Haiti Journal Entry #2

Tues 04/6/10

I was woken by a rooster crowing this morning. One would assume it was light outside if the rooster was making noise, however, it was before 6am and the sun had not completely risen. Surprisingly, I felt energized. I was ready to tackle my first day working at the clinic. I slept very well and even though some team members complained about dogs making noise, I didn't hear a thing. I was so tired last night, that even when my dad told me the men's NCAA championship game (butler vs duke), was a two point game with only a couple minutes to go, I still rolled over and kept on sleeping.

We all gathered around 7:15 for breakfast. I had oatmeal with a sliced banana, and cinnamon, along with a pancake covered in peanut butter. There was a buzz in the house as we got prepared to leave. There were quite a few "first timers" and you could feel the excitement/nervousness in the air. I've learned already that you can't really be told what it's like here.

I am trying to capture the "feeling" with a camera and words, but it all pales in comparison to "living" it. One small example of this is the ride up to the clinic. My dad always told me about the trek up the mountain side. He would talk about how the road was steep and narrow, how there were multiple turns along the way, and how the natives of Haiti would travel up and down the road all day long standing within inches of the edge as vehicles passed them by. No amount of words or pictures could prepare me for my first ride up. The first thing you realize is that this is dangerous! We are standing in the back of a truck, literally hanging on to what we can so that we are not thrown out. The climb up the mountain is pretty unrelenting. There is no level surface on the way up, it is all inclined.

Then once you reach the top you see the line of people. They stand so close to one another so not to lose their place in line. I wondered how long they had been standing there waiting for us. I noticed that most were wearing nice, clean clothes. Almost as if they were trying to "impress" us in a way. I thought it was amazing. Many of them live in houses where they have dirt floors, yet they are able to wear clean clothes to come see us. Some women wore dresses like they were heading to church while some of the men had on khakis and button down shirts.

As far as the work in the clinic, things were slow today. My dad said this was common as the newer people get adjusted and comfortable with what they're doing. I was afraid to go outside the clinic in the afternoon to see how many people were turned away and asked to come back again. I know that it happend today, but another crazy thing happened as well...I didn't hear anyone complain all day long. No whining about how long it took, how hot it was outside, or only being seen for 15 minutes after waiting for 4 hours. They were just grateful that we were there to help them. They thanked us repeatedly for helping them, even if it just meant giving them some tylenol. Coming from our society where people just expect things to be given to them and where we have become unappreciative when helped out..... to the people of a country who have hardly anything and were devastated by an earthquake only a few months earlier, these people had every right in the world to be frustrated, angry, upset, ungrateful, but they weren't. They were genuine and thankful.

It was one of the most humbling experiences I've had.