Eyleen Chou's blog

Hey Everyone-
We made it safely back to the US. We're staying in Miami for the night and will be back on Monday to Madison.
 
-Eyleen

Here in Bayonnais the school Institution Classique de Bayonnais (ICB) is filled to capacity with students. Sometimes I don't understand how they all fit! ICB is run by OFCB (the church we stay with). They have elementary and middle school in the mornings (until noon) and high schoolers in the afternoon.
 
There are some 1600 students (I think that's the number that's been thrown around). Maybe we'll be able to visit school in the afternoon. I know there are several outdoor classrooms set up.
 
Well, today was the last day of the surveying class. We did end up with fewer (with our advertisement as today's class as hands on work for only those who are very interested). We began with a walk through with our data that was collected the previous day. They're all so quick on the uptake. There were probably 15 students today, rather than the usual 30.
 
Tyler manned the autolevel, and me the theodolite. All students got a lot of hands on experience. We have picked out a few star students...who we hope can continue to be surveyors. The difficulty is how to actually make the announcement that some students will not be "passing" per se.
 
There's still much to be done. Kyle's been out and about all day. Having many conversations with Actionnel. It's almost lunch time.
 
Wisconsin sounds too cold right now (I'm wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt). I hope you are all well.
-Eyleen

It's been a while since I've written. I'm trying to get others on the team to write too, but it's not really happening. A lot has happened since my last post.
The surveying class has been somewhat of a success overall. Unfortunately, as much as we'd like to make all the students experts at surveying...it's not really realistic to get each student full hands on experience on the equipment. During class, we always hold practical learning sessions where students set up the equipment and take measurements; however, we have about 30 students each morning.
 
Students have learned a ton already: they know about flow measurements, how to find horizontal and vertical angles; stadia (a way to measure distance), and way more. They're like sponges.
 
Luckily, one student in particular, Facile, is available in the afternoons (the rest of the students have to go to school in the afternoon). Yesterday, Tyler, myself, Facile, and Facile's friend Charles went out to survey the clinic site. It was very successful. We completed the survey of the area and Facile was able to learn many techniques very quickly. Unfortunately, Charles was only a note taker. Hopefully tomorrrow we can spread the load so that both of them become very good at the trade.
 
The previous evening, Scott, Maria, and Kyle C (SF) headed back to the states. The following evening (last night) a group of 9 from one of the North Carolina churches who sponsors the community here arrived. The dynamic has changed very quickly. There are 2 male high schoolers, 3 women, and 4 men. Previously, our saying grace before dinner was mostly in politeness to our hosts...now it has become something that must be taken seriously. It is difficult to gauge how the group feels about us.
 
We've been working together well though. Today, Facile, Charles and myself helped laid out a future basketball court that the NC folks wanted to set up. Other than that, while Tyler and I taught this morning, Eric was at the bridge (he finished the wall with the group of workers, and only has the slab left), Carrie and Kyle scouted some irrigation canals, and the NC folks built pews for the church.
 
We've noticed that we're coming at the problem (how to help Bayonnais) at a very different angle. The people from NC has brought cases and cases of clothes, candy, shoes, and more to distribute. While us EWB folks have invested all of our efforts in planning construction and teaching. I think I maintain the idea that education is really the best type of "giving." I've been trying very hard this trip to be sure to try to explain what we're doing (in broken creole) to any and all children standing around staring at us while we are walking or repairing things.
 
What else have we done? Tyler and Kyle went to the market today. Carrie worked on the communications issue in the network here; she mapped out the network; more flow work with Kyle; did Kyle C's soil tests. Eric and Carrie also tried to clean the solar panels (which with one slosh of the water bucket... Eric soaked himself while being atop a ladder).
 
Here are some random quotes from the team:
"I've been learning a lot about the dynamics of Bayonnais" -Kyle
"I hate soil testing; I've never had an hour go by so quickly in my life" - Carrie
 
Our meals have become fantastic since there are now 14 people (rather than 5). Today for lunch, we had a tomotoe based stew. Tonight for dinner we had rice, and beef with the red sauce, pasta salad and regular salad (iceberg lettuce and cucumbers and tomatoes).
 
