travel – Page 34 – PalmTreeMusings

In late February, it became apparent that things were heating up in Haiti- and not just weather wise. It was suggested that us international teachers should get out of town for a short break, as something political was afoot. I tell you, Haitians have a nose for this kind of thing. So, I went to Turks and Caicos islands for a little fun in the sun. My friend Maluschka went with me. We had a blast! We even got to meet Sally and Jerry, the two pet conches at the Caicos conch farm. It was the perfect long weekend.

two friends on the beach at turks and caicos island — Maluschka and Deah at Turks and Caicos

water and sand at turks and caicos beach — The beautiful Turks and Caicos

UNFORTUNATELY, on our last day there, we woke up to an unpleasant surprise. While eating breakfast, we noticed the CNN coverage at the cafe was showing footage from… yep, from Haiti. Port au Prince was surrounded by a group of rebels who had snuck over from Dominican Republic, demanding that President Aristide resign and leave the country. The airport was shut down. This probably sounds really made up, but I promise you, this really happened.

At the Presidential Palace, Port au Prince

Malu and I rushed to the airport to see how we could get out of Turks and Caicos- we didn’t have enough money to stay there and wait this thing out- Turks and Caicos is expensive! After much haggling and arguing, we were able cash in our Port au Prince tickets, and get a flight to the Dominican Republic, then take a bus back into Haiti. (Looking back on it now, probably not the wisest idea). A couple of days later, my roommates Tom and Sue left for Santo Domingo, with the help of the Canadian embassy. Alone at the house with just Christy, we were running out of water, fuel, and food. I called my friend Micah at the Marine House, and after YELLING at me for still being in Haiti, he got me in touch with the US Embassy in Washington and we started making arrangements to join an armed convoy to the airport and evacuate out. The kind lady on the phone even called my mom to tell her I was coming home. Did you know that if the State Department helps you evacuate a country, you still have to pay for your plane ticket? And trust me, it is not at any kind of discounted rate.

When this becomes your daily reality, it’s time to go

In retrospect, could I have stayed in Haiti? Maybe. But we had no more bottled water, no food, and the grocery stores were all shuttered. At the point the telecom station burned down, it seemed like a good time to get the heck out. Two days after I watched the President’s plane depart Port au Prince in the early dawn hours, I evacuated to Miami, where the Red Cross greeted us and helped us get flights to our home cities, and aided the people on the flight who had children or other needs. I stayed with my parents for about a week, and then things seemed calmer back in Haiti, so I paid the US government back for my flight (they flag your passport until you pay that ticket off!), and returned to work. In the meantime, President Aristide left the country, so we effectively have no government and the UN has moved in. Who knows what the next few months will bring?

The Port Au Prince Airport, looking a lot more empty than it usually does!

May 2004 update: Everyone talks about the political and economic situation improving but so far no one is really seeing many changes. The kidnappings are continuing; this week a seven year old boy was kidnapped outside his school (one of the other private schools). The parent of a student at my school was kidnapped, and died. The electricity is still not on for more than a few hours a week. No one is really sure what the new interim government is working on. There have been rumors and reports of some of the major drug dealers being arrested by the US officials and shipped off to Miami to await trial. On the positive side, it’s mango season! Our tree is bursting with mangoes, and when Desinor beats us to it and swipes them for himself, we can buy them at the market for just a couple of gourdes. Mango with toast for breakfast, mango tarts at lunch, mango with rice for dessert, it’s mangoes everywhere.

Six months ago, in August 2003, I moved to Haiti to become an international teacher. I got a lot of questions from friends and family back home; question like “What is Haiti like?” “What are the Haitian people like?” “Is it safe there?”. So I decided to start this travel blog to document my experiences. Read on to find out what this amazing island is like, and to follow my adventures there!

I mean, you can’t really beat this kind of weekend

What is Haiti like? Sleeping in Haiti is like sleeping at summer camp. At night it is hot but usually with a breeze. It is noisy. There is always a dog barking, which then sets off every other dog in the neighborhood, and roosters crowing. I thought roosters only crowed at dawn, but apparently they crow all night. Sometimes our generator or our neighbor’s generator is going, which is quite loud, but at least drowns out the sound of the dogs and roosters, and the occasional goat. If you’re really lucky you might get some city power at night (the provisional government is promising us six hours a day now….) but when the city power is on it makes our fans and other appliances hum, because the wattage is different (during the day you can tell when the city power is on because the lights are dimmer. But at least you can use the hair dryer and toaster oven then). At night sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night, sweating, because the power has gone off and the fans are off. You have to get up and go to the back yard and turn on the Delco, or just try to get back to sleep. Sleeping under my mosquito net always reminds me of a bride’s veil. Occasionally I try to tie it up in a knot and sleep without it, but the mosquitos always win.

No electricity, so we literally decided to sleep outside

In the morning, especially if there’s been rain at night, you can smell the morning like I remember from camp. It’s a nice, green, earthy smell. Haiti, in fact, smells best at six in the morning. But even at six, the streets are full of people walking to work, the tap-taps are running, and even the heavy trucks are heading down from the hills, full of gravel that has been mined from the mountains above us. The deforestation and strip-mining of the land here is devastating, and there’s constantly a need for more building materials. Almost no houses are made of lumber here; the wood supply ran out on Haiti decades ago (only 1% of the forests remain here) and even if there was trees, you can’t build a house with them that will last, because of the rot. The cement buildings are part of what makes Port-Au-Prince so ugly. The nicer buildings and churches are made of stone, which looks prettier. The concrete buildings are gray, plain, unpainted. Many of them are unfinished, lacking a roof or one wall.

view of Port au Prince Haiti from Boutillier — The sprawl of Port Au Prince

sacks of grains in the market in Haiti Petionville Port au Prince — The sprawl of Port Au Prince

In January, enjoying the nicer cool weather, we did some exploring around Petion-ville, including a local market. We also spent a lovely and cool weekend up at our friends’ mountain house in Kenscoff. We really lucked out by having the most wonderful and kind families from our school ‘adopt’ us international teachers by inviting us to their homes for dinners, or for weekends away. What a way to see the beauty of this country!

Mountain house sunflowers iron sculpture Haiti — Girasole, up in the mountains

stone house with blue shutters and two deck chairs — Girasole, up in the mountains

In early February, all of the international teachers traveled to Jacmel for Carnival weekend. We went on an amazing hike to a waterfall called Bassin Bleu. The next day we watched the carnival itself, a Mardi Grad celebration full of dancers, papier- mâché animals, colorful paintings, and more. It is truly something you have to see for yourself to understand in all its glory.

girl in front of waterfall at Bassin Bleu Haiti near Jacmel — Deah at Bassin Bleu

Tom and Sue on the beach near Jacmel Haiti — Deah at Bassin Bleu

yellow and black hat ladies dancing at jacmel carnival haiti — Dancing ladies at Carnival

little boy in tiger costume haiti jacmel carnival — Dancing ladies at Carnival

I’ll be updating this blog frequently over the next two years as I live and teach in Haiti. Click the “follow” button below to follow along and find out more about my adventures in Haiti- and beyond!