(Warning:I am treating this like my journal, so it is lengthy) This morning started off quite a bit less eventful than yesterday with no baggage issues, the carabineer worked nicely. Once I made it to the gate, I waited for awhile and then bought a sandwich and some extra water for when I was going to be waiting for my regional flight. Boy, was I glad I did this.
Arriving in Haiti was quite interesting. We debarked via jet bridge, walked down this long, semi-air conditioned hallway, were greeted by a nice Haitian band and then went back outside to a shuttle bus that took us to the baggage/immigration/customs area. It was pretty chaotic in the baggage area, but I was able to get a cart and get my bags and get out. This is where the real chaos began, there were many taxi drivers trying to help me push my cart, asked me if I needed a ride, etc, etc. I got one guy to leave me alone, but then another actually started pushing half of my cart with me, it was pretty silly looking. I ended up having to give him a tip just to get him to leave me alone. So, I walk out to this gated area where there are tons of Haitians lined up with signs waiting to give people rides. Unfortunately, I did not see the one with the “Medical Teams International” sign. After waiting about 15 minutes and constantly telling the drivers that I had a ride, I called the director. I was soooo thankful that I could use my phone, because I am really not sure what I would have done. So through a 45 minute or so period of time between phone calls, the director decided that I should go ahead and take a regular taxi to the other aiport. She had me hand the phone over to whom I thought was a driver, Jeudi to explain to him where to take me and how much it would cost, $10. Come to find out, this guy is only the “get the tourist to the taxi” guy, so you have to pay him and then also pay the driver. I know I overpaid, but I was out of small bills. He wanted $10, so I ended up giving it to him. The taxi drive was pretty uneventful thankfully. When I arrived at the airport, I was again bombarded with helpers. I didn’t want a helper, because I didn’t have anymore small bills. Needless to say, the persistent helper got 10 bucks off me!! Dangit!
The airport was very small and very low tech. They had hand written tickets and of course, the plane was a prop. At this airport, I was easily able to spot my teammates, Sarah and Heidi. They had been waiting longer than me and the driver didn’t show for them either. There was some sort of miscommunication, because the driver thought we weren’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow.
The plane ride: I stepped onto the plane to see our bags stacked on the last few rows of seats. We all had to basically hold our carry on luggage in our laps or put it on the floor in front of us. On the plane, I met a man who works with a company called Shelter 2 home. They basically sell shelters that can eventually be converted into homes. He was also doing some work with some orphanages in Les Cayes. He had a lot of good tips and sounded like he was helping a lot in Haiti.
We arrived in Les Cayes and quickly found our driver and another lady who helps out the mission(Sheila), she is in charge of the guesthouse. This area of the island is very beautiful. The poverty was still very apparent here, but it is amidst beautiful mountains, tropical foliage, and some random livestock. I saw a lot of goats, pigs, donkeys, chickens, and a few cows on my way up here.
The guesthouse is very nice. Sheila gave us a brief orientation. I am staying in the same room as Sarah and Heidi. They are in bunk beds and I am staying in a single. The house has electricity 24 hours a day, running water and clean drinking water. We will be fed 3 meals a day. If the meals were as good as dinner was tonight, I am gonna be set!! Our cook’s name is Madame Junot. She made a lovely shepherd’s pie, some carrots, bread, and some sort of yummy cake. We also had a nice refreshing lemonade. After dinner, we went for a short walk to see the clinic and hospital area and then headed back. It gets dark fairly early around here, 6:30-7:00, so we didn’t want to stay out too late. We met a 16 y/o boy named, Yven, pronounced ee-ven. This was a good story and I hope to blog specifically about him in the future.
I am thankful for God’s provision today. I was safe and I didn’t run out of food, feel sick, or get any of my hypoglycemic symptoms despite not having a real lunch (the sandwich was pretty gross, but I scarfed it down, gotta have some nutrients!) I met up with my teammates, who are both very nice and friendly. They seemed very pleased to have finally met up with me as they were asking different random American women, “Are you Amira” throughout their journey So yeah, God is good. I forgot to mention that the blackberry is the only phone (from the US) that gets service down here, so yet, another small detail that God worked out. I am not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t gotten ahold of the director.
Thanks for reading my lengthy entry. I plan to treat this like a journal, so I can understand if you don’t want to read it. Check facebook for some pics, I hope to post them soon.
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