UDDER CHAOS
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Born and raised in Switzerland, at 17 I went to the US for a 6 month engagement as au-pair, taking care of a handicapped child. 15 years and 4 kids later a consulting gig brought me to the Caribbean island of Anguilla, which I immediately fell in love with. A few months later the house, cars, furniture and most belongings were sold or given away and we moved with 2 suitcases per person and a boat load full of naivete to our Caribbean island in the British West Indies.
Udder Chaos
Dealing with Hurricanes - Take-Home Bonus
So I bet by now you're now thinking "I wonder how to re-create what a hurricane is like". Lucky for you, I've had a lot of time to think about how to do this and here's what you need for a perfectly safe re-creation:
- Setup all the sprinklers in close perimeter to the playhouse and turn on high. if water seeps in to cracks and doors, you got it setup properly.
- Position and secure the leaf blowers and vacuums right against the walls of the house, set them up to alternate between the on (high) and off positions every few seconds. If you're inside and feel alternating pressure and suction and can hear clanking and rattling then you're good to go.
- Put the pots and baking sheets on the roof of the playhouse, they should make noise when the sprinkler water hits.
- Turn the recorded sounds on high, preferably several at the same time. The sound of a hurricane is actually a deep rumble, clanking and high whistles/screams in addition to those wind noises but my attempts to record the actual sounds didn't work out too well.
- Bonus: For extra special scary effects, turn on high and do all this at night.
Dealing with Hurricanes - Part 2
(This is the second part of my "Dealing with Hurricanes" post. If you haven't read that, please start here start here)
During:
- If you can, don't go through a hurricane alone. You'll be sitting
there for hours waiting for your roof to be blown off and it's too easy to let yourself be scared when alone, especially with young kids in the house. Besides, playing board or card games in candle light is much more fun with other people. - The wind and rain is going to come from all four directions, one at the time. Pick the best room to be in during each stage in case of broken windows etc. Check each room of the house for water frequently though, it's a pretty nasty
surprise to walk in your bedroom and find it covered in an inch of water.
Bonus: Use the water you mop up from this (in our case 16 gallons) to flush toilets! - In case you didn't board up the entire house and the hurricane turns into a bigger deal than expected, feel free to use whatever creative means necessary to keep the window from blowing out or minimizing the damage in case it does. This is also the part where large amounts of coconuts comes in handy in case you need to weigh something down.
- Expect the noise and pressure levels to be close to "insane" and prepare to not sleep for a while. This is also a good time to use up the last of your cold tonic and lime, if you're into that sort of thing.
- Tweet furiously every hour. Or don't. But do something, write, read, play a game, do something to keep occupied and "business as usual", especially when you have kids with you as they will gauge their reaction and fears based on what you put out.
- Despite what anyone says, don't go outside. The wind direction and gusts are unpredictable, especially close to the eye of the hurricane. Besides it seems pretty silly to go through all that trouble to be safe, only to get hurt 'cause of your own stupidity.Or a flying coconut.
After:
Take a deep breath of relief! Nobody got hurt and despite what it sounded like, your roof didn't blow off. Not being able to flush your toilet, bucket baths and it being somewhat difficult to wash your hands alone and your kids occupied is about the worst that happens at this point. - Carefully check out the damage and slowly start cleanup operations. Check to see if your car and cooking gas is working since going places and being able to boil water and cook things is a big deal. Don't rush, most injuries are sustained during hurricane cleanup (see image on the right) besides, the mess will be there
tomorrow as well. - Have a blast cooking what's left of your fridge and eventually your freezer. We ate like kings the entire time since stuff that was not in bags was gradually thawing. Check your oven though 'cause if it's electric (glow) ignition you won't be able to light it by hand.
- Expect to get emotional at the first sign of "normal life" such as someone handing you a cold drink, having internet or turning on regular lights.
I also must say that I've never been so proud of Anguillians as after each a hurricane, as everyone just grabs a shovel, machete or whatever and helps one another out. I suppose that's the only way isolated communities survive but it's inspiring to see every time.
Also, if you can swing it (or your conference speaking schedule requires it) with power and water still off, immediately fly to Italy for a few nice showers and meals is a great way to recover from a hurricane.
Lastly, a huge thank you to my online community for their checking in, well wishes and comments. It may not seem like much but it's nice to know others care. I don't want to imagine what it must be like to go through a worse version of this or any natural disaster where people actually get hurt and having a life-line out is such a big deal.
Here's to none of us ever really needing it!
Make every day count!
