Bonswa! (about the only Haitian Creole word I've caught onto)
Michelle and I have only been here for two days and it's already been such a great experience. Bob and his wife Rae, two Salvation Army officers, picked us up from the airport Friday night and have been a huge help with getting us settled. They're also originally from Chicago, so it didn't feel so much like we've been thrown into a completely foreign place. We were very grateful to not be part of the group of nervous Americans trying to figure out what form of public transportation to take from the airport. We spent two nights in a hotel in Port-au-Prince, so after having dinner with Bob and Rae we settled in with cold showers and lizards on our ceiling.
We didn't start at the hospital until today, so yesterday we got to play tourists for a day and enjoy the sun and 85 degree weather. Bob and Rae drove us to the top of a mountain that overlooks Port-au-Prince, and the whole drive was extremely eye opening. We passed through a few major slums and really got an idea of the level of poverty here. There's really no place for garbage other than huge landfills or just the side of the road , and "houses" aren't much more than little structures built from whatever material is available. But we did learn that not all of Haiti is poor, and there are plenty of people who are well off and can afford education and expensive store bought groceries. Bob and Rae are extremely knowledgable about Haiti after living here for 4 1/2 years, and I think I've learned more about the way of life here from them than I could from any textbook. We also quickly learned that the driving here is pretty terrifying - people just run across the street assuming you'll stop for them, and I think I've seen only one or two stop signs and no traffic lights. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen any accidents yet. People also DO carry huge baskets of things on their heads, so it's not just something you see in movies.
When we got up the mountain we went to a Baptist mission site and visited their bakery, museum, and a small zoo, then had lunch at a restaurant with a beautiful view of the mountains. Then they took us to a Haitian wedding, which even though it started an hour and a half late, the church was about 100 degrees, and I didn't understand a word of it, it was really cool to get to experience some Haitian culture. The little girls behind me kept leaning forward to pet my hair and whisper to each other, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing, but we do definitely stick out here. The community here is really great and generous, and despite the fact that Michelle and I do stick out a lot, we always seem to get friendly, welcoming smiles, which is one thing I've loved the most about Haiti. I originally thought I wouldn't get to see much of Haiti outside the Bethel clinic, so I'm very grateful we had a day to experience other parts and see how the population has been affected by the earthquake.
I think the language barrier aspect of the trip is going to be the most difficult part. A lot of things about Haiti remind me of certain parts of Mexico, and I sometimes forget I'm not in a Spanish speaking country (I've even responded "Si" to a few yes or no questions I've been asked, oops). As much as I love Haiti, I do miss the comfort of being in a different culture and being able to communicate with the people at least on a simple level. If I don't understand something here, I can't really do much but respond with a blank stare.
We finally left for Fond-des-Negres this morning where we'll be staying with Minel, another Salvation Army officer, his wife Deniese, and their 13 year old daughter, Daphline (who quickly became our favorite after connecting us to the wifi we didn't expect to have). They speak very fluent English which I think we're both relieved about. The apartment is right above the Bethel clinic and is actually much nicer than I expected. Minel and his family are so friendly and welcoming and seem really glad to have us here. We finally had a more authentic Haitian meal than the grilled cheese, spaghetti, pancakes, and French fries we'd eaten so far. Their cook made a huge meal of chicken, rice and Congo beans, salad, fried plantains, pasta, and some other fried food I can't remember the name of. I know we were both a little worried about the water situation, but they seem to have endless supplies of bottled water (which we have to brush our teeth with to avoid the tap water), another small thing we never think of being an issue in the US. Minel gave us a tour of the clinic, but since the doctors who speak English aren't there today since it's Sunday, we opted to wait until tomorrow to start rather than follow one of the nurses who only speaks creole. So I'll save the hospital stories for a later post! It's been a pretty much needed low key afternoon full of relaxing and sleeping - I didn't realize how exhausted we'd be by the end of every day. Michelle and I are sharing a room so it's been super nice having her here with me and not being alone all afternoon, and it just makes conversation with everyone here go a lot smoother. We start at the hospital at 7 tomorrow, so we're heading to bed and will hopefully have some good stories after our first official day!
