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Announcement
Photo by Matpar Haiti, a paint company.A very bittersweet announcement.Basically since the day after the earthquake, there's been a question somewhere between "the forefront" and "the back burner" of...
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Thirty Dollar Diet Coke
One thing people can never understand about Haiti is how the cost of living is actually higher in some ways that the US. One example of this is groceries.My friends Cornelius and Minday Broersma have...
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Ain't No Party Like a Port-au-Prince Party
Robbie, Irene, Tiff, Jarrett, Jill, Josiah, Nathaniel, Ben, and Amber A few weeks ago our 3rd grade teacher and Kellyanne had a birthday, and her husband Wilson planned a surprise party for her. It was...
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DC 2013! Part One
Another Easter, another trip to Washington, DC!This was our third year to take students to DC, and luckily we both departed and returned with 11 kids from the 10th and 11th grades. This group included...
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DC 2013! Part Two
To continue from part one, we also visited the Library of Congress with a dozen Haitian ducklings in tow.Ben adopted what he called the "sorority pose".An iconic building, a freezing day.I waited...
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Date Night
Projects in Haiti are a lesson in logistics. Any endeavor, whether short-term trip, class outing, errand to the grocery store, moving here, or setting up a long term mission, revolves around traffic,...
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Cinco de Jefe
As an adoptive mother of a Latino son, I must say I hope everyone had a happy Cinco de Mayo. Here at our house, we truly believe in connecting our son to his home culture, and celebrating its special...
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Retreat, and Being Institutionalized
This weekend five fellow teachers and I took 19 11th graders to the beach for a class retreat centered on the topic of college planning. We are very lucky that one of the 11th graders' families owns a...
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My Teaching Secret
Want to know my teacher secret for engaged, happy, attentive kids?I remembered it again last Saturday. The 11th grade class was having their college planning retreat. It was a hot morning, and the kids...
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Baller, Shot Caller
It's basketball playoff time around here.Last week, our boys were psyched and ready for a tough game. It was Saturday, so many players' parents were able to attend the game who had never come before....
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The Coop
Our seniors are flying the coop.My World Cultures classHere's where they're going and their anticipated majors.Palm Beach State College, environmental scienceLa Salle (Montreal), restaurant...
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Home with the Armadillos
Katie observed that we have 7 days left in Haiti. She asked me how I felt about that at dinner. I stared at her face blankly. I felt…How do I feel?I feel like I am in a glass cage of emotion. Haiti is...
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The Dirty Details
I move home from Haiti in six days.Things I Will Not Miss1. MosquitoesElectric racket of vengeance2. Stank-nasty bathroom3. Newborn-sized refrigerator (featuring broken-off freezer door)4. Sweating5....
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Goodnight, Haiti
Goodnight, Ackermans, our faithful and dear friends. Many hours at Karibe felt like lunches in a treehouse. Thank you for your mountain air, your casseroles, and your wisdom time and time again. Thank...
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Shop Haiti
Hey friends,We just wrote a new page on our blog called "Shop Haiti".You probably knew there were crafty little organizations that train Haitian artisans (mostly very impoverished single moms) to make...
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Things to remember in America:You can wash grapes with faucet water.We flush every time. You have no twelve foot wall, so peeps can try to steal your car on your first night (car alarm made thief run,...
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Strippers, Adoption, and My New Heroes
About a month ago a woman who dances at a gentleman's club in Waco walked into an adoption agency and asked to discuss placing her very sick two-week-old son. Unusually, she asked for a couple by...
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I Hate Father's Day
I hate Father's Day.If school was in session in June and we were ever to do some Father's Day event with my students, it would be extremely painful- more painful than good, I venture to say.Offhand I...
View ArticleWhat I Miss The Most About Haiti
Here we are, home again. We went to children's camp, on family vacation to Jamaica, and have attended approximately 234098 hours of teacher certification classes.People keep asking how I'm doing with...
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44 months. That's how long we've lived on other people's gifts. Mostly of my Southern girlfriends hate receiving gifts. We say, "you shouldn't have" and we mean it- cause now we've got to write a...
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Snow Day
Ice storm, no school. Not our baby- stolen for snuggling from a dear friend. World's cutest tree topper. Pinch me- I live here? Our frosty neighborhood.23 in Dallas.84 in Port-au-Prince.Love, Katie
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Return of the Kilpatricks
We're back! Sweaty as ever, Ben and I are back in action in the Ayiti. Our primary purposes are to love on our friends & students as well as help at TeacHaiti. Today was spent at Quisqueya.The...
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Haiti Art
We're in Haiti for a spring break visit and today visited two of my favorite boutiques featuring Haitian-made artisan products. Apparent Project and Haitian Creations (with a new line called Fait la...
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Visiting TeacHaiti
Scribing for the docs at TeacHaiti School of HopeMiquette bragging over her 6th graders' scores on the national exam. All passed!Leading the daily flag raising ceremony and singing the national...
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Price Challenge: Where Are the Cheapest Organic Groceries?
I've tried to switch to mostly organic groceries, but I'm finding my grocery budget flying out the door much faster than before.So, I got super nerdy and made a spreadsheet! I slunk around four...
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