Haiti Journal

Bonswa!
It's been awhile since my last blog or podcast so I thought I should catch y'all up on what I've been doing, if you are interested.

I have just recently returned from the island nation of Haiti. I stayed there for a week, along with a large group of others from the USA and Mexico.

While I was there, I kept a daily journal just jotting down some of my thoughts each day. The idea behind it was for me to keep track of my emotions and I wanted to remember this trip. So I thought I'd share with y'all what I ended up writing down. I'm just going to be copying exactly what I had written while I was there, so if I talk in the present tense, don't think I'm crazy. ;)

Sun-Mon 04/5/10
I've made it! I'm finally here in Haiti. The journey here was a bit rough but I survived and I'm looking forward to what else is in store for me this week. The lack of sleep and traveling has taken it's toll on my body. I never realized until I actually got to my final destination how truly exhausted and tired I am. The current time is 9pm (on Monday) and I've slept around 4.5 hours since 12:45 pm on Saturday afternoon. Let me recount the steps that has led me here thus far.

I had to work Saturday night until 6am on Sunday. After work I finished my packing and took my dog to my mom's house for the week. I had originally planned on napping for a few hours then taking Maylee over there, but I was afraid I would sleep late and be tardy in meeting my dad. Anywho, I met my dad and stepmom, Debbie, and we headed towards Indy, where we would be meeting some of the other members of our team.

We arrived at the airport before the rest of the team and grabbed a bite to eat. While we were eating, some members of the team decided to play a trick on us. They told us that they were missing one of the RN's and were running late. I smelled "doodie" from the get go, but they had convinced both my dad and Debbie. Luckily it was a joke as the remaining members of our team showed up before we could finish our burritos from Qdoba. It was then when I finally got to meet most of the members of our team. Dr. Marcia and her daughter Caitlin, Doug (RN), Delores(retired RN), Haylee (student nurse), and Betsie(RN, whom I had known a little bit already).

The journey from Indy to Haiti was long. We faced several delays in Indy, which caused a later flight out of Chicago. We ended up canceling the hotel rooms we had booked for the night in Miami due to the fact we only had a couple hours to waste before we departed to Port Au Prince. On our flight from Chicago to Miami our plane was struck by lightning! I'm not sure if many of you have experienced that before, but it was VERY loud. I had finally just dozed off on the plane when it happened. I didn't sleep very well after it happened, haha.

When we arrived, we were greeted at baggage claim by our host, Mr. Willem. Mr. Willem is from Haiti and still resides here today with his wife and two sons.

At the baggage claim we spotted a nice surprise. Mrs. Katie Couric was there as well! She had been on our flight into Haiti. Betsie and Haylee, as well as my dad got there picture taken with her. She was very kind....and very short.

This was my first trip to Haiti but my dad, who was making his fourth, tried to warn me about leaving the airport. Some Haitians would stand outside the gates waiting for people to walk out from the airport and try to assist them with their bags. My dad warned me against using their assistance. Reason being is that they would expect a tip of some kind in return. If you tip one of them, that could cause a riot as the rest will be looking at you for a tip as well.

It was a very surreal feeling walking out the airport. The people were aggressive and spoke a language I did not know or understand. I had traveled to Mexico before and faced a similar situation, but the Haitians were more persistent and adamant on helping with your bags. Also I know a little bit of Spanish so the language barrier isn't as wide as it was in Haiti. I don't know how others felt in the group, but I was nervous, confused, and excited all at the same time. It felt awkward listening to someone speak a language and I had no idea what he was saying to me. I couldn't tell if they were angry with us, frustrated, excited to help....there body language didn't help decipher the situation either. It was all surreal. Thankfully, Willem was there to help us and he told them to leave and they listened.

I got the sense immediately that Mr. Willem was a very well known and respected man in Haiti. He had also helped us get our luggage and we walked right on out of the building without being harassed by airport security. It wasn't until later today I found out that Willem had been asked by the President of Haiti, that Willem join him for meetings on how to help rebuild the country after the earthquake earlier this year.

We traveled in the back of a truck to Willem's house and I got my first taste of Port Au Prince. (i talked more about the city in my journal, but i will wait until sundays journal entry to post about it here)

Once we arrived to our house, we were given the rest of the day to relax. We were still waiting on members from our team, Nancy(pharmacist), as well as others from the States. As of right now, I think there are close to 25 people here, including an optometrist and a team from Florida with Eagles Wings Foundation .

Earlier this evening after everyone had arrived, Willem gave us a little welcoming speech and talked a little bit about Mountain Top Ministries

He explained on why he didn't want us to give "handouts" to the people of Haiti. His goal is to erase the "begging mentality" that many of the people of Haiti have today. He wants them to work for a living and not have them expect people to give them things. He has already proven that it can be done as well.

In 10 years time, he has been able to take Gramothe, Haiti and make a school, medical clinic, and a church. He has increased crop production from 1 crop a year to 3-4. They now have a 97% employment rate and 100% of the kids go to school. He said we don't have to worry about the "begging" while we are in Gramothe because he has erased that way of thinking.

An inspirational man indeed.

I'll post the other entries later. Thanks for reading. :)