Haiti Day 6 and 7

So, I'm gonna update you about the entire weekend....and it was a great one!


Saturday:


So, for the weekend I decided to head to Jacmel, a city in Haiti that is about 3 hours away!  I was accompanied by 15 fellow volunteers, in which we made our journey via tap tap and moto (haitian motorcycles)....which I didn't participate in!  The tap tap we were riding on was different from the tap tap's that we use daily....this one was enclosed on the back, and top...allowing for 4 people to ride on the top for the entire time.  The downfalls to this type of tap tap, is you can get very hot, and claustrophobic, because there are so many people in such a tight space, in 90 degree temperatures. While I have been able to stay sick free from food, motion sickness is one thing that I had not anticipated!!!  With the conditions in tap, combined with the extreme twisty roads, motion sickness set in!!  A great friend let me use their shoulder to lay on, and attempt to sleep through the ride.....but all I could think about was getting to our final destination. 

Jacmel is a city that was not really devastated by the earthquake, so I was excited to see what Haiti parts of Haiti looked like, and what Leogane probably looked like prior to the quake.  Jacmel is in the mountains, and for the parts of the ride that I was awake, and looking outside the scenery was beautiful....it was hard to believe that I was in Haiti.  When we arrived in the part of the city that we were staying in, one of the first things that we saw was a funeral ceremony taking place.  I found this so interesting....it was interesting to witness how ceremony that is standard throughout the world, varies in how it is performed.  Here, what I noticed in particular was that all the women were wearing white, and men were in black.  There was a lots of people who gathered, and there was people what seemed like "parading" down the road....there were men playing instruments!  Also, it was unclear as to who the family was that had lost someone, it was such a community ceremony. 


After passing the funeral we arrived at a hotel....yes....A HOTEL....NOT THE RIGHT HOTEL!!!  So after feeling so relieved to have made it, next thing I knew we had to reload the tap tap, and make a 20 minute trek to the proper location.  After lots of traffic and bumpy roads, we finally arrived at where we were staying!  Some of us (including me) had opted on camping right along the beach, while some of the others opted for a hotel!  Our camping spot was right along the beach....costing us each 6 US Dollars....with the catch that the individual who owned the property (and the restaurant next to it) made us promise to eat at this restaurant!!!  While this may sounds like a good deal to you (and sounded like a good deal to us at the time) was absolutely outrageous! 

Let me explain why: besides being hot when we arrived, we were also hungry.  We looked at the menu and hesitated about the price at first, but then decided to split the meals in order to make it  more affordable.  When we ordered from the guy we said we were splitting the meal for 3 people...and he said we couldn't do that.....but inevitably we ended splitting meals between 2 people!  So we ordered some food...and after 2.5 hours of waiting, we got PART of our meal!  We ordered chicken...which comes with rice and beans, as well as plantains!  Well, the chicken came out, but nothing else!  About, and hour later came the plantains.....and then 1/2 after that the rice and beans.  To top it off, immediately following the delivery of our rice, he demanded that we pay him, and further was charging us for items we had not bought from him! It was quite the experience, and taught us our lesson....no more eating out at haitian restaurants.



Following our meal, we decided it was ocean time.....and wonderful experience.  The ocean was beautiful....actually reminded me of my trip to cape cod.  The water was a bit warm...but it was just nice to be in something to cool off.  One of the volunteers who has been in Haiti for a long time told us that there are NEVER waves here....so I guess that means we brought them with us from the states....because there were tons of waves, that were huge...even a but scary at times.  A bunch of us also decided to have chicken fights in the water....a crazy experience when you've got waves crashing in your face!  I guess this is something that I'm not very good at...because it only took me seconds to lose!
We also were near quite a few other American organizations, and got to meet volunteers working on other projects.who had come to the beach on their weekend off.


