Voyager 1 in Interstellar Space? Has Elvis Left the Solar System?

Has Elvis left the Solar System?

Voyager 1 and 2, both launched 35 years ago in 1977, have been making big news lately and it is very possible that NASA might be making an official declaration soon about the probe....
Voyager 1 is about to make history for humanity as it has most likely left our solar system and is now in interstellar space. This isn't just exciting, it's TREMENDOUSLY EXCITING and HISTORIC for the human race! I myself am an incurable fan of both Voyagers and this post is to share some very recent info about them and also to review the basics for those who may not be familiar with the mission. Below (public domain image), is the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Here's is a link to some of the latest info as of Oct 4th, 2012:
Houston Chronicle Post: http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/10/more-evidence-that-voyager-has-exited-the-solar-system/ by Eric Berger.

To me, the most exciting portion of Mr. Berger's post is the second chart (posted below) which shows a massive drop and continuous lowered amount of ionized particles from our Sun. The actual boundary crossing could have happened as evidenced by that and the raised level of highly energetic galactic cosmic rays the prob is reading. Those have been on the rise for a while. Another aspect to consider is the flux of the magnetic field. All these are elements have effectively been observed during the past few months.

Here is the link to several charts and VOYAGER RECENT 6-hour HISTORY - http://voyager.gsfc.nasa.gov/heliopause/recenthist.html

Where do we draw the line?

No one knows the exact boundary of our solar system........yet! Isn't that amazing?! What does our membrane look like? How permeable is it? Is it degrading? How much does the boundary shift and does it shift with our sun's wobble or with our system's wobble in and out of the arm? I'm looking forward to hearing some of those answers one day and hope that it will be in my lifetime. I personally imagine the boundary to be rather vague in spots and constantly shifting in minute details. An interesting thing to remember is that Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are at different places so while similar shifts are expected, we might have something striking from one that the other doesn't find. In Berger's article, you'll see more charts and criteria for Voyager to be considered "out" of our solar system.

They include the following, (from Berger's article:)

http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/10/more-evidence-that-voyager-has-exited-the-solar-system/

Quote: "At last check, NASA scientists said they were not yet ready to officially declare that Voyager 1 had officially exited the solar system by crossing the heliopause.
To cross this boundary scientists say they would need to observe three things:
1. An increase in high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system
2. A drop in charged particles emanating from the sun.
3. A change in the direction of the magnetic field.
End Quote"

The Voyagers are going where no man.......
and no spacecraft have gone before!
There are a great many people who don't get how fantastic that is. They have been somewhat dulled to a host of real scientific discoveries due to their less "flashy" nature when put up against Star Trek, Star Wars, and recent decades of space and sci-fi special effects and computer-generated environments. Adventures of slow-spinning, silent, old technology spacecrafts often get a bit forgotten by those not actively looking right at the space community and those researchers.

Voyager 1, in continuing its trek toward the heliosphere, arrived last year and found a layer of magnetic bubbles made up of charged particles. Now, it is 11 billion miles away and suspected to have crossed the boundary of the heliosheath (the outer region of the heliosphere). Here are two articles about those cool magnetic bubbles:

"NASA Probes Suggest Magnetic Bubbles Reside at the Edge of the Solar System" http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jun/HQ_11-174_Voyager_Update.html

"A Big Surprise at the Edge of the Solar System - http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/09jun_bigsurprise/

Some Perspective...
With the completion of the original mission of exploring Jupiter and Saturn on planetary flybys, Voyager 2 was directed to check out Uranus and Neptune while Voyager 1 maintained a trajectory toward the edge of our "neighborhood" bubble. To give you some perspective, our solar system is located in the Orion-Cygnus arm of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Our bubble wobbles up and down in and out of our arm area, but is still very...VERY far away from our galactic center. Just think: it took 35 years to exit our solar system. Even if we use the very latest technologies and don't stop for any sight-seeing, it is unlikely that any of us will be around to see any craft approach our galactic center. Check out this link to see the real time position of both Voyagers: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/index.html (Is that not THE COOLEST!?)
If it isn't, then this may be - check out the scale of the Universe to give you even more perspective: http://scaleofuniverse.com/

Above: We are the YELLOW DOT - image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
Below: image from this website: http://www.outerspaceuniverse.org/our-solar-system-boring-part-milky-way-galaxy.html

How long will the Voyagers last? How far can they go?

Physically, they should last millions of years, but communications will probably only last until about 2025. The Voyagers are powered by large radioscopic thermoelectric generators containing plutonium. Operations will cease one at a time, barring any unknown circumstances. Here is the master plan of the ending of the mission and the scheduled operations:

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/thirty.html From the timeline, it looks as if Voyager 1 is expected to live slightly longer than its sister Voyager 2.

