I have officially been in Haiti for a month now ... and I haven't blogged in over two weeks, but honestly not alot has happened.
I know I've said this several times, but this summer has proved to be nothing like what I anticipated or prepared for. Actually, I don't think I adequately prepared for this summer like I should have. I wasn't mentally or emotionally prepared for what I was going to see, experience, or go through while being in Haiti for 2 months.
I have put up a wall around my heart and refused to get close to any more kids because my heart can't take it and I don't want to hurt these kids. My past trips to Haiti were different; I knew that my OVI kids were going to have adequate care and their needs would be met and I would see them again when I traveled with them. With the kids in these orphanages that we're visiting this summer, I have serious doubts on whether or not they are going to be looked after when I leave this summer. It's challenging - way harder than I ever could imagine.
Besides having a wall around my heart, I have also become accustomed to the daily life of living in Haiti and seeing the daily struggles that the Haitians have to go through. That's one thing I didn't want to happen. I didn't want to become numb to the hardships I see here, but sadly that has happened. I'm 'used' to Haiti in ways that I never thought I would be.
These are the things I've become used to, some are normal for living here for so long, others not so much ...
-drinking a 20 ounce 7up that tastes like salt around the rim
-all the crazy honking that goes on while driving down the road ... it might mean "hey" "move" "get out of my way" "thank you" or any other number of things
-driving through huge puddles because there's constant standing water
-the women carrying huge baskets on their heads ... I still don't know how they do it
-not only the puddles, but the roads are very very bumpy ... I question how I'm going to drive when I get back to the states
-the huge amounts of motorcycles that are on the roads and how they can carry 4 people, plus a bag of rice .. amazing!!
-there is no AC, so our fans become our best friend!! ... especially when we get home from being out all day and at night when we're trying to sleep
-I've gotten used to not eating lunch, just breakfast and dinner ... so much to the point that today I tried to eat a triple club sandwich and I could only eat half of it because my stomach was terribly confused
- riding on a tap-tap (huge taxi) for over an hour on these bumpy, puddle filled roads
-the smell of Haiti ... I can't described it ... you know what I'm talking about if you've ever been here
-while driving over the bridges there are huge river under them ... these rivers serve as drinking water, water to wash clothes in, water to bathe in, and water for the pigs to hangout in
-EDH (our electricity) ... crazy!!! lights flicker on and off all the time ... it might last 4 hours, or it might last 4 days
-the showers here only have cold water, which is no problem ... the problem is that the water barely comes out ... I don't think I've adequately washed all the conditioner out of my hair since I've been here
-since we can't drink the water we have to have a cup to brush our teeth with ... this has become second nature to me now
-as if the bumpy roads, motorcycles, and puddles weren't bad enough, there's the traffic ... it's horrible!! Mack trucks driving in the middle of the road directly at us. Tap-Taps on the side of the road that we swerve to miss. Oh it's intense ... but I'm used to it. Driving on smooth roads with actual road laws is going to be weird when I get back to the states
-there are police here, but I have still yet to figure out what they actually do
-I've experienced a riot while being here ... that was an experience!
-so the car repairmen here must be amazing because the cars last alot longer on these bumpy crazy roads that most American cars would be destroyed over ... including our left front axial breaking and it was fixed by tying a rope to it ... yea take that!!
-since there are always so many people out on the sides of the road, people tend to use anywhere and everywhere as their restroom ... they just whip it out or pop a squat anywhere
-the heat! oh the heat is intense! you get used to sweating ALL day long!
-the naked babies that we see while driving through the villages
-guys (and girls) peeing on the side of the road, whenever and where ever they want
-lots of babies with big bellies and orange colored hair :(
So, those are some of the basics that you get used to while living in Haiti. I know there's more that I didn't mentioned. It's just my sometimes crazy life in Haiti!!
We're going to Gonaives (about 3 hours north of Port-au-Prince) to help in a medical clinic for the next week. We'll see how that goes! Until then....
SMG
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