Mangos, Braids, Hail, and Coconut Trees

Destination: Wallondri, St. Raphael, Haiti (and back)
Total Miles: 1410 miles (on the road in USA...not including air miles)
Total Cost: Under $600

The ending of trips and the coming home always stirs in me mixed emotions.

I am almost always sad to be leaving wherever I am, but I am also happy to return home and excited to start planning another trip.

Except this time...the new trip I am planning is going to be a 2 year long journey through graduate school that is going to test me in ways I had no wish to be tested in again.

"Ou sonje Kreyol anpil sa ou panse." (translated: you remember more than you think.)

Only going to Haiti for a week was challenging for me in many ways. This was my fifth time visiting Haiti, and to date, my shortest visit. On 2 prior trips, I have had the opportunity to take Kreyol lessons from a Haitian pastor, Pastor Chavannes. And, while I feel that much of my grasp of the language is lost each couple years that I am gone, he (and other my Haitian friends) think that I really do remember more than I think I remember. Which is extremely beneficial!

The last half of my week in Haiti was filled with loads of activities.

Carrie and I went to the marche (market) after the surgery on Thursday morning. We were able to see the new market (which is huge!) and get a glimpse of Dr. Anne's new property.

Friday, we had clinic in the morning and language lessons in the afternoon. Then some more clinic. Oh, and playing futbol (soccer) with a couple of our Haitian friends, Johnny and Jerry. In the evening, we spent time sitting around outside talking and discussing while eating mangos (Carrie and I enjoyed them the Haitian way...peeling the skins off with our teeth).

Saturday morning, again, we had clinic. But that afternoon, Serena convinced Carrie and myself to collect some avocados, banans (plantains), and a coconut from some of the trees around the house. It was rather comical to watch, I'm sure! We both only made it a couple feet up the coconut tree. (Trying to climb a tree, in a skirt, takes more talent than I possess.) We ended up going out to the courtyard of the Bible school and, while Serena got a video clip of a singing group, I was able to talk with one of the security guards about this and that.

Sunday was, of course, church. I love music. And I especially love listening and watching people sing who have the joy of the Lord on their face and are singing at the top of their lungs. And Haitian church always has lots of singing! After church, one of the ladies volunteered to braid Carrie and my hair Haitian style.

Sunday evening brought a wind from that south that blew in a massive storm. I have seen my fair share of Haitian storms...but never have I seen one that resulted in hail! We figured it would be a bad storm as soon as we felt the temperature drop and saw the storm cloud in the south. I ended up pulling out my sweatshirt, the temp drop was that significant. After the storm, we went into the yard and collected more mangos than I could count!

Monday went by way too fast! Clinic last all day, with a break halfway through for a Haitian meal of beans and rice, banan peze (one of my favorites!), and grenadine juice. I am not sure how many patients we ended up seeing in the clinic, but it was a full day! We saw multiple babies, lots of patients with amoeba, and some unique assessment-type stuff (including a lady with gross hepato-splenomegaly).

Tuesday was upon me before I could say "Bonjou!" Isaac came and picked me up around 7 am. The storm on Sunday had knocked out our internet connection which made it impossible to know what time I had to be at the airport to catch my plane. We decided to wing it. I enjoyed my last views of Haitian scenery, and once we had reached Cap Haitien, I convinced Isaac to stop for lunch (at 10:15 am).

Good thing I did, too. He and his brother, Prospere, dropped me off at the airport (where I met up with the group I had flown in with...they had only stayed a week too) at 1045. The one day my plane was late in coming to pick us up...we did not board until 2:45pm...and once you're in the airport waiting room, you're not supposed to leave. During my wait, I met several other groups that had been traveling, and I enjoyed hearing about the different missions trips others had gone on (some even shared a handful of chex mix with me to supplement my twizzlers).

The plane ride back was uneventful. I sat next to a family practice doctor who goes to Haiti several times a year in order to give seminars. He and his family live in North Carolina, near Asheville.

Customs took awhile (as usual), but I was so happy to see my friend, Joel, waiting on the other side with Mr. Darcy, I almost cried. It was raining, but Joel drove...and we went to Chipotle for supper.

I drove back Wednesday (an exciting 10 1/2 hour drive that included a stop at a very redneck-looking gift shop (the places I go just to get a bumper sticker). All in all, a great trip, and one that has me prepped to work with the broader range of patients that I will be seeing in Nurse Practitioner School.

I don't know when I will be traveling again, but I will keep you posted on both school and any mini-trips I take!

Flight of the Bumblebees

Destination: St. Rafael, Haiti
Total Miles: roughly 1,200
Total Cost: $510*

The title has both literal and figurative meaning. Se vwe (truly).

As you may have noticed from the blog posts, I have been traveling quite a bit the past couple weeks. What you may not know, is that in addition to my many travels, I am in the middle of preparing to start my Masters at Clemson on August 23rd.

So, I have been figuratively running around like the proverbial "chicken with its head cut off" attempting to get my ducks in some semblance of an order (forget the "in a row").

The drive from South Carolina to Fort Pierce was relatively uneventful. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, traffic was moving, and I made excellent time. I am very thankful to report that Mr. Darcy enjoyed the pleasant trip.

I spent the night at a local hotel (dropping off Mr. Darcy with my friend, Joel, who lives just south of Fort Pierce), and I was picked up in the morning (before dawn! at 0530) by one of the Missionary Flights International (MFI) employees.


After checking in my luggage, paying my airfare, and waiting for a few minutes for everyone to get sorted, I boarded the Douglas DC-3 plane (if you've never seen one, think WWII era planes).

There were 17 passengers, and while I initially had a window seat, I gave it up to a missionary family so they could remain seated with their small children. This ended up placing me next to a very polite gentleman who was traveling with a painting crew.

We talked almost the whole flight about this and that, etc. It was his first time to Haiti, and his first time on a missions trip. He and his wife are hydrogeologists. And they are also beekeepers.

While he described himself as a "passive beekeeper," I still peppered him with questions regarding the proper keeping of bees.

Fascinating stuff! I think, perhaps someday, I would like to attempt to keep bees.

Upon arrival in Haiti, I met up with my friend, Isaac, and his brother, Prospere. After waiting forever for Customs to approve some packages they were picking up for various missionaries, we headed to a local restaurant for some lunch.

What should have taken a few minutes to prepare, turned into almost an hour. I am almost certain they had to go out back and kill the chickens!

The ride from OKap (Cap Haitien) to St. Rafael was uneventful...I almost fell asleep!

Since arriving, I have been kept fairly busy. Between helping prepare meals, working in the clinic, taking Creole classes, visiting the new market, and assisting with a minor surgery, life has been anything but dull.

Currently visiting with Dr. Anne Livingston (the doctor I help in the clinic) are nurses Serena and Carrie. Madame Brent (aka Miss Serena...Mrs. here go by Madame + their husband's first name) has been a nurse for many years in North Carolina, but she has spent several months this year helping Dr. Anne. And Carrie is a recent nursing graduate from Maranatha. She is in the middle of a 6 week stay in Haiti.

More details will follow, but for now, there is a storm coming in from the South and internet is a spotty affair.
:)

*cost breakdown: $450 (round trip ticket from Ft. Pierce, FL to Cap Haitien, Haiti); $60 for gas from Travelers Rest, SC to Ft. Pierce