Three schools in Cap Haitien, Haiti: CJ's perspective

Today we went to three schools. There were all different schools but they were all the same as well. I will talk about the schools Regina, U.P.N.C.H., and Thelus' school, La Cle.

The day started off at U.P.N.C.H. which stands for Public University of the North at Cap Haitien. When we walked into the front gate we were surprised at how small the university was. We were also surprised at how many mango trees there were as well! It was mango heaven except for that they weren't even ripe yet. My dad said he's never seen a rooster on the Laurier campus!

After exploring the campus we went into one of the classrooms. I was surprised of how little the class was. There were only about ten to fifteen students. They were learning English from the teachers that came along on this trip. They were teaching the class about English dialogue for use in hotels, restaurants, and airports. It was interesting to see how good their English was too!

The next school we went to was Thelus' school, La Cle (French for "the key"). Telus is a man that my dad had met a long time ago. This school was different from the university because it was from preschool to grade nine. Also this school was in one of the poorest places in Cap Haitien.The school was made up of concrete and rebar (stable metal beams). It was one of the smallest schools we have been to as well. Thelus told us that from preschool to grade six the parents don't have to pay anything. But the kids from grade seven to nine have to pay 200 dollars for the year for tuition. When we walked into one of the classrooms the classmates all stood up as a sign of respect to us. We waved to them but they showed no emotion as if they have never smiled in their life. I realized that if they are very poor than they probably have few things to make them happy so they probably wouldn't be happy at school.

The last school we went to was Regina Assumpta. This was the all girls school which I told you about in the previous blog. We did a lot of the same stuff that we did last time except this time I got a chance to watch them play dodge ball outside! These girls were very intense! I couldn't imagine getting hit with their wicked throws and spins! After I experienced watching that I saw a couple young girls come running up to me to see if my white skin was real. They started touching me as if I was the only white thirteen year old boy they had ever seen. We got their names and took pictures together. They were very photogenic and loved seeing themselves on the camera!

Right now I am watching the scores in the hockey games back home and looking at the waves in the ocean.