Now all 5 of us engineers are chilling in the guys room. We're going over what we need to do for the final report. In addition, Tyler and I still need to layout our lesson plan for tomorrow.
 
Hope it's not too cold where you are,
-Eyleen

Hey everyone-
 
Today was day one of the surveying class! While Scott and Eric (SF) worked on bridge repairs, while Carrie (SF) and Kyle C (SF) dug a test hole for the clinic, while Maria and Kyle A scouted, Tyler and I were teaching. (Hopefully the others can provide updates on their work)
 
At first at 9 am there was only a couple students present. As time passed, more and more started flooding in. Unfortunately, Tyler and I seemed to be much less prepared than we thought. We had forgotten about name tags, we had forgotten our notebook with the class plan, and I'm sure we'd forgotten many other things.
 
I have found a whole new level of respect for teachers and educators.
 
We were able to settle everyone down, and have them introduce themselves, their age, and why they were interested in the class. There were probably 5-6 girls of the 28 students there (not uncommon of engineering classes in the states!). Ages ranged from 18-27. Everyone said they were taking the class to learn surveying...not the most creative answer in the world but definitely a worthy one.
 
We began introducing the overall concept. After probably talking for 20 minutes, a student said he did not understand my french. It was quite a blow to my ego, but I was glad someone said something. We started over, with Amilore (the young pastor), translating from English to French. All the students were very receptive. Things were going well. I think we touched on all the important concepts of surveying.
 
At the end of the class, we decided to have some practical experience. We set up 2 theodolites on tripods for the students to try out. They practically ran out of the class room. One of the tripods was set up lower to accommodate the shorter students (and me!); the other was taller for Tyler and the tall kids. People were antsy to be one of the first to use the scope. They were able to correctly read the angles and everything.
 
The first day of class was definitely a success. But much more planning will go into tomorrow's class.
 
For lunch, we had hotdogs in slices of bread, salad, pasta, and rice. Afterwards, Carrie, tyler and myself went to a tributary behind the granary to scout out water flow for the test run hydro electric. A whole group of little boys (probably 8 years old) followed us the whole way. As soon as we passed the part that was an irrigation canal. they all started yelling "no no! tournez! come wif me!" Apparently, they're not allowed to go up there. They thought the same for us. They kept saying "Actionnel Fache!" (Actionnel, the pastor, will get angry!).
 
It was very very hard to continue up the tributary as small children kept trying to tell us to turn back. It was very thoughtful of them...but difficult to go forward. Some even said "tombe! mourir!" (essentially- if you fall you will die). They were tugging on our arms. Calling us. So I decided to take them all back to the OFCB School/Church with me while Carrie and Tyler kept pushing forward.
 
The area was very beautiful. Bamboo shoots grew near the water, and the water was extremely pristine. A boy showed me just how clean, by drinking water directly from where it fell out of the side of the hill. There was livestock about, women carrying laundry on their heads on a path up the hill.
 
We marched back to OFCB, with a break to check out my binoculars.
 
When I returned, I was able to catch Kyle C to help him with soil testing the clinic. He had  tried 2 times to do the test, but each time was unsuccessful (the soil fell out of the PVC pipe...or something). We walked to the clinic site and a deep large hole had been dug in the middle of a bean field. I spoke with some of the people who were near by. One of the women looked as if she was 90 years old. Celia. Her and her husband came out from their home to check out what was going on. I think they're the ones leasing the farmland until the clinic is built.
 
It is amazing to me how people live for so long under such tough conditions. I think it's a true indication of their will power and spirit.
 
With some success, we were able to carry the soil test back to OFCB and add the water (essentially, you stuff soil in a pipe and add water, and see how long it takes to drain). Many young boys crowded around again to help. Kyle C had to carry a huge bucket filled withw ater from the clinic site to OFCB, proabably 800 m. I taught one boy, Eligeson words of encouragement in English. So the whole way he kept saying "Good Job" (with a wonderfully innocent haitian accent), or "Keep it up" to Kyle. We made it and were able to prop the PVC pipe to remain standing. Everything worked out.
 