Having followed the Voyager probe missions since I was a child and being inspired by watching Carl Sagan in Cosmos: A Personal Voyage on TV in the 80's, I have always been fascinated with space and any aspect of the night sky. Humanity has always looked up and in spite of the terribly too-bright skies over New Orleans, I am always looking up. One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, I hope to purchase a telescope.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of all time:The Pale Blue Dot references a picture taken of Earth from Voyager 1 in 1990 from 6 billion km away. It shows how small we are and lends perspective on our place in the local cosmos. It transfixes me. Every time I hear Sagan's voice reading the famous passage from his Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, my eyes fill with tears and I am overcome with emotions and inspiration.

If you look closely, you can see Earth in the brown band on the right, about halfway up. That is our planet. Stunning isn't it! Check out the Pale Blue Dot link above for a look at the wide angle shot which includes our sun.


Listen to Carl Sagan reading the famous passage from his book and see what you think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PN5JJDh78I&feature=fvwrel

Being  musician, I am also thrilled about the Golden Record being aboard Voyager 1 and 2. It was intended to represent our world and its civilizations. Can you imagine that if something happened to Earth and the planets on and around which we have robotic spacecraft, this would be THE ONLY EVIDENCE of our existence! I do actually ponder that from time to time.The Golden Record contains scenes, greetings, music, and sounds from Earth. What would your selections be? Here is a link to all of the information on the records. If you ever get the chance to check out Murmurs of Earth by Carl Sagan, take advantage of it.

The Golden Record http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html

Even MORE Excitement!
I have the great fortune to be attending a NASA Social event next weekend at the Goldstone Deep Space Network near Fort Irwin, CA in the Mojave Desert. I cannot believe the timing - so close to Voyager I being declared officially "out" of the Solar System. The DSN monitors 24 spacecraft, including the Voyagers so I am hoping to learn a great deal and to talk space with fellow #SpaceTweeps :-) Expect pictures and a lot of "woohoo" comments ; )

You can read my previous blog post on the DSN and our adventure here:
http://carsonia.blogspot.com/2012/09/nasa-goldstone-adventure.html



You can also follow both of the Voyagers on Twitter at:

@NASAVoyager

@NASAVoyager2 (This account tweets for both craft and gives distances from Earth)

NASA Goldstone Adventure!

If you read earlier posts, you may realize that I am a bit of a space freak and also a #spacetweep :-) Yes indeed! I am even applying for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Solar System Ambassador program. I am enthusiastic about space-related projects and news about NASA's missions and I truly believe that we all have something to gain from exploring our cosmic neighborhood and beyond! I'm one of those people who would choose to go to another planet if it meant humanity would gain from the experience.

In early September 2012, the week that Hurricane Isaac blew through Louisiana, I applied for another NASA Social event. The last ones I applied for were the MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) Curiosity landing events. I did not get selected for any of those, but I was encouraged to see more NASA Socials! The one in October includes a visit, tour, and presentations at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Network Communications Complex in the Mojave desert. A week and a half after applying, I received an email saying I was not selected for the event, but I was selected for the wait list. THEN, a week later, I got an email saying I was OFF the wait list and IN for the event!

WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :-)

What exactly is the Deep Space Network? WELL........ There are three on our planet: one at Goldstone which is located in Fort Irwin, California, one in Madrid, Spain, and one in Canberra, Australia. There are three Deep Space networks so that communications with the crafts in the far reaches of our solar system will be constant as the Earth rotates. These centers monitor Earth-orbiting craft, perform radio and radar astronomy, and communicate with space craft that are out around remote planets in our solar system. Each complex is located exactly at 120 degrees apart around the Earth, about 1/3 of the way around so the fields of view overlap. Each place is bowl-shaped and semi-mountainous to prevent interference from other signals.

[This image is in the Public Domain]

The DSNs track unmanned craft, but can be called upon in emergencies or when the "communication pipeline" needs more resources.

Here are some helpful links to read more about what a DSN does and how they work:

Deep Space Networks - wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Network

Goldstone - http://www.gdscc.nasa.gov/

Madrid - http://english.insa.es/view/page/madrid-deep-space-communications-complex/

Canberra - http://www.csiro.au/Organisation-Structure/National-Facilities/CDSCC-facility.aspx

I believe the total number of craft monitored by the DSNs is 35. Impressive!

Here is a screenshot of the Goldstone's page listing 24 of the 35...

So..............why am I interested in this?
Well, I have always been interested in radtio and television communications over long distances. As a child, I would scan stations on my shortwave radio and listen to programs from foreign countries. I would also secretly stay up in the night and use the VHF tuner on my little black & white Zenith TV to see if I could get any faraway channels from Charleston, SC. I used to keep a list of them. Some of the furthest stations away were Charlotte, NC, Savannah, GA, and on several clear nights I was able to actually get channel 44 in Tampa, Fla. Not bad! I used to run the SETI @ Home on my desktops computer and Contact is one of my all time favorite movies. Now, I DO know that Contact features the VLA (Very Large Array) and is not about monitoring unmanned craft. Still, radio astronomy and communication is fascinating to me, regardless of how little I know about it! :-) I hope to learn more at Goldstone! Being in a NASA Social is
A W E S O M E
and you learn so much, meet A M A Z I N G people who are curious about the same things, have an adventure, and get treated superbly by NASA and their guests.
What's not to love?!

