First Week (Almost)

Alright - I'm on the internet for just the second time since I've been here. The connectivity is quite limited which is disappointing but I'm going to try to make due. Pretty much I've been unable to make my computer connect to the internet so I have to find time on the HODR computers when nobody else is using them and when the internet is working. I'm also sad to say I probably won't be able to post pictures as we have VERY low bandwidth. Check the HODR website for pictures! Sorry for not posting until now - I have a lot to say. More to say then I could possibly have time to write.

I got into Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. As we made our decent into Haiti you could see the various tent camps set up and rubble everywhere. Once out of the place and through customs/immigration you head outside to the pick-up area. This was easily the most overwhelming experience I had had in a while. You're immediately surrounded by tons of people grabbing at your bags, trying to give you a ride. That on top of the heat and lugging baggage makes for an interesting experience. I looked around for a sign with my name on it or the name of the organization (which is what I had been told to do). I didn't see it. I walked for a bit, fending off offers for rides, but didn't find the sign. I did, however, turn around to see a young women in a Wake Forest shirt. She asked if I was with Hands On. At least at this point I had a companion to wait with. After a while she called the base and asked where I shuttle was. There had been a mix up so we ended up waiting a bunch of hours. Once the driver got there we only had to wait another hour or so for another Hands On volunteers flight to get in. This time we did spend across the street from the airport being serenaded by a local and his guitar. Eventually three of us and our bags piled into a tiny sedan and headed out. The drive was pretty amazing. Just getting to see the country for a while was amazing. Most people smiled a waved. Some grabbed at the car.

Once I got to the base I got a tour and settled into a bunk. I brought a tent but am, for the moment, still in a bunk. There are pros and cons to both so I'm still working on figuring it out. Anyways, I made it to the base after dinner time but just before the nightly meeting. I stood up, introduced myself, heard about the happenings from that day, etc. At the end of the meeting you sign up for what you'd like to do the next day. I chose to sign up to work at a new rubble site called Roger.

I woke up around 6 the next morning (which, it turns out, is the time I and most people wake up. Knowing me and my sleeping habits this is pretty impressive)! Breakfast options include cereal (with powdered milk), oatmeal, bread with jam/peanut butter, and coffee (if you can get up early enough). People start heading out to the work sites at 7:30. My group of about eight or ten volunteers gathered tools (wheelbarrows, shovels, sledgehammers, pick-axe) and got in the back of a tap-tap (what the pick up trucks are called). We got to the rubble site which was a pretty large house out on some farmland which had been totally demolished. We pretty much just went right to town sledging the concrete and getting rid of the rubble. It's extremely hot and the sun is brutal so I had to take loads of breaks. We returned to base around 12 for lunch. Lunch (and dinner) are usually a combination of rice and beans, some sort of sauce, plantains, a piece of chicken or fish, and salad. Not bad at all. After lunch we went back to the site and worked a while longer. It was especially neat especially because the local children were helping as well as the homeowner.

We return around 4:30 for dinner. Dinner is followed by the nightly meeting. After that is free time until 10 (at which point it's quite time and the electricity is cut). Some people head to the bar next door (Joe's) to enjoy the local beer, Prestige, or the local rum or whisky. It's also a time to shower. Showering is pretty neat. You fill a bucket with water, go into a little tarped off stall and wash. Nothing feels more amazing than a cold bucket shower after a long, hot day.

Let me change my thought process for a minute to talk about the base, or house, I'm living in. There are currently around 125 volunteers here (25 over the limit). You either live in a bunk bed or in a tent. The bunks are all downstairs and the tents are both downstairs and upstairs on the roof. Bunks are nice because you can lay around in them anytime of the day while the tents are far too hot during the day to be in. The tents are cooler at night and provide more privacy. Again, I'm still debating where I want to stay. At this point I'm guessing I'll move into a tent sometime. There are men's/women's bathrooms. There are toilets but they do not flush. You have to fill a bucket with water to flush. And toilet paper goes in the waste bins. There is a big, open area in the middle of the first floor. This is pretty much a rec area. A crummy basketball goal (which I'm so happy to have), sports equipment, and such. There is an office with computers and fans (where I am now). There is a kitchen (there are a few hired people who cook our meals). Upstairs is totally open-air and just tent space. That is, in a nutshell, the base. More details on this and everything will come when I next post.

Ok so my first night ended well. I got into bed around 10, tossed and turned for a while in the heat, and eventually fell asleep. Day two I went back to the rubble site for more sledging action. We also began to work on cutting out the rebar. Essentially the goal is to remove all the rubble and rebar, leaving the lot just a flat slab of concrete which can be rebuilt upon. In the afternoon I went to a local orphanage. As soon as we volunteers arrived, the kids went nuts. It was a lot of fun. We did painting/drawing with one group of kids then switched and worked on teaching a little English. The kids are adorable and extremely sweet. It was an awesome experience which I'm certain I'll do more of in the future.

Friday in the morning I did housecleaning. This involved doing the breakfast dishes, clearing (and burning!) the trash, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, etc. The upside of all this was that I had gotten first choice for what I wanted to do Friday afternoon. I signed up for something that had just one spot - it's a disaster preparedness group. Pretty much that means we go around and teach teachers (and, eventually, kids) about several things - what is an earthquake? what causes earthquakes? what can you do to stay safe in the event of an earthquake? what to do in case of a fire/flood? We prepared Friday.

Saturday we went to the middle of nowhere for my first training seminar. We went in a tap-tap outside Leogane, through a crowded market, through a dried up river, into the mountains. The area was stunningly beautiful. Completely unobstructed views of the countryside. It reminded me I was in awesome Caribbean country. The training went really well. About 30-40 local teachers showed up. They were divided into two groups (one to be with me and two other volunteers in the disaster preparedness group and the other to work with volunteers teaching art therapy and its benefits for children experiencing PTSD after the earthquake. Everything went smoothly - we did one session, broke for lunch, and did an afternoon session. The teachers were engaged, asking us lots of questions. I really feel like this was a crucial thing to be doing and the teachers really seemed to learn a lot and appreciate what we had to tell them. In about three weeks this same group of volunteers in scheduled to go to Jacmel (a nice beach town a couple hours from Leogane) for a three day conference! That's going to be a really nice change of pace. Saturday ended nicely, just hanging out, staying up a bit later, hanging out on the roof about half of volunteers, just chatting and having a good time.

Today, Sunday, was our day off. No work. I slept all the way until 7:30! I spent the whole day lounging. Just reading mostly. Sunday is the one day we have to provide our own food. I went for brunch with a few other volunteers. First we stopped at coffee stand on the side of the road. It was AMAZING. The coffee is brewed with tons of sugar and then thick condensed milk is added. It didn't taste much like coffee but, again, it was really good. We then headed to visit the Egg Sandwich Lady. It's a women with a road-side stand with one small camping stove. She makes some eggs, throws them on a buttered roll, adds some endive and tops liberally with ketchup. Delicious. I watched some of the volunteers play cricket today which was totally new to me. I'm going to a place called Massage for dinner tonight (where, I'm told, there will be hamburgers and french fries)! Tomorrow I will probably be returning to Roger for more rubbling and we will hopefully be finishing up that site tomorrow which is awesome.

There is so much more to tell but not enough time. I will post again as soon as possible. For anyone who has contacted me through email or facebook, I will respond as soon as I can!

I miss you all.

Love,

Daniel