I hope all is well in the states. Hopefully, Kyle or Scott can write an update tonight about their days.
 
-Eyleen

Right now 4 kids from the community are watching over my shoulder as I write this. They're names are Eveline, Cedelson, Ibey, Remilia.
 
Tyler and I and 3 SF EWB'ers arrived yesterday evening in a truck driven by the church's pastor, Actionnel. The car ride was pretty smooth...until we got to the unpaved roads. At that time i was very happy about the Truck's great suspension. We ended up passing through many small cities. One of which had some flooding problems so we had to drive through a water filled ditch. We made it fine; the bus going the opposite direction was not so lucky. The seating was a little tight as well, but manageable, especially with cokes and bread from Actionnel.
 
As we arrived, many people flooded the area in front of the guest house.  It was great having such a warm welcome. All of us were extremely exhausted when we arrived. (The SF people-Kyle, Carrie, and Eric all had a red-eye before the flight to Haiti...talk about tired!)
 
This morning, I took a shower in the stalls outside the guest house (by recommendation of Kyle A: "showering outside is the best"). Everyone got ready, wearing their Sunday's best and went to church. The people here are very poor, but everyone manages to have a wonderfully pressed dress or slacks. the service this morning was incredibly dynamic. With sermons from Actionnel and Amilore (the younger pastor), lots of singing from the choir and congregation. In addition, people were invited to stand in front of the congregation to tell what they were thankful for, what their hopes were, and their prayers. At the end of the service, lunch was served with soft drinks (Grape soda...mmm). The sandwich was a bun with thousand island jalepano pepper dressing (that's the description that everyone has put together).
 
Right afterwards, all of us got to work (despite the traditional rest of Sunday). Scott and Eric went off to work on the bridge repairs. Myself, Tyler, Maria, and Kyle C went to survey the clinic site. Kyle A and Carrie went to scout the spring source for the hydro. It was good for Tyler and I to work with the theodolite (surveying instrument) because we're teaching a week-long course in surveying here (starting tomorrow at 9 am! Don't worry we've been prepping all night, with vocab and a lesson plan).
 
The weather here is hot. Probably in the mid to upper-80s. It's very draining in the sun. But a nice change from the snow and ice.
 
We reconvened at 3 pm to prepare for the community meeting at 4 pm. After much discussion, we had a game plan to bring up the hydroelectric system. We promptly walked over to the church at 4 (literally a stones throw away from the guest house). However, very few people own watches or clocks...and then there is Haitian time (things start at least 30 min to 1 hour later than expected).
 
Probably 10 people were already on the front steps of the church by the time we got there. We made conversation, there were some older teenagers, an elder, and many children. I ended up trying to teach Crocodile Morey to the kids (a Hand Jive game). It was pretty entertaining to try to explain the hand slapping and the singing.
 
By 4:30 we decided to go into the church and try to begin. Actionnel addressed the people in attendance (by that time 20-30). Then, Amilore and Scott took front and center (with the rest of us on the benches with the rest of the community). Amilore served as the English-Creole translator. Scott explained how hydroelectric works, the advantages and disadvantages, the community involvement, maintenance of the system and much more.
 
The floor was always open. We got questions ranging from clarifying how the system works, to asking about the danger of water (will it be electrified when it exits the pipe? will it be violent flow when it exits the pipe?). They also asked about the possibility of getting electricity in homes, which unfortunately is a little outside of our scope.
 
For right now, we're focusing on bringing power to the area to power a future clinic (designed by EWB SF professionals). By the end of the meeting it was decided that EWB-UW would work on a small system, to bring more power to the school in church as a test run. There was much stress on finding someone to be hired to be trained to maintain the power system.
 
Actionnel closed with a positive note: "If you push us (in Bayonnais), we will do it" implying that the community was ready for any project we could bring. Another man stood and gave us more words of encouragement. In all, it went very well.
 
Us "blancs" (whites in french/creole...I don't think they differentiate Asians and Whites), ate a delicious dinner (fried plaintains, rice with beans, casserole, pasta salad, regular salad, chicken, and a tomato/onion sauce). The rest of the night, our various groups, SF, surveying class, and data collection/interpretation into AutoCAD (scott/kyle). We've been exhausted. All of us commented on the fact that it was only 8 pm...when it felt like 11 pm!
 
