Haiti 2013, Saturday, June 8

6/8/13 - Travel Day
We got to the airport earlier than we had intended, because I just woke up at 2:45. Although paperwork advises being at the airport two hours early for international flights, there were no attendants available to assist us, and the "self-check" kiosks were offline. So we waited.

At around 4:20ish, we'd checked our bags and were headed through security when I got a call from my dad. He had come back home, they'd gotten back into bed, then heard a great and mighty crash. D got up first and ran into the kitchen. She said it sounded just like the time the attic access fell open and smashed the full liquor bottles we had stored on top of the refrigerator. This time, however, it was because a opossum had been living in the attic and must have hit the trap door on a weak day (it's ridiculous; there is a 1/4 inch plastic lip that "locks" this 8-pound door into place) and had fallen through into the kitchen.

It was hiding beside the refrigerator at that time, so my parents called our maintenance guy and our landlord (no answer at 4:30 AM) then called animal control, who sent out a contractor. Several hours later, the opossum was trapped and the area disinfected. Later in the week, they trapped a second opossum as well as two rats. Good times.

Meanwhile, our first flight was delayed just a bit as there was a missing sign-off on the "maintenance book." We got to watch the sunrise, once we got into the air, and the flight was only about 40 minutes.

In Dallas, our flight was delayed for over an hour for unknown reasons; it had been at the gate the whole time. Since our layover in Miami was only to be 40 minutes, it was iffy whether or not we'd make it. Because of the way our flights were booked as a team, I wasn't seated beside James on any leg. For the first, we were able to request an exit row from the gate agent. The other two, however, were full and there was no wiggle room. Our awesome travel group, though, was willing to play musical chairs, so we did get to sit together every time.

While we were waiting to find out when or if we'd be able to board the plane in Dallas, I found something interesting: Just before we'd boarded the plane in Austin, one of the food kiosks had opened. James was famished, so got a breakfast sandwich. He also bought me a diet Pepsi. The girl who was working hadn't even gotten everything ready, so she had to put the nozzle on the soda fountain to get my beverage. James had ordered it with no ice (just like I likes it!), but while we were in Dallas, I noticed that there was still somehow some unmelted ice in the bottom of the cup. I opened the cup to discover that, no, that wasn't ice at all.

Yep. Nozzles. What's funny is that they didn't learn their lesson, and apparently still store the cleaned nozzles in a large Pepsi container, as we witnessed when we returned a week later:

We did make our connection in Miami, and arrived on time into Port au Prince, Haiti. Coming off of the plane, we were greeted by this:

Once we got through customs, we waited for our bags and the "red shirts" descended. These are men who are eager to carry your bags to the car for whatever tip you will give them. They are aggressive and numerous, and while you have to admire them for wanting to work, we already had a designated guide. We politely declined help, except for James, who sweetly let a man take his bag from him. He got it back a few moments later after several of us asked the man to return it. It was funny, though: Even though we met our guide and were talking out to the van together, several of the gentlemen in red shirts walked out with us, pretending to be official, waving us on, leading us. 

Driving away from the airport, honestly, I was underwhelmed by damage. I had been warned that I would immediately see devastation left over from the earthquake three years ago, but I didn't see much at all. What I saw looked a lot like what I'd expect a Central/South American urban area to look like.

We drove 8 kilometers (just under 5 miles) to Kenscoff to the house where we were staying. This drive, due to traffic and people and road conditions and switchbacks, took over an hour. It was a colorful and interesting trip.

Watching the people on the drive up, especially at the market very close to the house, I wanted to get out and walk among the vendors. There were people selling fresh vegetables, fruits, breads (including a flatbread that was about 20 inches in diameter), chickens, sundries, bags, drinks, roasted corn on the cob... If you could toss it down on a blanket or carry it in a basket on your head (which doesn't limit the selection as much as one might expect), it was out and available.

It did seem awfully chaotic, but I'm sure that downtown Austin seems dizzyingly chaotic to the uninitiated.

We spent the week in the home of Pastor Jean Alix Paul, his wife, Mylene, and their kids Laurie and Markley. You can read some of his story here. They live near the top of a mountain in a large 2-story stuccoed home with bunk rooms for visitors, a large kitchen, a comfortable living area, and a dining room with a long table for group meals.

Port au Prince was all sea-level Caribbean urban: steamy, busy, packed in. Kenscoff is at 3500 feet and much cooler and dryer. The house is behind gates which shut out the bustle. We could hear roosters and insects and lots of frogs after the rains.

They have a woman on staff who prepares breakfast and dinner for us. It "feels" weird. Also, Madame Mylene, who works full time, made sure both meals got on the table. The work ethic of the people from the market to the house to the streets to the farming communities we saw was humbling.

Saturday night, we had time to catch up on rest, reading, and general down-timing. I got a little homesick while James slept, imagining sleeping without him all week. He truly is my darling, and as far away as I felt from my daughter, sleeping 200 feet from James seemed almost as drastic.

For dinner the first night, we were fed salad, corn, broccoli, cabbage, a creamy casserole, and goat meat. We also had sodas available, but no diet sodas. It was interesting how, after consuming non-nutritive sweeteners, drinking beverages filled with sugar made me feel VERY full. The food served at "home" was healthy and satisfying.

They had three "guard" dogs, which apparently are very intimidating to the Haitians. They were adorable, if smelly. They were also extremely needy for attention.

We had an early start to Sunday, so I went to bed early on Saturday. While I sleep, check out this audio interview with Pastor Jean Alix. It's five years old, so the numbers will be off (this was pre-earthquake), but you'll get to enjoy his speaking style and hear about his ministries. EDIT: There's no link because the interview has been removed.