Here is what I will get to do:

"Tour the Goldstone complex, travel to Apollo Valley to see the historic Apollo antenna and the 34 meter Beam Waveguide Cluster antennas, take a trip to Mars Valley, home of the large 70 meter Mars antenna (230-ft dish), the 34 meter Uranus antenna and Signal Processing Center 10, the Spacecraft Operations Control Center, meet and interact with scientists, engineers, and other team members from NASA and Goldstone, about the historical significance of Goldstone and its part of the Deep Space Network (DSN), the missions supported and what makes Goldstone unique within the DSN, view and take photographs of the complex, meet  fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media, and meet members of NASA's social media teams."

Here is the official NASA list of participants for Goldstone. 65 people were selected.
https://twitter.com/NASASocial/goldstone-nasa-social/

From NASA Social Media:

“From the first planetary encounters, the first human landing on the moon, to missions that reach the farthest points in our solar system, Goldstone has been there to bring home the critical data, images, and science. The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex is one of three Deep Space Network (DSN) complexes around the world. (The other two are located in Canberra, Australia and Madrid, Spain.) The complex was established to provide the ability to communicate with spacecraft, not only in orbit around the earth, but also in the farther reaches of our solar system. The Deep Space Network complexes provide constant communication with spacecraft as the Earth rotates.

For more information on NASA and its Social Media programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/social/index.html

For more information on the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, visit: http://www.gdscc.nasa.gov/

Tribute to NOLA

This is short, but I thought I'd preserve my Facebook post from in the middle of the night tonight....since I'm still awake and this is what is on my mind....

Dear NOLA,
Today is the 1st day of my 7th year here! I arrived when you were broken in body & spirit (as was I) and am proud to have been witness to your rising & return to wholeness. I've had opportunities here I never imagined I'd have: UNO, NOVA, Jefferson Chorale, ACDA, Civic Symphony, the "Thursday Night Group", a beautiful Episcopal church choir -to name just a few. I finished my doctorate here. Then, there are dear friends & those who have become my family. I feel like I'm allowed to be quirky & passionnate here and most of all - happy. Thank you for being a super city with marvelous people and opportunities...PS This is the year I'll finally get to Saints, Zephyrs, and Hornets games ; )

Snoballs, City Park walks, thunderstorms, drama, Super Bowl, Fleur de lis, French Quarter, voodoo stores, jazzy friends, egrets, Elizabeth's restaurant, Inconspicuous 8, St. Paul's, Mississippi benches, Mardi gras & parades, cruises, Artwalk, dacquiris, museums, photography, ordinations & installations, beignets, beads, the market, rice, history, UNO Innsbruck, marshes, steamboats, water meters, hosting 45+ concerts at St. Paul's, travel, weather pics, Nutriapocalypse, alligators, coffee, 610 Stompers, coming together, Yats, WhoDats, Festival Brasileiro, Thursday nights, Lagniappes.........

(I'll update w/ a few pictures Sunday when I'm home)

HAITI - Info and St. Vincent's School for the Handicapped & Orphaned

St. Vincent's is an Episcopal orphanage and home for the disabled and handicapped in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is both a residential and a day school with a good medical clinic. They host between 200 and 300 children and residents range in age from five to 61. It was founded in 1945 by the sisters of the order of St. Margaret, an Episcopal order. The school is now under the Episcopal diocese of Haiti. There are caregivers on site and food, medical needs, and living quarters are provided, but the center is greatly underfunded. While they receive visitors throughout the year and members are selected for Camp Jake (of The Red Thread Promise), it is all they can do to provide for basic needs. They have medical, educational, and prosthetic programs at the school. Father Sedoni is connected to St. Vincent's, though he has a church of his own where he is rector.
The Episcopal Church in Haiti is large and had a presence at the 2012 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Diocese of Haiti is the Anglican communion diocese which is actually the entire country of Haiti. Holy Trinity Cathedral, located in Port-au-Prince has been destroyed six times, including in the most recent earthquake of 2010.

The current Bishop is The Right Rev. Jean-Zache Duracin.
Episcopal Relief and Development Foundation has more information on programs in Haiti and around the world.

While visiting St. Vincent's as a Camp Jake counselor this July 2012, we spent some time with our amazing campers (who showed us around), took some photographs of the facility, and also heard a wonderful men's choir practicing. Here is a YouTube link to a video of a portion of their rehearsal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhT1os3x1v8 


This is the men's dormitory room:

This is the women's dormitory room:

Main hallway

Lovely doing laundry for the girls while talking to Diumenne

Here is a classroom. Small, but clean and organized.:

Here is another classroom upstairs

There is a good medical clinic there with several rooms, including one with exercise machine.


All in all, St. Vincent's Episcopal School is a haven in a broken city. It gives hope and resources to so many along with education and care. If you are Haiti, make a plan to stop by this place and greet the residents here or in another school or orphanage. 


