Driving in Haiti

Driving in Haiti is quite the experience. Cars are everywhere, no one really pays attention to traffic rules. The roads are narrow, and full of pot holes. Not little pot holes, huge craters that would swallow the car if driven into. Motorcycles weave in and out of the cars. The only way to turn right or left across an intersection is to force your way through the line of cars speeding by. Our driver, Franc, is excellent. Even with the insane traffic I never felt unsafe. He knows how to navigate the streets well.

The streets were always this crowded!

The streets are lined with people selling their wares. Fruits, veggies, used clothes, shoes. Men walk the streets with auto parts and television antennas, hawking them at the passing cars. Women cook rice and meat over open fires. Because the sidewalks are full of the vendors, pedestrians must walk in the filth filled gutters of the streets. And I mean filth filled. Garbage is everywhere. In some areas the trash was several feet deep. Every ravine, pothole is filled with trash. Some pictures I have that will stay with me forever--

2 little kids, no older than 7, walking with empty bottles to a water puddle to fill up the bottles with the dirty water
a woman carrying a huge basket of carrots on her head
Tap taps (makeshift taxis-- a little pick up truck with benches in the bed and a cover over the top) filled with as many people as can fit in it
A group of school kids in matching uniforms laughing at us from their tap tap. I am sure we looked very strange to them.
The glare I received from a man who thought I was taking a picture of him (I wasn't, I was trying to get a picture of the street behind him)

A tent city on our way to the orphanage

The hills lined with makeshift tents-- the tent cities are unbelievable. Makeshift tarp roofs with tin sides. Hundreds and hundreds lined up.
Women cooking over fires outside and kids sleeping on the dirt.

The buildings are drab and gray, concrete crumbling walls. Most are falling down, what's left of the second stories are just rebar sticking up from the ceilings of the first floors. The only color in the streets are the billboards and posters of alcohol and cell phone advertising.

It is amazing to see so many people with cell phones and earbuds. They live in a tent yet have a mp3 player.

UN trucks filled with armed soldiers are everywhere. Signs telling people not to drink untreated water line most corners.

Speaking of water, it is impossible to shower here. The water is so splashy I am afraid to get my head near it for fear of it splashing in my mouth. So last night I took a sponge bath. I feel disgusting. But rather that than cholera! After I wash my hands I use antibacterial gel to get the water off my hands. The only water we can drink is from a water cooler. We use that water to brush our teeth as well.

Our guest houses is clean, comfortable and luxurious compared to the rest of port au prince. We are in a little compound, tall concert walls with razor wire on top. The house is colorful, and our room has Air conditioning. We have a bed, a dresser and our own private bathroom. There is a living area with a tv and a nice upper porch where we can sit and enjoy the cool breeze. When we arrived the ladies instantly made us a pot of coffee. We were so glad to have some caffeine after being up for 24 hours.

A feast at every meal

The food is fabulous and plentiful. Dinner last night could have fed our entire family and still had leftovers. Roasted chicken (maybe the one we heard in the garden?), fried okra, collard greens, carrots, rice (at least 8 cups worth) macaroni casserole with cheese and some sort of sausage, and awesome fried plantains. Dessert was a piece of banana cake and a yummy vanilla and fruit trifle. We felt badly leaving so much. But I could not have eaten another bite. The ladies keep telling us to eat more. They are very sweet. We try to communicate, poorly. We end up laughing at how we can't understand each other. They seem very intelligent, they just can't speak English.

My next post will be all about the orphanage. I wish I could post pics here but I can't upload them. I will have to do that when I get home.