to prepare yourself so you don't die of shock...actually it wasn't that bad; it's so hot during the day though that it's welcoming. We live up on a mountain in Petionville, in an Annex belonging to the school, where it's a little cooler, and have lessons here for half the day, then we drive over to the school in Port-au-Prince in a large van. This morning I was able to work with the clarinet teacher at the school, and gave him some names of clarinet players to listen to, and we did some work with technique. 

Band rehearsal! 

We then drove over to the school (approx. 20 mins) and I gave a short class to three girls who were just learning how to play the clarinet. Afterwards, me and the flutist sat in on a band rehearsal, then we taught a few more lessons. I was surprised when I went to teach a lesson to a bassoon player. Not because it was a lesson for a bassoon, but because I actually knew him! Both he and the oboe player were both part of the Bi-National orchestra festival in the DR. 

Recording an outdoor lesson

Without mentioning names, we are traveling with the leader of MESDA, a flute player from Juilliard, a grad student from BU who is video-recording our trip, a violist who plays in the MET, and we are staying with two American girls, one of which I also met in the DR. It's crazy how small the music world is!...and I am so excited to collaborate with everyone. 

After teaching, we piled into the back of our van and began our ride back, which ended up being close to twice as long, if not longer as our trip in the morning due to traffic. Did I mention that the seats in the back are benches and are along the sides so that we are all facing each other? It makes accelerating up hills interesting. 

A typical sight along the road

As I'm blogging, I am looking back on this morning thinking "wait, that was this morning? It seems so long ago" which is exactly what it was like in the DR...although this time, at least today, is a lot less intense. Small private lessons at the Annex, lots of breaks, traveling, band rehearsals, small classes, and outdoor lessons broke things up instead of doing hours of sectionals in little hot rooms. 

When we returned, we had little bowls of a porridge-type meal waiting in our rooms, and it was so nice and cool outside that we brought it to the little outdoor common area on the third floor of where we are staying. We are currently still here, sipping on Haitian rum (pretty good compared to Dominican rum...but I don't know what's better), a few cans of Prestige have been opened, and we are snacking and talking. 

It's only around 8:00pm and I am ready to go to bed, but it's always nice meeting fellow musicians, and staying up talking about music, culture, and learning about each other...because these are the people who will be in my life for a long time. 

Tropical goodness

Arrival in Haiti

Wow. I have not slept in well over 24 hours, with the exception of passing out on the flight. I started packing last night at around midnight (true to form), and was packed and ready within an hour. Since it was daylight savings time, 2:00am became 3:00 am, and then it was almost time for me to leave.

I took a cab to the airport and we boarded our 6:30am flight to Newark Airport, and from there we flew to Port-au-Prince. I slept so hard on the flight that when we landed, I noticed that the stewardess had put my papers for customs in the pocket of the seat in front of me. Great customer service, and thank you for not waking me up.

Flew past customs, and drove to the school where we will be teaching. There was already a small concert going on when we arrived, and we had the chance to meet a few of the students and teachers that we will be working with in the week to come.

We arrived at the annex that is a part of the school, and I know that my parents and family members reading this will be happy to know that we are so incredibly safe. We have a 24 hour guard, and the gates get double locked at night. As you can see, the wifi so far has been great, and we are staying with two girls from America who have been living in Haiti for the past 6 months or so. Everyone so far has been very welcoming and so far it has been a great experience.


We had a lovely dinner, complete with plantains, the most flavorful tomatoes I've ever had, rice and beans (of course), and potatoes that was prepared at the place where we are staying.

After hanging out for a little while and getting to know each other, we were finally able to relax, and I was even able to practice in a classroom that is connected to our apartments. The only thing is that it really wasn't sound proof at all, so everyone could hear my orchestral excerpts, but they were still able to get some rest.

We then went out with the conductor, to a great place that specializes in pizza and ice cream, and I had a tiny slice of pizza and it was sooo good. Instead of Presidente Light (in the DR), the Haitian beer is Prestige, which is worlds better, and it was nice reuniting with the Haitian conductor that we met back in the DR. We even spotted the president of Haiti's son at a nearby table.

While I was practicing, I made friends with the cutest 9 year old in the world, who was fascinated with my metronome, and we were trying to communicate with my broken French and her limited English, and it turned out to be hilarious.

Sorry this post is really short and kinda condensed, but I really need to go to bed now. I'm really excited for tomorrow when we get to work with our students and the teachers.

Thoughts before going to Haiti

Officially on spring break, and it doesn't really feel like it, mainly because I'm surrounded by snow...but that's all going to change tomorrow when I head off to Port-au-Prince with MESDA.

Don't be jealous...

Typical...my phone being at 15%...