Dealing with Hurricanes - Part 1
As you might have gathered by now, 400 km huge Hurricane Earl hit us head on and did quite a number on the island. Fortunately, houses here are built with concrete and steel so structural damage was minimized and no injuries were reported, making us once again very lucky. We did loose lots of trees and power poles and hence power and water for 4 and a half days, which wasn't comfortable. A friend down the street organized a power generator for us a few days after impact, which was amazing as it allowed us to have either water OR internet and refrigeration. Your guess as to which was chosen most of the time 
Although I've spent over 30 hours in category 3 hurricanes, it's difficult to describe what it feels like. Not just the part during the hurricane, but the aftermath, driving through a country that looks like a giant Edward Scissorhands took some rage out on to. Normal things like ice become a rarity sold only to the closest of relatives on island and the grocery stores become gutted. If you find a gas station that's open, you'll be standing in line for quite a while. Our supply boats arrive once a week and with rough seas, that means there are no supplies reaching for some time.
Probably because I am so connected with the outside World via internet so I rarely feel like we live on a remote island. Having a boat and plane service stop to Anguilla and being literally cut off from the rest of the World will set all that into perspective. Worrying about when the ferry boats are going to run back and forth to St Martin again, or when the next supply boat arrives will be a stark reminder of where exactly you live.
Since I had quite some time on my hands to think about all this, here some tips on how to prepare and deal with a hurricane and what exactly to expect. Realizing that most of you don't live on a remote island or in hurricane country, there is a good chance this list may not help anyone but me prepare for next time, which may be later this week as Hurricane Igor is headed our way, although forecasts predict it to go well North of us.
- Before you loose power, eat all the ice cream you have. And seriously, minimize what you have in your fridge and freezer as you may loose it during extended power outages.
- Buy a case of small water bottles, drain about 1/3 of each bottle, squeeze slightly to remove air and allow the water to expand as it becomes ice. Shut tightly and put it in the freezer. These will help keep your frozen goods frozen for a few days and also, you will be super thrilled to get to drink some cold water after going a few days without refrigeration.
Ice works for this part in theory but the mess is not worth it.
- Get a couple of large freezer bags, like the one's you use to carry frozen goods home from the store. Before you loose power, fill them with all your frozen "valuables" and leave enough room to surround the whole thing with the above frozen water bottles. Put back in the freezer for 12 hours, then seal tightly. If you never open your freezer nor the bag, items in this bag will keep frozen for 3-4 days.
- Depending on where you live, make sure you have enough (non-refrigerated) food and drinking water to last you 4 times as long as you think you need. In other words, you think you'll be out of power/water for 2 days, make sure you got 8 days of stuff on hand. That formula might seem overkill but the last thing you'll want is to worry about if you have enough food before the next supply boat arrives.
- Move everything outside that can move as a projectile, I'm talking furniture and in our case coconuts. Also, having a bunch of coconuts in the house may come in use later if you need to weigh anything down. They're also a tasty snack and are fun to open with a machete.
- Organize buckets and lots of dry towels, horizontal rain being flung at your house at high speed means there will be water coming in anywhere through doors and windows and any tiny cracks anywhere.
- Check your first aid kit, make sure you have pain medication for everyone in all age groups in the house. Also, get a couple of cans of fix-a-flat cause it would suck to have to go somewhere after the hurricane and have a flat.
- Get enough candles of lamp oil to last 4(expected power outage) so you'll have light. Also get enough batteries for flashlights and a radio.
- Charge all electronics including your tools and then unplug everything in case of power surges. Make sure you have your tools inside with you in case a door blows off or something needs to be fixed in a hurry.
- Board up all windows, especially if you don't have slat windows since large panes of glass are more susceptible to breaking under pressure. It's probably a safe bet to do this even if you don't expect a big hurricane. Otherwise you might find yourself covering windows with a mattress and weighing it down with coconuts. (queue ominous sequel music)
- Gas up your car and any other gas containers you have, then store them in a safe place.
Updated: Earl
The good news is that Hurricane Earl has a low chance of even reaching severity two status, which means reach 96 - 110mph winds.The bad news, is that Earl's center is going smack dab over Anguilla at some point late tonight/tomorrow morning.
We know for sure we'll loose electricity as ANGLEC turns it off in these situations to minimize damage from falling electric poles etc. No electricity for a while means no water for a while. Buckets are organized and ready to pull water out of the cistern, drinking water, bleach, dry goods and first aid kits are assembled. All electrical devices are fully charged, typically cell phone service is the last thing to go out during hurricanes.
We know for sure we'll loose electricity as ANGLEC turns it off in these situations to minimize damage from falling electric poles etc. No electricity for a while means no water for a while. Buckets are organized and ready to pull water out of the cistern, drinking water, bleach, dry goods and first aid kits are assembled. All electrical devices are fully charged, typically cell phone service is the last thing to go out during hurricanes.
