Four weeks in- the Haiti Adventure

I had been meaning to post a blog post every week I was in Haiti. But wifi has proved to be an interesting thing. I thought I would have good wifi on Fridays when we go to the beach. But the wifi is not strong enough, or it is being used by too many people. There is a food place that has great food and “wifi” but the two out of the four times I have been there it hasn’t worked.

Also the truth is I do not know what to write. For someone who thinks a lot and questions things and contemplates what is around me I do not have a lot to say. It is almost like I want something profound, I want to write something that means something every single time and when I do not feel it, or think it is unimportant I shrug it off and deem it not worthy to be written. But we are not all profound and deep all of the time. We are not always learning something that is crazy intellectual. Sometimes we are merely doing life, as we would in the states, but we are not in the states.

I am sorry for not having something better. For not being the amazing window into a world most of us do not know.

Some things I have learned while living in Haiti for four weeks.

1.     Nothing is ever on time.

No matter how much you think it might be, people are either 2 hours early (the tap tap) or a half an hour late (meals). They very much have this concept of when I get to it. This is not always a bad thing, but it is hard to adjust to when you are used to things being pretty punctual.

2.     Haiti has a smell

There is a distinct scent to Haiti. It is not always a particularly bad smell, but it is not roses and daisies either. I actually am finding that I am smelling more and more like Haiti. And I do not really hate it.

3.     Your feet are never clean

Even if you wear shoes, even if you wear socks your feet will never be clean. I am not sure how it happens, how it seeps into your sneakers but it was something that I had to get over very quickly. (ya see I very much like clean feet, and do not really enjoy dirty feet)

4.     The views are breathtaking

The mountain views while we drive up to Fond Blanc, with the different rivers coursing through it. The steep sides of the peaks with their small trails coiling around it. The villagers trekking up the paths with ease as they balance all sorts of bags and buckets on their heads. The ocean that is a shade of blue you cannot recreate with a brush or a filter. These views are beautiful. They take my breath away because I am speechless to be able to explain them. Then there are the other views that take my breath away for a different reason. The mounds of trash on the side of the road. The trash that is lining the river almost as a retaining wall. The different farm animals that have ribs protruding from their sides. The many buildings in disarray, half standing, half fallen away a long time ago and those establishments that seem to have been started then long forgotten. These views are hard for me to erase and even harder to understand the juxtaposition of the former views amidst the latter.

5.     Pit stains are inevitable

It is hot, I mean hot, all the time. There are times when it is less hot, but never when it is cold. Or so we say as Americans but the Haitians would call it cold. I am not one of the girls or people who doesn’t sweat. I very much sweat and very much do it a lot. So pit stains became something that I stopped caring about very quickly. And you know when it is truly hot, because the Haitians are even sweating. Fun fact.

6.     Nothing is easy

Everything besides bags for popcorn, oil and a soda is an hour drive into civilization. We are very much removed from normal life, which I love, but that also means that things are not convenient. You have to plan ahead.  Water, food, airport, beach, anything else you want is an hour to two hours away. Get in an accident and not conveniently located by the police station good luck having any sort of justice. Even driving up the mountain, not easy.