You can also find St. Vincent's on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/ecolestvincent.haiti 

Haiti: Final Days of Camp Jake

So, the final days of the camp were definitely the best days because the kids were opening up, getting to know us well and we, the counselors, were getting to know their likes and dislikes as well as develop both a routine of activities and continue new fun surprises for them. Wednesday and Thursday included The Lion King film in French which proved to be a big hit, a massive art project of painting the masks that Kelly Andrews had done of each camper, spa time with DeeDee, Shawn, Jake, Tom, Ana, Laura, Casey (and more?), some valuable pool & beach swimming time, super fun face painting (by counselors and also letting the kids paint our faces and arms!), and nail painting time.

The Spa time for our campers is such a neat idea. Aveda donated materials, chapstick, calming & energizing massage oils etc. to the camp. Each camper was brought in for some relaxing music, a foot massage, some massage therapy if needed with Jake, a facial, and a generally relazing and special time for all. Some of them were so relaxed that they cried and some actually fell asleep. It was a treat, something that they will remember for a long time. Each camper was taught that taking care of oneself is important, instructed on how to care for their skin, and given some Aveda lip balm to take home.

In the last couple of days, there were some awesome music times as well. Once, we were so hot from playing around the bar and pool area that we decided to take music down to the beach where we had gone the previous day. So, we lugged instruments, led our blind campers, wheeled chairs down there and set up in a circle. Not five minutes had passed before it started to sprinkle and then.........DELUGE! It POURED rain on us as we scrambled to make sure that each camper was not getting wet.....but they were getting wet as the circular veranda area didn't have that much cover to reach enough beyond the chairs. Laughing, we all got into the very center of the veranda and tried to sing ("Singin' in the Rain"). Then, what I can only assume was a microburst of rain literally fell out of the sky sideways and drenched us even more and began to pick up lounge chairs and toss them about. It made me think "I wonder if this is what a tornado feels like", Ha!
Here is a picture of us in the rain, singing....

I realize I've mostly written about daily camp activities and that's fine, but one thing that I also wanted to write about last week was the campers "coming alive"

One thing that struck me from the very beginning is that this Camp Jake experience is a hallmark of our young campers’ lives. They range in age from 5 to 61. About a third are blind, a third are deaf, and there are many in wheelchairs. There were initial big smiles as they descended from the buses, but it took a day or so to see some of them truly opening up and letting their personalities out. They were so much fun!! They are a vibrant and sparkling group. I have trouble with any country or government that feels anyone with any disability is a “waste of life” or "untouchable". Our campers were AMAZING. I loved to see how they help each other and look out for each other. I also loved seeing them become more open with us during the week, teasing us, or speaking out in group activities. I learned that the average life expectancy in Haiti is 56 so Jimmy, our blind 61-year old accordionist in the group is almost an anomaly. I'm not sure how a school can afford to keep everyone that comes their way, but I'm gratefuI the orphanage is there and didn't turn people like him away. I also found that many of those in Haiti who have any education at all only have up to about 5^thgrade. Many of the campers are super smart, but they lack the broad spectrum of educational challenges and opportunities to which they should be exposed. They shut down for many reasons. I imagine that they spend a lot of time to themselves or in small groups and this camp is the social lottery of a lifetime. I know there is a choir at their school and thank goodness because that will help those folks to gain a needed sense of community and interaction. St. Vincent's is lucky because they do have lots of visitors during the year and some folks to help them out. 

I noticed that my three blind girls, Jesula, Rosaline, and Rosana basically sat to themselves at first - until they were engaged by me or another camper or counselor. When they spoke, they spoke softly. It was through music that they usually became outgoing, especially when it reached a certain height and attracted them by including some choral music. They also opened up enough to try swimming even though they were very scared of it. I saw one of them go in the pool by herself on the final full day! Little Oxilus (left) engaged others in sign language, smiled, giggled, and acted like a normal five-year-old boy. This was incredible because the counselors who had seen him before said that he did not engage at all the last time they saw him.

I saw several other kids literally coming alive here when one of the counselors spoke to them or picked them up and swirled them into the air. Little Diyana in her wheelchair STOOD UP at one point during one of the crazy music jam sessions and she was wiggling a little dance. We all went nuts. Tonight, Sonya held little Auguste in her arms and he stood up out of his chair and smiled and just hugged her back super strongly and stroked her face and arms. What is his future? Who knows what this will be? It’s hard knowing that he may go back into his silent self when we leave. Some of the campers have been in the pool and ocean for the very first time, have painted for the first time, and have developed friends for the first time.  Some have had physical therapy that they've needed for ages and have been given tools and ideas to continue on their own. It’s weird to say you see any sort of progress in three days, but I think it is possible. Even some progress with us is heartwarming to see. As a result of their new experiences, I have been changed as well.

Haiti: Sunday/Monday

This post was intended for Sat and Sun but the Internet has been out since then b/c of lots of storms! It is, in fact, the raint season here! I must post it without pictures or video b/c it takes half an evening to email myself pictures etc. will update soon with both.

It’s POURING rain right now. Thank goodness! It is now at least 20-30 degrees cooler. I knew it was going to be a heavy and early rain this afternoon (instead of evening) due to the hotter than Hades temps during the first portion of the day. Sure enough, the clouds blew up in about 40 minutes from the Eastern mountains (singing hymn “From the Eastern Mtns”), met the warm sea air and 15 min from that the torrential rains began. It’s actually been raining for over an hour. It settled down a bit from the loud cracks of thunder, but has since picked back up with the rain. I LOVE these storms. Beautiful lightning over the sea and cool winds to make you sway into a rain-accompanied coma J I used to play in the pre-hurricane storms on Kiawah Island when we lived there and I don’t mind being drenched with sheets of rain here since I’m already drenched with sweat anyway. Since we are all on break, I thought I’d write about the adventures from yesterday and today.

Sunday, after our counselor meeting, downing some strong coffee, getting everyone ready, and breakfast, we had a service in the Salle Karay room at the resort.  Gregory, one of our translators was to preach and I was to lead the liturgical portion of the service and add some music. I knew my iBCP iPhone app would one day come in handy! Also, I’m glad I brought the Episcopal Hymnal, just in case. It was a short service, but many of the campers had been asking on Saturday and at breakfast on Sunday whether or not we were going to have church so we decided it would be appropriate. After all, they are from St. Vincent’s Episcopal School for the Handicapped and Orphaned and asking about services. Before the service, we did some music….jamming time. We started inthe lobby and paraded down towards a bungalow. Claves, the cajon drum, shaker eggs, boomwhackers, and some great singing. Mackenson, one of the caregivers, plays guitar and knows a wealth of songs. After I led them in Louez le Seigneur, he got them started on some Haitian praise songs and they went nuts with joy!

For the service, I opened with a welcome and prayer and then a morning collect. Then, I moved on to a song and asked Andrew to lead us in Amazing Grace with his guitar. Most of them knew the melody. It’si nteresting that if you don’t pause to give specific directions, they will start immediately with singing and later started right away with the Lord’s prayer. We had to remind them to wait a moment. Next, we said the creed responsively and with translation. I had selected various lines from the Prayers of the People Rite II and then made up several lines about being thankful for the beautiful sunshine, for friends, for this camp time together, for those who aren’t feeling well and for those who had gone on before.

[aside] Let me say a few words about folks not feeling well. We have several campers who have gotten upset stomachs because they simply are not used to eating from a buffet line and once they discovered how much they could have, decided to eat three plates of food before we could warn them to slow down! They are not used to plentiful plates and I guess they feel like they had better eat all they can. Their school takes good care of them, but by no means do they have the resources to provide anything near what this hotel can do, nor the extras like popcorn, so much fruit juice, or cookies. They’re kids though and I feel like they should enjoy these things while they can, within reason of not getting tummyaches.

Back to the service - To end my portion of the service, we said Lord’s prayer - everyone in their own language and we finished all together. Gregory, one of the counselors/translators, preached using some references from Genesis, Ephesians, and Romans. To sum up (and paraphrase) - He spoke of the Loas and God existing on the Earth together and then there could only be one with breath so along came Adam, made in God’s image. Even though he was in God’s image, all deformities, deafness, and weaknesses came from Adam and not from God. Then he spoke of how Jesus was sent. He spoke of believing in God and Jesus (but not the Trinity). He used several references and did a good job speaking. His words were translated into English by Jonas and into ASL by Laura who is one of the most excellent signers I’ve ever seen. She’s very facially animated, super friendly and fun.  After Gregory finished, I closed with “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God” #711 which they really liked because it’s easy and you can sing it in a canon. After the service, we had music time until it was film time.

For lunch on Sunday, the wonderful hotel staff arranged for our whole group to eat lunch on the beach under a GIANT tree. It was fabulous and I think the kids really liked it (except for the fire ants at the end –they were getting on the bread and anything that had fallen on the ground under the tables!)

Next, it was swim time and my girls did not want to go into the ocean so we all talked upstairs for a while. Hre is a picture of them in their FABULOUS t-shirts! :-)

After break time and dinner, the kids finished the movie and we all went to bed.

MONDAY

I woke up to the sound of footsteps outside the door. I raised the slats slightly and saw three men with machetes chopping tree branches and some weeds…seemingly at random. The area is quite overgrown so I wasn’t sure why they were diligently chopping in odd spots……They went away after a while. Today was long, but I thought it went well! After our sweltering breakfast, we broke into groups andmusic ended up on the beach until noon. It was about 16 campers with Andrew, me, and Casey. Here is a pic of Casey working with Diyana on how to hold and play a Cabasa.

After explaining to them in French that we were going to demonstrate things and take turns, Andrew began by showing them each instrument: cabasa, claves, triangle, etc. and how to play it in two ways. They did it and then passed each instrument to the next person. The structured time was mixed with free “jamming” time.  He did a fabulous job of it all and Casey helped pass the instruments out and engage each person.

After lunch, it POURED rain for a good long while. The internet went out and the water system backed up so several folks had brown or pink-ish water in sinks & showers. My girls made it to their room just in time for the downpour. Later, we watched a film: The Smurfs in French. It wasn’t the old animated smurfs I had seen before. The kids enjoyed it though and after this, I played checkers with JoJo, an amazing artist with no arms or legs. He beat me terribly and then we went to dinner. After dinner, it was music time. Casey and Andrew did another amazing job with everything. I got my three blind campers tosing their beautiful chorale and it was a hit. Here are a few links to short video examples of their singing that I uploaded to YouTube:

Jesula, Rosaline, and Rosana singing:

- http://youtu.be/41Fh-hLEAik

- http://youtu.be/G6r9ZXxiVc0

- http://youtu.be/g3IIyWJTmzY

It was hard to make everyone ready to listen to some slow, soft, a cappella choral music. Not only was it hard to quiet the other campers who didn’t understand what was happening, it was hard to get the three shy girls to sing when everyone seemed in such a hurry. Finally, they began and it was well worth the wait. It was this experience though, that solidified the fact that I am a fish completely out of water with most non-Classical, popular tunes. I barely know the words to tons of songs and even though I may love them, I seem to always need sheet music with me that also includes the words. I wish I had brought a book of praise songs because that is what this group of campers really sinks their teeth into. There was a time when I could not stomach the vast majority of 80’s praise songs. Now, I see their value and I like some of them. I know a few by heart (not many) and luckily, we are a great music team so my singing part is only a portion of things. We made music until about 10 p.m. and sang them to their door with a "Goodnight Song" that Casey made up. Everyone went to bed laughing!

Other news today: A new counselor joined us today. His name is Howard, aka "Panda" and he is a photographer for the Physicians for Peace organization and will be taking photographs of the camp this week. Another mission group (from Indianapolis) arrived today and will be staying here at the Kaliko Bay area. They are working on finishing touches to new buildings that their church helped build, including a hospital.

Another great day with some great people. J

Haiti: Day Four - Ocean Swimming & More!

Today, we got our campers up early and served them breakfast. Each counselor takes time with certain campers and then we all check and see what they need in terms of eating help, drinks, dessert etc. Most of the kids have their friend groups and tend to stick together. It s amazing to watch how some of them help each other and which kids act like parents to the others. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the first blog post, but they are all from St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children on the other side of Port au Prince and I think many of them are orphans - either by happenstance or by parental neglect. Next, we split up into groups. Some moved to the pool area where a group was beginning to play some music, my group went to the beach and batted around a GIGANTIC red ball. It’s huge and they all loved it. For the blind campers, it was fun to get into a circle and call each other’s name out so they’d have a head’s up for the big ball. Their smiles are priceless!

Then, some of us went to another area on the beach where there was a basketball court. Laura and Casey played basketball with a few children in wheelchairs while Jesula, Mackenson, Roseline and I sang songs with the guitar and Casey came to help play. They knew some Episcopal hymns and then we listened to them singing some Haitian praise songs and gospel. It was beautiful! One of the songs was “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” made into a gospel song. Next, a bunch of us ended up by the pool area and did music for two more hours. The cajon drum box got lots of play and there was an older gentleman with an accordion who has a great ear and would pick up anything Casey played on the guitar. There was some wonderful art going on upstairs, some folks were playing UNO and Dominos, and down at the beach a small group was chilling out by the sea. Since it was extremely hot and everyone became super exhausted after a while, we all went down to the water’s edge to sit under the shade of a tree. Very nice time together.

At lunch, Sonya went around to each table and gave an Episcopal blessing in sign language and speech. After lunch was a little down time and I actually slept for 30 minutes. Around 3:30, we got all of the campers out of their rooms again and down to the shore. It was time for swimming in the ocean. As for me, I used to live at the beach and had different years where I’d be all about ocean swimming and then some years were filled with stepping on horseshoe crabs, baby hammerhead sharks, and slimy things. (Once, I had gotten up enough courage to slip off the raft I was using and just before I did this, I noticed a GIANT jellyfish bobbling over towards me. Aaaaagh!) So, today I was a little afraid, but since I was leading two blind girls into the pool and everyone else was also getting in, I decided to suck it up and get in. I stayed in for about 25 minutes with them and we did have fun. Then, I saw a small white jellyfish and decided I was done. The girls wanted to sit in the surf and said they were ok so I checked around and then went up to the veranda area to guard stuff and keep an eye on the campers still on land.

It was fun to be in the ocean at first and it sure felt great in the heat, I admit, but I’m still a bit nervous about it. Oh well, I tried. I don’t know what exact temperatures we’ve had, but I can verify that it is officially close to 1,000 degrees in the shade.

(Jesula, Mackenson, and Roseline singing)

Tonight, I tried conch for dinner....sort of sauteed. It tasted like chicken with a slight aftertaste of some kind of Asian sauce.



After dinner, we gathered the campers around the pool area and did some great music for an hour and a half! Got them all to their rooms and then I was happy to be able to swim under the stars for a little bit. My back is hurting so it helped a bit. Another great day with great people. J



Haiti Day Three - Campers Arrive!!!