Because the meal was so pricey at the nearby restaurant we walked to the "market" about a mile away, which is more like side walk stores, to buy some food for dinner!  There were a crazy number of people lining the side of the roads, trying to get us to purchase their items....very overwhelming; and at the same time trying to avoid the cars and motos driving so fast right by us.  We ended up with some plantains (absolutely delicious), bread for sandwiches, and cookies.  I also had the most delicious treat called a sappy-bon....basically a popsicle....which is SOOOO refreshing on a hot day!  After getting back to our spot on the beach the weather was just PERFECT....cooled down a bit, and so had the water, and most of the people had cleared out, so we had so much room to ourselves.  We just enjoyed running in and out of the water as we pleased...and being in a place that was so relaxing.  Honestly, seeing places like Jacmel, really make me think about how many similarities there are all around the world.....even though we live differently, some things are always consistent!  Something interesting to note was how many young children were along the beach trying to sell us items; anything from coconuts, to paintings and even souvenir t-shirts.


When it got darker out we all just gathered around a table along the beach enjoying the stories of others; embarrassing moments, near death experiences, most humerous experiences, etc.  To add to the humor of the night, one of the guys while telling a story sat back a little and his chair tipped right back, landing him on his back in the sand.....he came to sit down again, repeating the exact same thing!  Five minutes later...yours truly decided to take a spill in the sand courtesy of yet another unsteady chair.  It was a night of wonderful experiences, and great company.  We waited until it was COMPLETELY  DARK, and the lights all out to head to bed!


Now...for the "camping" situation.....basically this consisted of 4 tents arranged in a grassy area...but when I say grassy, I mean more like rocky area with patches of sand.  I brought with me a sheet to sleep on...which made for a very interesting nights "rest!"  I was basically sleeping smack dab on top of a rock...and waking up every 1 hour, wishing it was morning!  Further adding to the situation....my wonderful new color.....RED on back shoulders and neck!!!  While, I may not have gotten a ton of sleep it was well worth it to have this experience....to fall asleep to sounds of the waves crashing....it was so calming, and a first for me!  Added bonus....the salt water worked miracles on my mosquito bites...not decreasing the quantity, however the discomfort and size of them had drastically gone down!


I woke up in the morning....5 am and headed 10 feet in front of me, to the beach to catch some morning waves....felt absolutely AMAZING!  We continued our fun on the beach from the previous day with some tunnel digging, dripping sand castles, sand hangman, tik-tak-toe and yet another game of card monopoly (failing to be victorious again)!  I have now discovered the HARDEST 3 - letter hangman word....which I intent on using on all of you when I get back!


After our morning/afternoon on the beach we headed back via another tap tap to the base, stopping on the way to pick up some of the volunteers who had explored the city a little more!  This is when things got a little scary to me; when of the girls who had arrived on base Thursday, had been feeling ill the night before...and into the morning.  She had noted feeling like she had blacked out earlier, and then it passed, but when we went to meet her and the 2 people she was with, they told us she had passed out!!!  Fortunately, she was alert right after, but still feeling very weak and ill!  It really shook me up, because this was my biggest fear, but I was seeing someone else experience it.  As an update to you all, she was taken to the hospital to be checked out, they are saying it is a combination of dehydration and maybe something with the food.  Obviously, this is good news that she's okay, but it was a wake-up call to me, to stay hydrated and cautious of what I eat.


We arrived back at the base....and it was so much different than what it is like during the week!  It felt quiet, and empty....and what we gathered from people who stayed on base all weekend was the weather was HOT HOT HOT!!!  I went to take a bucket shower, and the water was even hot!  So, instead of cleaning off with hot water, a bunch of us decided to play some volleyball!  (I think that by the end of this trip I should be a professional volleyball player with all the practice I'm getting)!  There's a net outside, so we played a game of 5 v. 5....and let's just say my team DOMINATED 2 out of 2....but I would say that I didn't have much of a contribution to the team!  It's been so nice on base having things to do other than being on a computer, and watching TV!  I would have to say that is something I know I'm gonna miss....always having the ability to hang out with people whenever I want to play a pick up game of just about anything! 



After the game things settled down a bit....went and got a soda, cleaned up chatted with some friends.  Since dinner is not provided on base on the weekends one of the volunteers made dinner....MY FAVORITE.....CAN YOU GUESS???  And after dinner it was ready for blogging and bed! 

Side Notes:

1) I have met 3 people from Mass, who live nearby, as well as one person who will be flying to Mass on the same flight as Cara on I when we return.....and we have already planned a beach day for the Saturday we return!

2)  My sun-burn has already started peeling

3)  I have yet again, re-connected by mosquito net in hopes of no more bites

Till tomorrow

Bec