Wish us luck tomorrow (teaching, bridge repairs, and more),
Eyleen

Hi all-
Here are some updates (first from Scott's emails over the past few days)
1/6/2009 We have arrived safely in Bayonnais.  We got stuck in Port-au-Prince for an extra day because there was no gasoline there, but somehow managed to find some.  We did make it in time to do a little work today, but we will start things in earnest tomorrow.  Hope you are all well~Scott
 
As for Tyler and I, we arrived in miami just a little while ago (there were lots of delays in Chicago).We'll keep you posted on our travel as we go from Here to PAP and then to Bayonnais.
 
-Eyleen
 

Here's some info that Scott sent in an email to Actionnel (pastor of the church in Bayonnais, and community leader) It should include all the info. As usual, we have several different project going on and associated goals for the trip:
1) Bridge Repairs and Maintenance
2) Teach surveying class
3) Gather data for Hydroelectric Power
4) Discuss Roof Systems/Structural Stability of classrooms, granary, clinic and other new buildings.
5) Clinic Surveys and Discussions
We will be arriving in 2 different groups from 3 different places.  The transportation schedule is this:
1st group arrives:
8:50 am on Monday 5 January, 2009.
3 EWB members (2m/1f)  (UW members Scott Hamel, Kyle Ankenbauer, and Maria Selk)
 
2nd group arrives:\
12:20pm on Saturday 10 January, 2009
5 EWB members (3m.2f) (UW members Eyleen Chou, Tyler Lark)
 
1st group leaves:
5:20pm on Wednesday Jan 13, 2009
4 leaving (2m/2f) (UW members Scott and Maria)
2nd group leaves:
5:20pm on Sunday Jan 18, 2009
4 leaving (3m/1f) (UW members Eyleen, Tyler and Kyle)
Also, as you know, there is a North Carolina group arriving the 14th and leaving the 18th, I don't know their numbers.
From the schedule above, you can see that the only time that we will all be there together is the Jan 11 (sunday) and Jan 12 (monday).  Our schedule will be roughly as follows:
 
Jan 6-10
-Bridge Repairs
-Hydroelectric Surveying
-Classroom Discussions
-Flow measurements
 
Jan 11-12
-Classroom Discussions
-Clinic Surveying
-Hydroelectric Community Meeting
-Hydroelectric Questions (water board)
Jan 12-17
-Surveying Class
-Hydroelectric Surveying
-Flow measurements
 
As usual its a full schedule.  There are a number of people we would like to meet with to discuss all of the projects.  Obviously, we need to talk to Pere.  We will be building some stone walls for the bridge repairs and could really use his help for that.
 
The hydroelectric project is a large project.  As with all the projects we have done so far, this is your project.  Thus we have many questions on how it will be constructed and maintained after we leave.  Unlike the solar system, we hope that once we leave, the community of Bayonnais will be able to maintain the system without our help.  We would like to meet with a representative group of the community and clinic (not just OFCB personnel) to discuss these things.  I don't know who this would be or even how many, maybe village elders, maybe important families in town, I don't know.  I also don't know if you want the power to be owned by OFCB (like the solar PV system) or if it is more community owned (like the bridge).  Depending on the answer to that, we would also like it if there were other churches and religions represented.  Ideally, this meeting would be on Sunday, Jan 11, since we will all be there that day.
 
Some of the questions we will be asking at that meeting would be:
Who will own the power system?
who will maintain/fix it?
who will make decisions relating to the power distribution?
what will the community contribute toward the project?
who will be in charge of expanding the system if needed?
who will own the property that it is on?
and many many more...
 
Since the power system is also related to the water supply, we would also like to meet with "Water Board" to discuss how and when the water is used.  I anticipate this will be a much smaller meeting and we may need to travel for it?
Please let me know if you have any questions relating to all this.  We hope to see you soon!
-- Scott Hamel, P.E.PhD Candidate Department of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison