Update on travels

Hello families! We just stopped at Dairy Queen! We are having a safe trip so far. Be expecting a phone call from your child when we are 30 minutes away. We are hoping that we will arrive at 9:00! Have a good rest of your afternoon!

Coming Home...

It is 8:30am right now and we are headed to the highschool to give them electric pencil sharpeners. We should be home around 8:30pm tonight. We will keep you updated as we go. Have a good day!

Thursday

Dear Parents (and other friends at home),

Today we got up at 6:30 for our trip to the Everglades. We arrived at the Air Boat place around 8:00. For breakfast we ate at the local restaurant and tried interesting things like frog legs and alligator tail! They were fried and amazing. Then we went out back and got to see some of the alligators that they had rescued. There were four alligators, each extremely large. After walking around for quite awhile waiting for the boat ride to be ready, we finally got to meet our boat driver, Ed! (He sounded like ALL his jokes were rehearsed.) We boarded the air boat, distributing the weight so we didn't tip. Then Ed fired up the motorcycle-sounding engine and we went into the swamp at 30 miles an hour. We reached the most shallow part of the Everglades, where Lauren, Morgan, and I got knee deep into the water. (It felt like a wet plush blanket just like Ed said.) We sped off into the distance after Ed gave us the majority of our questions for the Boys verses Girls nighttime game. We putted through the tight river space, where we spotted alligators left and right. (About 8 per square mile!) The river boat ride was probably the highlight of today, in my opinion it was the best activity of the whole trip!

God bless you all,

Gilbert and Michael

Gilbert and Michael forgot to mention how, on the way back from the everglade tour, the GPS (and Mr. Dia) took us on a tour of the Miami airport. I swear we were about to be flying over to Nicaragua to say hi to the other mission trip!

-Morgan Levy :)

This afternoon we went on a tour of Little Haiti. After our airport tour, we finally made it to the after school to set up the things that we purchased from Target and Wal-Mart the day before. We cleaned and rearranged over a two day period. We came in this afternoon around 12:50 to put in the new items, and make colorful signs to brighten up the after-school room. After, we met a man named Jean Derisca at the after-school center and he took us on a tour through Little Haiti in our own van. All sixteen of us (students and chaperones), plus the tour guide had to squish into one of our vans that normally seats 12. We went to the Asian American Alliance center where we looked and talked about pictures of some of the famous figures from Haiti, and helped Haiti fight for  freedom. We also met the Mayor of North Miami Beach and took a group picture with him, Philippe Desroses was his name. After, he took us to the soccer park, the Emmanel "Manna" Sanon soccer park. They used this park for weekly soccer tournaments. Sometimes the park was used for large social gatherings, like the remembrance of the earthquake in Haiti in Port Au' Prince a year ago. Then after the soccer park, we went to the Cultural Arts Center. There were beautiful murals of markets and women dancing. Then we went to a Bookstore called the Libreri Mapou. Then we went to the Botanica which is a small store that has little trinkets and things that are important to people who lived in Haiti. After we went to a Haitian owned furniture store, called Ziggy's Furniture Store. That was the last place that we visited with Jean. 

Then after our tour, we were expected to be eating lunch, but we didn't. We didn't really have time to eat. We were really hungry, but it did make us think of the people in the world that don't have anything to eat, who were actually "starving". We went back to the after-school, the kids were there already because school was already let out by the time we got back from our tour. The look on the little children's faces was truly genuine. They kept asking "Did you do this?" and it was a really good feeling to say "Yes, we did." You got a warm feeling in your tummy when you help someone who really appreciates it. We helped them with their homework and shared snacks, which we really appreciated because we were hungry. We played and colored, until it was finally time to go. The children really didn't want to see us leave, and we didn't want to leave either. It was an amazing experience that none of us will ever forget. 

Naomi & Olivia

Food of Florida

Check out our Food of Florida page (beside Trip Itinerary page) to find out what we have been eating.


Click here to view Food of Florida

-Morgan and Maryhunter

Wednesday

Haitian After School Center

a day in little haiti

Today we went to a after school program and we helped out cleaning the place. Before that we had to go and get the supplies from Target. We had made a list of what things to get like cleaning supplies, furniture and other miscellaneous items. Mary Hunter was acting like a child in the cart. We arrived at the after school center later and cleaned up. After that we helped the children do homework and we played with them. The kids couldn't wait until we got back. Then we went to the beach and we had a great time. We got the football stuck in the tree but we got it out. Then we had dinner at a hibachi restaurant and it was good. For a surprise we celebrated Mr. Burtons fake birthday by having some ice cream for him. It was a good day.

Christian and Mary Alex

Photos from today:

Today was Tuesday, we all had loads of fun! After breakfast we visited a high school, Toussaint L'Ouverture, to interact with the Haitian students. We were greeted with open arms. We also visited the After School program in Little Haiti, after our Italian leftovers lunch, to inspect what work might need to be done to their facilities. We enjoyed reading and playing with the kids too. After our time there, we went to Wal-Mart to get supplies for the after school program. It was really surprising what basic things they lacked, things which we tend to take advantage of. We left there and went to enjoy ourselves at Delray beach. It was too cold to swim but some people played football and some people took a beach walk. Tonight we enjoyed a pleasant meal at La Bamba, a Mexican restaurant. We ended the night with fellowship and a trivia game, males verse females, about our quality time together today.

                     by. Gilbert Brown and Naomi ware

The Boys in Miami

Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice

Dear Parents,
Today we went to a Haitian high school. While we were there, Bobby, Gilbert and Matt sat in a History class and a Technology class. During the history, we had a chance to interact with Haitian teenagers. When talking to a student, he taught Creole. We learned: Como rele= What is your name? Me rele= My name is...
We are about to eat lunch. After we will be going to visit a Haitian after-school program in Little Haiti, Miami.

God Bless You,

Matt, Gilbert and Bobby

Dear Parents,
We went to the Haitian high school today. It was a great experience to see the Haitian teenagers in school; learning in English. Merritt, Olivia, and Mary Hunter sat in a American history class and an English class. They thought it was cool to see how they learned and how they were slightly more advanced in social studies, compared to us. They said that Trinity is far more advanced in Language Arts then they were because English is their second language.
We have an hour ride to Miami and we are looking forward to it.
We will update the blog later tonight! Have a good rest of your afternoon.

Love, Olivia and Mary Hunter

Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice

Hello families!

We had a fun day at the beach today, The water was cold but worth going in! Right now, we are eating dinner in one of the conference rooms and just reflected on what we did today. The car ride took about 11 hours, but was fun, and we arrived at about 5:00. We cant wait to start our work this week! Tomorrow we will be visiting the Haitian high school and then we will go shopping for school supplies for the Haitian after school program.


Love, 
Lauren and Merritt,
and Olivia,  Mary Hunter, Gilbert, Matt, Mary Alex, Christian, Bobby, Michael, Morgan, Naomi, Mr. Dia, Mr. Burton, Mrs. Masanotti, and Ms. Taft 
<3 

P.S. Hope you are having fun in Charlotte!

Dear Parents,


We have arrived safely at the Duncan Conference Center. After a long, yet awesome, drive, we are about to go to the beach to stretch our legs.

God Bless You,

Matt Williams

Last Minute Reminders

Good morning!

This time tomorrow we will be on the road (for 11 hours!) headed toward Delray Beach. As you finish packing today, please remember the following:

* Pack LIGHT
* Lunch Money for 5 Days
* Socks, Underwear and Tennis Shoes
* Rain Jacket

No CELL Phones, Laptops or PSPs:)

Also for those of you who don't know, Mrs. Masanotti is joining us as our new chaperone so get excited. See you tomorrow...at 5am.

Overnight Medication Form

Parents,

Please fill out the Medication Form below and return the morning of our departure in a Ziploc bag enclosed with any medications your child will need on the trip.  

If you are unable to print the document, please let me know and I will send one home with your child (gtaft@tescharlotte.org).

11 days and counting...

OVERNIGHT MEDICATION FORM

Allergic Reactions and Epi-pens

As a result of the increased number of children with allergies to a wide variety of substances including food and insect bites, Trinity will now be sending an Epi-Pen in the first aid kit on overnight trips. 

An Epi-Pen is a pre-loaded injection of epinephrine which is given to an individual only when they are having a severe allergic reaction involving swelling and difficulty breathing.  It can be a life-saving measure until emergency help can arrive. The faculty and staff have been instructed in the use of the Epi-pen.

Your signature below gives Trinity Episcopal School your permission to administer the epinephrine in the event that your child has a severe allergic reaction.

I give my permission for the faculty, staff, or chaperones to give my child(ren) _____________________________________ an injection of epinephrine by using the Epi-pen in the event of a severe allergic reaction.

I do not give permission for the faculty, staff, or chaperones to give my child(ren)_____________________________ an injection of epinephrine by using the Epi-pen in the event of a severe allergic reaction.

_______________________________                ____________________________

Parent’s Signature                                                                     Date

__________________________________________________________________

Prescription Medication

Student: _______________________________________Grade: _______Date: ____________

Name of Prescription #1 _______________________ Dosage amount and time:_____________

Name of Health Provider ___________________ Phone: _______________________

Name of Prescription #2_______________________ Dosage amount and time:____________

Name of Health Provider:____________________Phone______________________

Special information or details:

Please remember to send the prescription medication in the container given by pharmacy and enclose in plastic bag along with this form.  Thanks! 

Little Haiti

"A Caribbean style marketplace and a replica of the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince mark this neighborhood as the center of Haitian culture in Miami."

-Traveler Description, TripAdvisor

For the last few weeks, the Florida crew has been meeting during lunch on Wednesdays to have conversations about the history and culture of Haiti and the places we will be visiting on our trip to Florida. Our focus today was on the history and demographics of Little Haiti - a very impoverished area of Miami, where we will spend two days working at a Haitian After School center. In addition to our work at the After School Center, we will take a guided van tour and eat authentic Creole food as we attempt to grasp a better sense of the Florida-Haitian community.

This conversation was the first of many, as we prepare for some of the things we will see when traveling in and around this area of Florida.


Parents...find the article your child read here: Miami: Little Haiti.

Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice

Students will spend the day here working alongside Haitin high school students.

 

Toussaint L'Overture Website

Images from our trip last year...