Today was my first, and only day of "break", since I will be working and playing hard for the next week. It began around 11, when I finally decided to get out of bed, did a little shopping since I don't have a nice white shirt to perform in (and I don't want to be the only person wearing all black like last time), then I played a round of racquetball with some wind players, finished Downton Abbey (Season 3 finale, and wept silently into a bag of M&Ms), then I went to a friend's incredible voice recital. So, true to form, I saved most of my preparation and packing at the last possible minute. On my way home from the recital, printed a few copies of music, stopped at the CFA to get my instrument and more music, and now I'm at home, sitting on my bed, sipping on a vanilla-espresso concoction (breaking the no caffeine rule, I know)...and the packing has yet to begin.

I've learned a lot more about what to expect since I've already been on one MESDA trip to the Dominican Republic back in November. First off, I am prepared with a lot of music to share with my students, as well as bringing lots of warm up and technique exercises for my lessons, and I think that is most important. A little less important, is the fact that this time I am bringing bug spray (the remnants of my hundreds - not exaggerating- of mosquito bites are still apparent months later), as well as sunscreen, and lots of different meds, just in case. My first meal coming back from Haiti will not be fried food, that was a terrible idea last time, and I even know a little bit of French, which will help with speaking and understanding Creole. The most important thing is to arrive with an open mind, and an excitement of the week to come.

It's about time to get packing...and I need to figure out what time I need to get to the airport. Tomorrow is daylight savings time, and good thing I remembered, because I "could have gone Dominican style" - kind of an inside joke. Sorry.

Hopefully there will be a strong enough wifi signal where we're staying, and the next time you hear from me, I'll be in Port-au-Prince updating you on my amazing and rewarding week.

March Challenge

This blog started about 7 months ago, and over that period of time I've done some pretty awesome things. In August, as a way to get used to blogging I took a picture every day, which ended up being a great way to document my family's big move to southern RI. In September, in an effort to get a little healthier, I drank nothing but water for 30 days (with the exception of having a beer at a major sporting event). October started a two month Boston exploration which involved visiting museums (MFA), taking tours (U.S.S. Constitution, Boston Library), and some hard core sight seeing. The end of November brought my first trip with MESDA to the Dominican Republic, and December was a month of kindness and fact finding. In January I went as internet-free as possible (with the exception of being required to check my BU email), and in February I became vegetarian.

The first post of each month, as you who have been following my blog already know, is a reflection and introduction of a new month-long challenge. This month is going to be slightly different in the latter aspect.

But first, what was so great about being a vegetarian? Um...pretty much everything.

First off, I'd like to say that I wasn't expecting anything huge to happen, or to have any profound realizations. I've always wanted to try out being a vegetarian, partly for health reasons, and partly to see if I could actually do it. Well, I did it (with that one exception that I've already written about), but looking back, I've felt so much healthier. By totally cutting meat out, I've been able to pinpoint all the things giving me stomach problems. I've always had a sensitive stomach, lactose intolerance aside: I can't eat anything too spicy, or too heavy, or too fatty, and I can't eat too much without feeling like I'm being stabbed by a thousand knives in the stomach. Fatty meats were apparently a big factor in me not feeling well, and I also discovered...so is espresso. Kind of a bummer. I've been slowly easing my way back into being a carnivore, focusing on having more lean meats, and just having less meat in general. I've felt like I've had more energy too, since I was so worried about not getting enough nutrition that I went a little overboard (a good thing) on making sure I got enough protein and vitamins. The February vegetarian challenge was totally worth it, and one of the best life-changing challenges I've done so far.

So what about March?

It is time for me to officially make an announcement that has been a little more apparent on Facebook than on this blog, so many of you already know.

MESDA was invited to work at a school in Haiti, and on the 10th I am leaving to spend a week with music students in Port-au-Prince.

Once again, I will be bringing my computer in hopes that the wifi is strong enough to make a blog post or two while I'm there to update you on the work that we will be doing. Taking a look at our schedule, the days will be completely packed with lessons, coachings, rehearsals, and performances. In a lot of ways it will be similar to the work we did in the DR, but I'm excited at finding out what the differences will be. I also know that where we will be staying will be very different, as I needed to get an assortment of vaccines and medications: Hep A, Typhoid, Malaria, antibiotics...and that's just the beginning. I still need to acquire hand sanitizer, potent big spray, sun screen, Tums, and Immodium (which hopefully I won't need, but come on...it's me).

So there it is. Off to Haiti in about 5 days, and lots of preparation to do before then.

If you're looking for a 30 day challenge you can complete in the States, try going 30 days without caffeine! I know, the horror! The slogan "America runs on Dunkin" is a testament to how addictive caffeine can be, and shows how thousands, maybe even millions of people are addicted to it. Since espresso and coffee routinely ruin my stomach, and also my day, I'll also be going caffeine free for 30 days. This means no tea either, and no soda (which I sometimes use as a last resort to stay awake). Now, in the DR I was only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night, usually less (by my own fault), and was dependent on coffee and soda throughout the day. This is going to be a tough one, since Haiti might be the same kind of situation, but hopefully I can find a way to get to sleep at a somewhat reasonable time, and not fall asleep in some random place during the day. Like I usually say, if it was easy, it wouldn't be a challenge.

Best of luck!