Today has been an extremely exciting and rewarding day, right from the beginning! We got up and met at breakfast around 8 a.m. Then, we made lunch for the campers and made sure that their new surprise bookbags were filled and ready. Extra Swim suits and other items were located in case any of the campers didn’t have one. Then, we waited. No one was sure exactly when they would arrive until we learned when they had left St. Vincent’s. I heard a bus!!!! Here it came, down the rocky hill and into the hotel area. The first bus had the wheelchair-bound campers. We formed a little music group and welcomed each student as they got off the bus. As they were being lowered down the ramp, I wish you could have seen the smiles on their faces!! It was worth this entire trip. They recognized familiar counselors and were SO HAPPY to see all of us. The joy was incredible. I found myself shedding plentiful tears and was super glad for my sunglasses to hide it among the giant river of sweat coming down my brow. These young people are beautiful and charming. This is a bright spot in their life, this camp. What an absolute honor to be able to be a part of something that will honor them and let them know they are loved and perhaps end up changing their lives. To be treated like a normal person in a normal place with loads of fun and lots of love – this is what it should be all of the time. More tears. Then, I realized I wasn’t the only one and that everyone was moved. It was an amazing moment.

After getting the campers off both buses, we all went into the “Oval Office” – a main organizing room that was rented for the week. Once we got everyone inside, Tom talked about plans for the day and week. Then each counselor introduced themselves and told where they were from.  After lots of clapping, it was time to eat lunch so we went down by the pool and shared a meal together. Many were able to eat lunch without help, but some needed the counselors to help a bit.

After lunch, it was time to get baggage to each room and get them settled in. In my charge are three lovely blind girls named Roseline, Rosana, and Jesula. They speak Créole, understand about 75% of my French, and Jesula knows some English. I have to say that finding their bags was a challenge, as they weren’t marked on the outside. Each girl had a piece of cloth in the back zippered pocket and they recognized their bags that way. Then, leading them carefully among the sloped walkway, while pulling their luggage was a challenge – as were navigating the stairs, BUT I did it and was also able to help pull a wheelchair (with camper in it) upstairs.  We were given time to orient them to the room, explain that we would all be going swimming soon and then go change ourselves. Doing this, we led them down to the resort pool and explained pool rules. Then, everyone went swimming and when I say they enjoyed it, that would be a severe understatement. Some of them were afraid of the water at first.....but I think if I did not have any arms or could not use my body to walk or stand, I would also be afraid. After a few minutes and some pool toys - along with each counselor helping to hold them afloat, they were enjoying themselves.

After some down time, we met for dinner. Then, Andrew and Casey started some music time with a fantastic box called a cajon and a guitar. Tom brought a giant bag of percussion instruments which were passed out so everyone could play.The whole group sang and danced. Then, we moved the music out by the pool and sang until the lightning got too close for comfort. We just barely beat the rain and moved upstairs to our main meeting room where we did music for another two hours or so. I taught them three easy songs and they sang beautifully! Being an Episcopal school, I brought a hymnal 1980 which I'll pull out later in the week. I started with "Father We Adore Thee" which they already knew, moved to Louez le Seigneur, a Cameroon processional which they loved and harmonized to. Then, we sang Siyahamba, a easy South African song. They are excellent at Call & Response and harmonize well. Casey did a rhythm game with them, Gregory sang some popular songs they knew, and Andrew used the cajon to get them energized and involve them in rhythm. After we walked them to their rooms, we had a staff meeting and went over some ideas fro tomorrow. The group is such a nice one and we all have been able to share ideas, to joke around, to laugh, to get hard things done, etc. so far. Looking forward to the rest of the week!

Haiti: Day Two - Preparations

Today began around 8 a.m. for me….some others got up earlier to eat breakfast, but as I’m not much of a morning person, I opted for the extra hour of sleep JAt our first meeting today, we began immediately to organize supplies, snacks, toys, school items, clothing, medical, and spa items for the kids who will be our campers. I was awestruck by the quantity of what people were able to bring: whole suitcases of shoes & socks, art supplies, musical instruments so each camper can participate, balloons, toys, tons of kinds of snacks, materials for the spa day they will experience, and much more. Many items were donated by people or organizations, but many were brought by the Red Thread Promise counselors.

After a break, we went back into the meeting room and learned how to operate the walkie/talkie units – that was fun….lots of interesting code names have sprung up during the day. Then, Matt read us the names of the campers to which we will be assigned. It was amazing to hear past counselors talk about each camper, sharing things such as: how to pronounce their name, age, their abilities, habits, funny stories, games they liked, and more. It was heartwarming and you can really tell that they care about these kids very much. It was evident that true relationships had been formed - tears were shed when talking about their young friends. We are here to make a difference and to establish trust and love and to show them that we aren't just coming to drop off supplies and then walk away. We all can’t wait until they get here tomorrow and to play with them!!!