The house is boarded up, which I actually consider to be the (hopefully) worst part of it - anticipating the hurricane in the dark, which is not conducive to remaining calm and relaxed and it bothers the kids out as well. It being 85 degrees, no AC and now having all doors and windows boarded up also isn't helping the situation and if I had to guess, I'd say that there isn't a lot of sleep in my future. At least the girls are great sleepers, hopefully they'll miss all the action.
To follow the happenings of Earl, check out this link www.nhc.noaa.gov.
I'm going to fight the mob at the grocery store now, wish me luck!
Update 8pm:
I survived the store, although there wasn't a single loaf of bread left and going shopping to the sound of windows being hammered shut isn't very comforting. But I got some flour and (tonic and limes and Excedrine) and baked bread so it's all good.
Unfortunately, Earl slowed down a bit and is gaining strength with pressure still dropping, so forecasts are now saying the eye won't pass until noon tomorrow, and by then it may be a category 3 hurricane with 111 - 130mph winds.
Good thing we got all the coconuts off the tree today, a 4 pound coconut sounds like a mighty dangerous projectile in 130 mph/210 kmh. Now back to waiting.... and watching... and waiting.... ugh....
How to be Alone
""lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weighless"
Going Home
Tomorrow - or rather - in a few hours, our 9 long weeks of traveling over 28'000km to 9 countries is coming to an end as we finally go home.
Except "going home" seems so foreign, especially as I do it with 2 of the 4 kids I left Anguilla with back in June.
The island breeze, the smell of the ocean, the sounds I hear when I lay in bed with the window open have faded so much. We have seen and done and experienced so much it makes it hard to know what to expect "home".
I do remember how quiet it is though, how removed our "last house before Africa" is from any sort of commotion or distraction.
Somehow, I don't think we will go home to the same "last house before Africa" without the boys laughter, fights, endless scheming, goofy jokes and hilarious dancing.
Perhaps that's why we stayed gone this long, to delay the moment when we had to go home and figure out how to live without them.
Perhaps we went to so many places, hoping one would jump up and grab us so we didn't have to figure out how to make Anguilla "home" without the boys again.
It's just so easy to find distractions when you're hurting. So tempting to pretend and cover it all up with noise and stuff and activities and more noise until what needs to be dealt with is so far burried you can't even hear it anymore.
Thank God for getting older.
Like an air bubble, that the stuff you try to cover up always - always - finds it's way back to the top, except usually multiplied in it's tenacity and impact.
Going home tomorrow...
Except "going home" seems so foreign, especially as I do it with 2 of the 4 kids I left Anguilla with back in June.
The island breeze, the smell of the ocean, the sounds I hear when I lay in bed with the window open have faded so much. We have seen and done and experienced so much it makes it hard to know what to expect "home".
I do remember how quiet it is though, how removed our "last house before Africa" is from any sort of commotion or distraction.
Somehow, I don't think we will go home to the same "last house before Africa" without the boys laughter, fights, endless scheming, goofy jokes and hilarious dancing.
Perhaps that's why we stayed gone this long, to delay the moment when we had to go home and figure out how to live without them.
Perhaps we went to so many places, hoping one would jump up and grab us so we didn't have to figure out how to make Anguilla "home" without the boys again.
It's just so easy to find distractions when you're hurting. So tempting to pretend and cover it all up with noise and stuff and activities and more noise until what needs to be dealt with is so far burried you can't even hear it anymore.
Thank God for getting older.
Like an air bubble, that the stuff you try to cover up always - always - finds it's way back to the top, except usually multiplied in it's tenacity and impact.
Going home tomorrow...
Bliss
Bliss
Originally uploaded by akafrancie
Too much going on to write properly, or even gather my thoughts in a cohesive way. Being here is interesting, some things annoying, parts of it very pleasant, some things magical. I am definitively a foreigner here, although I am getting to know other aspects of Switzerland I never knew that are providing a different perspective.
We've recently gotten a chance to travel a bit, I got to properly "meet" Vienna and yesterday we took a road trip to Germany, meeting friends and lots of laughter. Hand feeding monkeys, crossing the Bodensee by car-ferry and just playing on various playgrounds and giggling are recent highlights. We've seen lots of different animals and surroundings and I have enjoyed several concerts which are always very comfortable surroundings for me.
My favorite thing is to "see" everything through my kids eyes, for whom everything is new and different and exciting. It really is a different World for them and I am in awe of how easy they are entertained, a stick, a fountain, anything provided hours of entertainment. Watching them work together to build a damn or make a fort together is both the best and worst feeling, worst because I know what's coming as soon as we get back.
I can't imagine how they'll function apart, but somehow, I am sure they will.
Until then, we will embark on more foreign adventures and laughter, like in the picture above, which you can't help but smile at! Making every day count. In some way. What else could you possibly ask for....
