My fundraising is at 100%!!!
Wow! I can't even tell you all how incredibly grateful and humbled I am - so many people gave - new friends, old friends, siblings, coworkers, my awesome grandmom, and three anonymous gifts. THREE.
I didn't anticipate this much love. I want to write later about how incredible and overwhelming this support is.
Thank you to everyone who gave. I give you all a hug! To those who gave anonymously, I'm touched by your generous and giving spirit- without looking for any kind of recognition.
(But just so you know, I'm telling the world that you are three dashing secret admirers!)
I'll post an update on readiness progress soon!
<3 Maggie
2.13.2012
2.06.2012
Update on trip prep...
I hung out with a few of the folks who are going on the trip and got some of my questions answered. Here are some trip details.
1. There ARE bathrooms at the clinic we'll be staying at, but not when we're out working. That means that if we have to pee (or worse... POOP!) in the middle of the day, we'll have to do it in front of people. But Haiti doesn't have a sewer system. We're coming up with a portable cover-up. hehe. They also don't have a water system - which explains why we're installing the gutter water collectors.
2. I need more shots.
3. We'll be carrying our bags a little bit, but we'll be riding in a truck (that apparently doesn't have shocks) for hours up a mountain. Ouch?
4. Modesty is a big deal.
5. We're going to take little inexpensive gifts for the kids there - apparently they get geeked about that.
More later - starting to get excited! <3
1. There ARE bathrooms at the clinic we'll be staying at, but not when we're out working. That means that if we have to pee (or worse... POOP!) in the middle of the day, we'll have to do it in front of people. But Haiti doesn't have a sewer system. We're coming up with a portable cover-up. hehe. They also don't have a water system - which explains why we're installing the gutter water collectors.
2. I need more shots.
3. We'll be carrying our bags a little bit, but we'll be riding in a truck (that apparently doesn't have shocks) for hours up a mountain. Ouch?
4. Modesty is a big deal.
5. We're going to take little inexpensive gifts for the kids there - apparently they get geeked about that.
More later - starting to get excited! <3
Thank you!
Thanks to so many people who have donated to the Haiti trip! I've gotten two anonymous donations ... so of course I don't know who you are... but know that you are appreciated!!!
:)
:)
When did I see you?
Hello ladies and gentlemen. I'm just looking for something to eat. I know this isn't your problem. I know you didn't do anything to make this happen. Can you help me get something to eat. If you don't have food, can you give me a dollar, a quarter, a nickel, a penny? Once again, I know this isn't your problem.
...
You guys have a blessed day.
**
I was on the subway in NYC this weekend - which for me was a thrilling adventure away from my day to day in the Ann Arbor area. Several people entered subway cars that I was on, with a similar pitch, stressing each time that they knew it wasn't the passengers-turned-audience's fault.
Of course everyone sat stony-faced, careful not to glance in the man's direction. Even I found myself echoing this behavior, afraid to look at the man. I had a dollar that I certainly could have given each of the men who asked. But instead I joined the crowd, forcing myself to avoid inspecting the beggar.
I'm not sure what else to say. I sometimes get myself in dumb situations by being overly friendly, and then sometimes I don't treat people like people.
:ashamed:
2.01.2012
Zumba, Tickets, and Peace
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I zumba with my good friend Sarah. The plan is to be at my office at 7am, where we head out into the Habitat workshop, play one of a series of tapes, and dance our hearts out. As we would say in the office, "it's very Habitat." I mean that I often use water bottles that volunteers will later drink as weights, though this morning I used monkey wrenches - I looked even cooler than you're imagining right now.
But today was typical in that I got up a few minutes late, and stumbled to get my teeth brushed and workout clothes on, leaving the house at 6:53. In the last couple years especially, I always seem to be 5 minutes late. It's embarrassing to me and feels really rude to leave whoever I'm meeting just waiting for me.
So I speed.
This morning was no exception, but today I got caught.
It's been years since I was pulled over, and as I was waiting in my car with the bright lights flashing behind me, I was surprised by two things:
1. My first reaction was, "Oh, God is warning me to slow down."
Life right now seems to be a sprint. (maybe more about this later.)
2. I didn't have that horrible gut-wrenching panic that I've experienced in the last few years. Instead I felt peace at the justice of it. Isn't that weird?
I thought I'd write more, but now it's my turn in the post-zumba shower.
But today was typical in that I got up a few minutes late, and stumbled to get my teeth brushed and workout clothes on, leaving the house at 6:53. In the last couple years especially, I always seem to be 5 minutes late. It's embarrassing to me and feels really rude to leave whoever I'm meeting just waiting for me.
So I speed.
This morning was no exception, but today I got caught.
It's been years since I was pulled over, and as I was waiting in my car with the bright lights flashing behind me, I was surprised by two things:
1. My first reaction was, "Oh, God is warning me to slow down."
Life right now seems to be a sprint. (maybe more about this later.)
2. I didn't have that horrible gut-wrenching panic that I've experienced in the last few years. Instead I felt peace at the justice of it. Isn't that weird?
I thought I'd write more, but now it's my turn in the post-zumba shower.
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