Hotel Oloffson Port-au-Prince

... maison de blocs de ciment ont changé le vert des pentes des montagnes pour un gris somme toute assez terne et triste. Bon, y'a toujours eu des plus riches qui auront su se faire domicile en montagne aussi, au frais, à l'ombre, et à l'écart "du peuple", mais maintenant, ce dernier a rejoint en territoire les premiers à vivre "en haut". Dans ces amoncellements de maisonnettes de fortune, point de rue, mais de petites ruelles où on ne peut que grimper à pied. Pas d'eau de la ville non ...

... s not really that bad, though.”

Then she proceeded to tell me about the one time she had been walking down this supposedly safe road when a man came running out of El Raunchy shooting a gun into the street. A Haitian woman, her head laden with seven crates of eggs, was in front of my colleague, who tried unsuccessfully to get the woman to run for cover. The woman did not want to drop her eggs. Both my colleague and the woman survived the “run-by shooting ...

... hot dog bun. Although it's easy to complain about the food, we must remember we truly eat like kings compared to the rest of the Haitians.

Church starts around 9:00. We dress up, long pants for the men, dresses for the ladies. We get the honor of sitting in the front row. Despite the poverty and conditions, everyone dresses very nicely! The youth group arrives dressed in their uniforms. The choir ...

Mike sits down next to me and grins, "It's that warm fuzzy feeling, right here, do you feel it?" His remark interrupted thoughts about how much my feet hurt and how tired I was feeling. I looked up at his large frame and couldn't help but smile back. He is a big teddy bear with a
huge heart. He flies from Pittsburgh to Haiti to work with clinics and schools and has been volunteering on the ship for more than a week now, doing everything from swabbing the deck to gathering translators ...

... in general after spending some intimate time with them. I have traveled a lot but this was a whole different experience for me. We were so embedded in the community and we went to people's houses to interview them which provided an opportunity to really get to know them and their daily struggles. It was amazing to learn more about the Haitian culture. Haiti is a beautiful country and the people were amazing. I was touched by ...

... for money food. Then we took the jumper plane to the other side of the island (we actually stayed in Les Cayes). That is when I saw what the city of Port-au-Prince really looks like. It seemed to be an endless slum with a few larger houses up on the side of the mountain. I had never seen anything like it.

... us everywhere and are so sweet and trusting. We walk up to the well where everyone in these hills gets their water. There is a huge crowd. Let me mention this water is very unsafe. I happened to take a look in the bucket one night before I flush the tolit-bugs and little worms. My creole french is coming along nicely. JR says I would make a good Haitian wife if I wasn't taken! New foods ...

... sienta casi obligado a hacer un reveillon cada navidad, y que se sientan heridos de muerte si no lo pueden hacer. Y por otra parte, lo comprendo. Y aquí una nota antropológica. YO ERA de los que pensaba que las fiestas de quince años y las bodas de pueblo donde la gente tira la casa por la ventana (y luego nomás se quedan sin casa y con la pura ventana...) yo pensaba que eso era una tontería, una falta de juicio y previsión. Pero después me convertí, y ...

... We slept on the roof under the moon and the stars despite constant music, dogs barking, and roosters crowing (literally all night). At night we also met Jenny from California who is doing a documentary on SOIL and Sasha's work. Sasha Kramer has helped us immensely in planning and is doing amazing work (check out the SOIL website above). More on her later. In PAP I also met a man who has done amazing work for ...