Saturday, October 13, 2007
Haiti-or bust!!
Although this post is several months old, I will still publish it due to the fact that I want the memory to stay vivid for me. I'm sorry it is not complete, but that is what happens with a procrastinator!! I will post more of my memories of my trip as I remember them, but in the mean time, this is the first post from my trip to Haiti in October 2007.
My trip started at 3 a.m. on Thursday. I got 1 hour sleep Wednesday night, but felt amazingly awake....until the flights. I've officially been made fun of by people outside my family for my inability to keep my eyes open when sleepyness overcomes me. :-/ I remember very little of all 3 flights because it was as if I had taken codine. Tracey and Laura said they enjoyed watching me with my mouth-and eyes open-yet sleeping.
When we arrived in Port Au Prince we were told, "Stay together, follow Willem, DO NOT look anybody in the eyes, DO NOT allow anybody to help with your luggage, and DO NOT talk to anybody. Talk about stress!!! I had to tell many men "NO" in a VERY firm tone when they asked to help me. On our way out to the truck a man said, "Excuse me, do you know you are very beautiful?" (Where are these men in America???) It would have been a nice compliment, but considering all the circumstances-and the man who said it....not so much.
When we got outside, we loaded our 24 pieces of luggage into the back of a flatbed mack truck. (the kind that don't have any front to them-no hood?) Laura and I rode up to Beth and Willem's in that while the others rode in 3 other vehicles. Although the comfort would have been FAR better inside a vehicle, I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. (I've purposed not to complain about it, but my body is covered in bruises-although mostly internal.) When we got to Willem and Beth's, we unloaded our things and immediately had dinner. Obviously I'm not a picky eater, but I have to say that Haitian food is wonderful. I have yet to eat anything that didn't taste good to me. :-/ We settled ourselves in, visited for a bit, and then called it a night. I'm sleeping on a top bunk, that has only a 'mattress of sorts' on top of the wooden slats. I'm SO thankful for my bed at home. :-)
We sleep with mosquito netting all around our beds so as not to be eaten to death in our sleep. We are woken up in the morning by a few roosters and dogs howeling (sp?) that sound very much like sirens. We shower in the evenings which consists of filling a bucket in the tub with water and pouring it over ourselves. This saves on water. It is so refreshing. We also don't flush the toilets unless there's good reason to. The old familiar phrase was used, "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down." Toilet paper (except for the flushing times) goes in the garbage. -Very hard to break everyday habits.
My day Friday was very different than I had anticipated. Because our flight arrived late Thursday, we were not able to go immediately to the orphanage, so the first trip to the orphanage was to be made Friday morning. I was asked to come along with the adoption group, so my thought was that I would be with them when they went the first time. The Lord had something else in mind though. I had also wanted to go to the clinic and help one of the days, and as it worked out, Friday was the best-maybe only-day that would work. The hope was to spend 1/2 of the day at the clinic, and then get a ride to the orphanage, but that never materialized. I was disappointed, but I know that the Lord had a plan in it.
Friday morning after group devotions and breakfast, I rode up the mountain to Granmothe to work in the clinic with the medical team. I spent most of the day taking blood pressures, and counting pills. I did help with a few scabies treatments on babies.-Very sad. We ended the day seeing about 15 people that had traveled since 9a.m. Thursday morning to come to the clinic. How spoiled are we as Americans that we get upset if we can't get in to the doctor the same day, yet these Haitians traveled that far-on foot-to just see the doctor and get some tylenol and multi-vitamins.
My trip started at 3 a.m. on Thursday. I got 1 hour sleep Wednesday night, but felt amazingly awake....until the flights. I've officially been made fun of by people outside my family for my inability to keep my eyes open when sleepyness overcomes me. :-/ I remember very little of all 3 flights because it was as if I had taken codine. Tracey and Laura said they enjoyed watching me with my mouth-and eyes open-yet sleeping.
When we arrived in Port Au Prince we were told, "Stay together, follow Willem, DO NOT look anybody in the eyes, DO NOT allow anybody to help with your luggage, and DO NOT talk to anybody. Talk about stress!!! I had to tell many men "NO" in a VERY firm tone when they asked to help me. On our way out to the truck a man said, "Excuse me, do you know you are very beautiful?" (Where are these men in America???) It would have been a nice compliment, but considering all the circumstances-and the man who said it....not so much.
When we got outside, we loaded our 24 pieces of luggage into the back of a flatbed mack truck. (the kind that don't have any front to them-no hood?) Laura and I rode up to Beth and Willem's in that while the others rode in 3 other vehicles. Although the comfort would have been FAR better inside a vehicle, I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. (I've purposed not to complain about it, but my body is covered in bruises-although mostly internal.) When we got to Willem and Beth's, we unloaded our things and immediately had dinner. Obviously I'm not a picky eater, but I have to say that Haitian food is wonderful. I have yet to eat anything that didn't taste good to me. :-/ We settled ourselves in, visited for a bit, and then called it a night. I'm sleeping on a top bunk, that has only a 'mattress of sorts' on top of the wooden slats. I'm SO thankful for my bed at home. :-)
We sleep with mosquito netting all around our beds so as not to be eaten to death in our sleep. We are woken up in the morning by a few roosters and dogs howeling (sp?) that sound very much like sirens. We shower in the evenings which consists of filling a bucket in the tub with water and pouring it over ourselves. This saves on water. It is so refreshing. We also don't flush the toilets unless there's good reason to. The old familiar phrase was used, "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down." Toilet paper (except for the flushing times) goes in the garbage. -Very hard to break everyday habits.
My day Friday was very different than I had anticipated. Because our flight arrived late Thursday, we were not able to go immediately to the orphanage, so the first trip to the orphanage was to be made Friday morning. I was asked to come along with the adoption group, so my thought was that I would be with them when they went the first time. The Lord had something else in mind though. I had also wanted to go to the clinic and help one of the days, and as it worked out, Friday was the best-maybe only-day that would work. The hope was to spend 1/2 of the day at the clinic, and then get a ride to the orphanage, but that never materialized. I was disappointed, but I know that the Lord had a plan in it.
Friday morning after group devotions and breakfast, I rode up the mountain to Granmothe to work in the clinic with the medical team. I spent most of the day taking blood pressures, and counting pills. I did help with a few scabies treatments on babies.-Very sad. We ended the day seeing about 15 people that had traveled since 9a.m. Thursday morning to come to the clinic. How spoiled are we as Americans that we get upset if we can't get in to the doctor the same day, yet these Haitians traveled that far-on foot-to just see the doctor and get some tylenol and multi-vitamins.
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