UCNH guest house

UCNH has a guest house for visiting professors and other people working with the university. I lived in the house for 5 months and saw many groups come and go with expectations that didn’t match the reality of the accommodations. It’s a great place to stay and your visit will be more enjoyable if you know what to expect. This is about the ranch house near the provost’s and president’s houses.

The house has 2 guest bedrooms with 2-3 single beds per room, 1 shared bathroom with indoor plumbing & flush toilet, kitchen with propane stove and refrigerator/freezer, dining room, and living room. Electricity is provided by a campus generator that runs approximately 7a – 11p most days. Rooms have ceiling fans (which won’t run once the generators turn off for the night). If you need electricity for a CPAP or other necessity, make sure your host knows before your visit to allow time for other arrangements. No internet – ask your host to provide a temporary hotspot.

The campus generator runs the water pump for the entire campus. No generator means no water, so prepare accordingly – take showers when generators are on. Keep bathroom buckets full of water, always! It takes not having water only once to remind you to keep them full. There is usually no hot water in the shower.

Don’t use the tap water for drinking or brushing your teeth. Drinking water comes from a biosand filter that is filled from the taps. It is safe – and avoids using individual plastic water bottles that just add to Haiti’s trash problem. Use the provided water filtration supplies, keep them clean, and make sure the blue jugs are kept full. Running low with no electricity to fill the filter is a quick lesson about being vigilant to keep the jugs full. Don’t use this precious filtered water for anything but drinking. Dishes are cleaned with water straight from the tap, followed by a rinse in bleach water.

The kitchen stove is propane, which is supplied in tanks brought from a larger town. Conserve fuel and don’t use it to heat bathing water. We need to cook food more than we need to have hot water for bathing. If your hosts arrange it, cooks will provide your meals. You can also buy snacks at the snack shop or off the street outside the university gate.

Towels and sheets are provided, and you should be able to find a mosquito net to hang over your bed, bring your own to be certain (leave it behind to make room for souvenirs). Toilet paper is provided sparsely – remind the house manager (not me!) often and early! Bring everything else you will need: toiletries, snacks, sun screen, bug spray, reusable water bottle, coffee if you want it before the cooks arrive in the morning.

The house has a beautiful yard and a front porch to enjoy the flowers and birds. See my other posts for things to see and do on campus and in the community.