Then we went around the resort facility to see where wheelchair accessibility is, talked about pool safety, beach safety, and who to call for various needs. Some of the campers will have caregivers with them from St. Vincent’s, as they are wheelchair bound, have prosthetic limbs, have issues eating and/or wear undergarments that may need changing. Almost all of them will have some hearing deficit and many are blind. So, I am planning music activities accordingly. In one of the meetings, we talked about art and the projects that art therapist Kelly will do. Then, we moved on to music and I gave various ideas. Andrew is the main music counselor and Casey (athletics) will help us – he even brought his guitar. We will use Boomwhackers, all sorts of percussion instruments, and I brought a boombox (to leave with them) and about 30 CDs of all sorts. I know that we will treat the campers to a relaxing spa treament day at the end of next week. I think it was also decided that we will offer a giant dance night at the end of the camp! Fun!

I helped make nametags with Kelly during the afternoon and right now, we are on free time til dinner. After dinner, we will have one more meeting. The kids show up tomorrow at 9 a.m. and it will be a joyful chaos while we get them settled in. I’m told our hours will be about 7 a.m. til 11 p.m. “on” so that we’d better take advantage of today so I am blogging now (to post after dinner), then going to go swimming, sit in the shade of a tree down on the beach, and maybe read a little bit. I am definitely in withdrawal from following and contributing to the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, but every now and then when I can check the internets, it makes me feel good and connected to do so.

Here is last night's sunset, post-storm. Man, Oh man! It POURED tonight as well. The internet was out for a portion of today and I never got in the water after all. No worries, we're all in the open-air lobby area listening to Casey and Andrew play guitar and sing. It's nice and everybody's relaxed.

Haiti: First Impressions

Well, I must mention that after a 19-hr day followed by a 22 hr day, I made it - along with the rest of the team for The Red Thread Promise's mission to work with the students of St. Vincent's Episcopal School. I cannot wait to meet the kids! I think they will have a BLAST with all of the super fun activities we are planning. The entire team is vibrant, has a great sense of humor, and the talents are diverse and plentiful. They are insightful and thoughtful people who care deeply for what they do and for this project and for Haiti. Many are fluent in sign language and some practice social work on a regular basis. I will share the music adventures with Andrew Richards, the brother of Camp Jake's namesake (Jake Richards) who is very ill right now with Duchenne MD.

First impressions of Haiti are varied. Today was hard, VERY hard. I have been to many places (Bulgaria, Brasil, Argentina, Jamaica, Poland, and Romania to name a few). Sometimes, I've run into extreme poverty and seen failing infrastructure, roads, and economy, but Haiti is different because IT'S EVERYWHERE. The place where we are staying is a beautiful resort hotel and a very isolated spot in the midst of an area of abject poverty and periodic tent cities. The place is gorgeous and reminds me a little of the Zlatni piasaci (Golden Sands) in Varna, Bulgaria.....a bit dated, crumbling walkways, but insanely cool pool and beach areas and landscaping. Even what we'd call the entry road into the place is terrible.
Before passcontrol, I ran into Anne Pilot from Trinity Cathedral in Columbia, SC - HOW RANDOM! She saw my Episcopal t-shirt and said "Episcopal!" and I smiled and asked her where she and her group were from. Then, I noticed she looked quite familiar (briefly wondered if ANY Americans would be familiar at this point)and realized WE KNEW EACH OTHER!!
Then, our group got our baggage together, avoided all the "helpful" baggage sharks, watched in 92 degrees (felt hotter) as all our 40+ bags were put into a small pickup truck. Then, we stuffed ourselves into two small, old vans and drove about three hours to this resort. We stopped at a store where we were hoping to get water, but they did not have any bottled water so we moved on to what some counselors knew as a familiar gas station and got water and Cokes.

That Coke was like HEAVEN.
Along the entire drive, we passed tent city after tent city, people walking about slowly, some selling fruit on the ground, some selling mattresses, some selling sugar cane sticks from baskets on their heads. There were people bathing at every dirty river water opportunity. From the air, one can see all of the huge mudslide areas that basically closed down some flowing spots for some rivers. Still, people will use the water where it comes out and for just about everything. People were bathing in it, animals standing in it, and trash flowing through it. What broke my heart about the tent city areas was the children. There were children, VERY young children walking all through some piles of trash and among animals loosely tethered to a tree beside the side of the road. They were mostly by themselves. It was very disheartening, but the culture is used to it here I suppose and seeing it so many times makes me think that it may not bother them like it would us visitors.

After seeing everything I did today, I must say it feels a little weird to eat a nice meal and to go swimming. It really makes you take stock of what you have. From the bars of soap, toilet paper, a chair, shoes, and so much more, most of us cannot fathom being without modern comforts, no matter how small. The fact that we are very far from a hospital or store is a little disconcerting. No one is on the roads after dark.  Tomorrow, our real work begins with finalizing planning on activities with the kids and schedules etc. I will write more at that time - I'm fading fast and the internet is intermittent so photos are taking a ridiculously long time to post. For now, I say goodnight with a hope for Haiti in my heart.

Here is a link to my facebook album of pictures from today:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100115293088547.2305077.2613080&type=1&l=8b4b0a5ef2