Michelle and I have only been here for two days and it's already been such a great experience. Bob and his wife Rae, two Salvation Army officers, picked us up from the airport Friday night and have been a huge help with getting us settled. They're also originally from Chicago, so it didn't feel so much like we've been thrown into a completely foreign place. We were very grateful to not be part of the group of nervous Americans trying to figure out what form of public transportation to take from the airport. We spent two nights in a hotel in Port-au-Prince, so after having dinner with Bob and Rae we settled in with cold showers and lizards on our ceiling.
We didn't start at the hospital until today, so yesterday we got to play tourists for a day and enjoy the sun and 85 degree weather. Bob and Rae drove us to the top of a mountain that overlooks Port-au-Prince, and the whole drive was extremely eye opening. We passed through a few major slums and really got an idea of the level of poverty here. There's really no place for garbage other than huge landfills or just the side of the road , and "houses" aren't much more than little structures built from whatever material is available. But we did learn that not all of Haiti is poor, and there are plenty of people who are well off and can afford education and expensive store bought groceries. Bob and Rae are extremely knowledgable about Haiti after living here for 4 1/2 years, and I think I've learned more about the way of life here from them than I could from any textbook. We also quickly learned that the driving here is pretty terrifying - people just run across the street assuming you'll stop for them, and I think I've seen only one or two stop signs and no traffic lights. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen any accidents yet. People also DO carry huge baskets of things on their heads, so it's not just something you see in movies.
When we got up the mountain we went to a Baptist mission site and visited their bakery, museum, and a small zoo, then had lunch at a restaurant with a beautiful view of the mountains. Then they took us to a Haitian wedding, which even though it started an hour and a half late, the church was about 100 degrees, and I didn't understand a word of it, it was really cool to get to experience some Haitian culture. The little girls behind me kept leaning forward to pet my hair and whisper to each other, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing, but we do definitely stick out here. The community here is really great and generous, and despite the fact that Michelle and I do stick out a lot, we always seem to get friendly, welcoming smiles, which is one thing I've loved the most about Haiti. I originally thought I wouldn't get to see much of Haiti outside the Bethel clinic, so I'm very grateful we had a day to experience other parts and see how the population has been affected by the earthquake.
I think the language barrier aspect of the trip is going to be the most difficult part. A lot of things about Haiti remind me of certain parts of Mexico, and I sometimes forget I'm not in a Spanish speaking country (I've even responded "Si" to a few yes or no questions I've been asked, oops). As much as I love Haiti, I do miss the comfort of being in a different culture and being able to communicate with the people at least on a simple level. If I don't understand something here, I can't really do much but respond with a blank stare.
We finally left for Fond-des-Negres this morning where we'll be staying with Minel, another Salvation Army officer, his wife Deniese, and their 13 year old daughter, Daphline (who quickly became our favorite after connecting us to the wifi we didn't expect to have). They speak very fluent English which I think we're both relieved about. The apartment is right above the Bethel clinic and is actually much nicer than I expected. Minel and his family are so friendly and welcoming and seem really glad to have us here. We finally had a more authentic Haitian meal than the grilled cheese, spaghetti, pancakes, and French fries we'd eaten so far. Their cook made a huge meal of chicken, rice and Congo beans, salad, fried plantains, pasta, and some other fried food I can't remember the name of. I know we were both a little worried about the water situation, but they seem to have endless supplies of bottled water (which we have to brush our teeth with to avoid the tap water), another small thing we never think of being an issue in the US. Minel gave us a tour of the clinic, but since the doctors who speak English aren't there today since it's Sunday, we opted to wait until tomorrow to start rather than follow one of the nurses who only speaks creole. So I'll save the hospital stories for a later post! It's been a pretty much needed low key afternoon full of relaxing and sleeping - I didn't realize how exhausted we'd be by the end of every day. Michelle and I are sharing a room so it's been super nice having her here with me and not being alone all afternoon, and it just makes conversation with everyone here go a lot smoother. We start at the hospital at 7 tomorrow, so we're heading to bed and will hopefully have some good stories after our first official day!
No comments:
Post a Comment