Haiti

I wish I could have written all last week but never could be by a computer long enough to do so. As I write this I realize I will be home (or at least on a plane) in exactly one week. I can't believe how my time here has flown by!

This last week gave me the exciting opportunity of going to Haiti for three days and two nights. Constance, Phillip, Chris and I went with Ben White, who is fluent in Creole after living in Haiti for years. Since he knows his way around the country and can make sure we aren't getting ripped off, he was invaluable to the trip.

We expected long days of traveling and the need to be flexible and that's just what we got. After the almost three hour trip to the Dominican border, Dajabon, we crossed over and had hardly any trouble at both borders. Ben seemed to know people everywhere so there was never a problem. Once we ccrossed the border into Ouanaminthe, we took motos to the bus station, then got onto a tiny "bus" with three long benches that we ended up sharing with lots of chickens. The ride to Cap Haitien took a long time, maybe three hours, partly because the cops on the road would see white faces in the bus, stop us, and make us show our passports. It was really interesting the way cops felt the desire to exercise their power over us as Americans.

I think I was most surprised by two things when I got to Haiti. First of all, it is much lusher than I imagined. I expected to not see any trees, and while a lot of the land is destroyed, it is still beautiful and green in the mountains especially. Then when we arrived in Cap Haitien, I don't think I could have been prepared for just how poor it is. The poverty is evident in every grey building, in the dirt kicked up in the roads, in the tall walls protecting the bigger buildings. We stayed on the edge of town in a mission house of friends of the Whites, which was a huge blessing in itself as it had electricity until ten, working bathrooms and showers, and they even had a fridge and water for us. Even though the fans went off at night and we would wake up sweating profusely, I slept well both nights there. Plus, they were so kind to let us stay for free!

Wednesday morning we got up pretty early to go see the Citadelle. Built by Henri Christophe between 1805 and 1820, the Citadelle is just outside of Milot, a town not 30 miles outside of Cap. We decided to walk up the seven mile trail to the top of the mountain where the fortress is. 20,000 people died building this fort in order to protect northern Haiti from an attack from France or from the south, but neither ever came and Christophe actually killed himself the same year the building was finished. It took us hours to climb up, and the whole way there were men on mules tempting us to just give in and take one up, but we didn't, and when we finally made it, I realized how worth it the trek was. We climbed to the very top of the fortress, where you can walk around without guadrails and see how beautiful Haiti is. I've never experienced anything like it!




We were about halfway down the mountain and I was starting to think the sun would go down before we even got to the bottom, when we heard a car coming down the road. Ben flagged it down, and it turns out the driver worked for the Ministry of Tourism and said he'd give us a ride the rest of the way down the mountain in his air-conditioned car. He ended up taking us all the way back to Cap (which was around 30 minute drive), ate dinner with us (where I tried goat meat), and took us to our house at the other side of town!

The next morning we set out to head back to Santiago. Our tap-tap, which are Haiti's form of public transportation -- tiny truck beds with seats on them, was supposed to take us back to downtown Cap so we could take a bus back to Ouanaminthe. Well, it got a flat tire so everyone had to get out. We flagged down a taxi who offered to take us all the way to the border for $75 American dollars. We decided to do it since it was more comfortable than the bus we had taken before. The taxi made it about 20 minutes outside of the city before it had a bad gas leak and we all had to get out. So there we were, stranded in the middle of Haiti, in between towns. Ben tried to stop every car but we had trouble finding one that would go all the way to Ouanaminthe. We sat out there for around half an hour until we found one truck that let us hitch a ride on the back. I can't believe my first time to hitchhike was in Haiti! So this truck was not going to Ouanaminthe, only about halfway, but offered to give us a ride the whole way there for $40 US dollars. It was hilarious. Phillip, Ben, and I were facing the road behind us, getting covered in dirt, suspended four feet at least above the truck bed and holding onto bundles of textiles that weren't exactly strapped down. It was definitely wild. I got incredibly dirty and feel like I'm still finding dirt on me days later. It was such a great experience, and we made it back alive, crossed the border, got ice cream at Bon, and caught a bus back to Santiago!
Me, the dirtiest I have ever been!

Now I am back at the Puerto Plata house after spending three more nights in Santiago. One at the Hub, and two at the White's with the second group from the Austin Stone! We have already been to Ruben's farm and fed kids at La Lomita, a really poor community near Ruben, and this group is incredible. Unfortunately, I am sick to my stomach today so I am stuck here at home while the group is starting English camp in the villages. This makes me so sad because it's one less day I get to spend with the kids in the villages that I love so much. I already feel better than I did yesterday so I am planning on going with them tomorrow. I can't wait to see all the kids I have missed this past week!