Raindrops, Snails and Flip-Flops
Raindrops and Inspecting Snails
Originally uploaded by akafrancie
37 hours after leaving our house and we're in Switzerland in the house I grew up in. Feels very strange. Not home, it hasn't been that in 20 years. Just Swiss. Not even sure what that means but I intend to figure it out somehow in the next few weeks.
Til then, some funny things the kids ask and general observations about the Swiss and their (odd) ways, from a Caribbean, or at least foreign perspective.
The noises here are so different, streams of water and rain instead of waves. Birds, foxes, deer and snails instead of goats and chickens and fish. And the colours.... various shades of green, no turqouise.
Odd how cold is like pain, you can't really imagine it until you feel it. The temperatures are super cold here, 45 degrees, which for us might as well be freezing. No matter how hard I try to explain to the kids that it's cold outside, every day, they don't get it til they open a window. So every day they ask "can I put on my bathing suit and go play in the rain?"
Personal space here is "right on top of you".
"Personal space" for cars is also "right on top of you", no clue how I am going to drive here. Also, they drive on the right.
Everyone here in Switzerland moves slow, or at least slower somehow. Except when my Dad is driving.
The Swiss clean their dishes, then put them in the dishwasher and wait two hours to get them back even cleaner. Very odd.
There is a distinct code of conduct here, the way you dress, speak, what you do and when you do it. Not sure I can quantify this one yet, but have noticed myself doing it a little already. Weird.
Also, Switzerland is incredibly beautiful. Gorgeous. Meticulous. Pretty much all of it looks like a post card. Not a single piece of trash anywhere.
"Mom, why do people lock their doors here?"
"What's that noise?" (airplane)
"Why do we have to go to bed when it's light outside"
"Why can't I wear flip-flops to go shopping?"
"You can DRINK the water here???"
"Why are people so white here?"
"Is that a llama or alpaca over there by the wigwam?"
"Why do I have to wear clothes to go outside?"
"When can we go swim at the beach"
Beginnings and an Endings
This week marks the 4 year anniversary of us coming here from Texas, 2 suitcases in hand and a bucket full of naivete.
4 years ago is also when we went searching for adequate education for the 4 kids, which we somewhat found in the then frail Omololu International school which was then operating out of temporary housing, one large room with grades K - 6th.
While the school had a long history of success, it had hit some hard times and was reduced to the then "barely functional" status with about 34 student.
Since then, a group of parents, the school's founder and other community members have put our blood, sweat, tears, money and time into growing this institution with a special spirit, into a blossoming International school with 95 students in our new permanent site you see below. Many of you actually helped build it also in the form of a donation to the "Anguilla Luxury Raffle" that took place last year and for that I will forever be grateful. I wish you all could come visit, walk into that gate and feel the welcome, sense the spirit, enthusiasm and community that lives there. You would be so proud!
It's taken us almost a year to accomplish but we recently received a $450K building grant from the Windsong Foundation, which has helped us construct and move into the school site you see below.
We've hired wonderful staff, created a board, got land from the Government of Anguilla and turned Omololu into an amazing place for local, regional and foreign children on the island, including special needs kids who previously had no place to get the attention they need. Omololu does have a long history of up's and downs and I have no doubt that we're not done struggling but if anyone had told me or anyone else that this is what we would be able to accomplish and leave behind for the next generation, I would have called you insane.
The "next generation" bit is particularly heart breaking to me today, as my sons are right now spending their last few hours at Omololu. This afternoon we are leaving for Switzerland for 5 weeks on our first big family trip, our first visit to Switzerland in 6 years and our last few weeks together as a family in this configuration.
My oldest is done with 6th grade and here in Anguilla where we have the UK school system, that means he now has to go to high school, for which there is currently no feasible alternative on island. So the boys are moving back to the US with their Dad as soon as we get back from Switzerland.
I'm not entirely sure what our household is going to look and feel like. I cannot imagine life without those two. But it's the right thing to do for the boys, for their Dad, for their education and hence for us.
And if Anguilla has taught us one thing, it's adaptation, creative problem solving and resilience.
Every end is also the beginning of something new.
I don't know how the girls and I will cope without all the wild things - but we will.
The Great Equalizer
Shoal Bay
Originally uploaded by akafrancie
There's something about it.... the rhythmic noises, the steady back and forth.... in between two elements, with the waves caressing your feet.
The sand gives way to your weight as the ocean tries to draw you in further....
There's something about it - the beach - probably any beach anywhere out there, not just in Anguilla...
It requires no toys, no accessories, no suits, no armor.... we're all the same at the beach somehow and I never get tired of watching it all happen, on Sundays, at the beach.
The millionaires laughing with the fishermen, the foreigners talking to the locals, and even shy kids can't resist getting drawn into the carefree games of others. No words required, somehow, at the beach, we're all the same, no words required. With smiles on everyone's faces, open to each other and the possibilities of the day.
Just magical!