Day 55: "Lespwa fe viv"...

"Hope gives life"

Well this is it - my last night in Haiti. When I got here in September, I spent the first few days wondering what in the world I was thinking to come here for 2 months...now that I'm leaving I only wish I could stay longer.

Friday was a great day in clinic, then we spent the night drinking whiskey, playing ping pong, and watching movies! Saturday we went to the Caribbean Market for some snacks, then spent most of the afternoon reading by the pool - sadly the pump broke on the pool right around the same time as Hurricane Sandy so now it's bright green...no swimming. Saturday night a big group of us decided to go to the Montana for appetizers & drinks since it was a gorgeous night & one of the last ones that we'd all be together. Lissette & John decided it would be a good idea to jump into the pool as we were leaving...

after the jump!

crazy kids

Jake was not happy with the love...

We got back from the Montana around 9 and decided it was a good time to make inside-out caramel apples...SUCH a good decision. We spent the rest of the night eating apples & popcorn and watching the Anthony Bourdain "No Reservations" episode where he goes to Haiti. For anyone that hasn't seen it, here's a link - it's a pretty accurate representation and the video shows more than pictures ever could...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlbsKQs1RVc

YUM

:)

Gracie was mad I wasn't sharing.

cutie!

Sunday morning was spent eating crepes, watching magic tricks from Gail's friend Wadson, and helping pick out marriage proposal ideas...
 

Sunday afternoon, Alise picked me up around 3pm and brought me to her parent's house for her mom's birthday party! It was so cool to see where she grew up and spend time with her family - they were all so welcoming and sweet!!   :)

Today was my last day in clinic - it was so hard to say goodbye to all of the patients!! Made me realize how much I've learned from them and how much I've grown as a therapist. It was also SO hard to say goodbye to the staff - they were so welcoming and helpful to this little "blan" who didn't speak a word of Creole!

me & Clerge

me & my translator/SAVIOR Herold!!

miss you already   :(

me & Alise

After clinic I came home & somehow managed to pack all of the stuff I've accumulated over the past two months...pretty sure my suitcase will be WAY overweight. We ended the night by having an AMAZING dinner at a beautiful restaurant called the View overlooking Port-Au-Prince.

pretty little appetizers!

delicious local fish

Haitian "shushi" with mango & salmon!!

Andy, me, & Lissette

awww roomies!!   :)

Andy, me, Gail, Lissette, & John - gonna miss this group!

And now I'm sitting here under my mosquito net, realizing just how much I've been affected by this beautiful country and the amazing people I've spent every day with. This trip has truly opened my eyes and made me realize the person that I want to be. The Haitian people I've been privileged to get to know have shown me what it means to appreciate what and who you have in your life. They have so little, but their hearts are so big and they're just so proud of their country and their people - it blows my mind every day. I could spend my whole life down here and never feel like I was doing enough.

Thank you to all of you that have encouraged me, supported me, and followed along with me on this crazy journey! I may be going home tomorrow, but I know a big piece of my heart will always be here in Haiti...

xo

Day 51: What Remains...

This past weekend was very low key. We all mostly spent it swimming, reading, and hanging out on the patio drinking beers & playing ping pong or swapping Haiti stories. It's amazing to hear stories from people who have been here multiple times or seen so many parts of the country, because the experiences are so different depending on where you go. For example, I was talking to an Irish guy who has been here for a few years doing construction projects for one of the NGO's. He was saying that he's spent the past week going around the countryside surveying damage to see where they needed to rebuild. He said that his team came upon a disabled man in his late 70's, just sitting in his home full of water up to his waist. When they got closer, they realized he was saying "Dlo! Dlo!" which means "water". The team assumed he was upset about the waist deep water in his home, but then they realized he was simply asking for a drink of water. He hadn't been able to move for almost 2 days to get a drink! When they started talking to him about helping to fix his home, he just kept thanking them for the bottle of water. People are amazing...

On Tuesday, I decided to take a walk around the property & take pictures of where the old clinic stood before the earthquake. I had gone on a mini-tour & got the history of the property from one of the women who helped start Healing Hands for Haiti. It was really eye-opening to see just how much damage had been done and how much has changed  - for the better I hope.

crumbling hillside below where the clinic was

looking up toward the old clinic site

tiles still in place from what used to be the reception area

I think this was where the prosthetic/orthotic department was

the old physical therapy area - tiles still in tact here too

view from the old reception area

neighborhood on the hill next to the HHH site

houses in our neighborhood

the old entrance area all overgrown

there used to be a 6 apartment building here

foundation remains from the apartment building

two of our guards    :)

The other night we decided to go out for a drink & meet up with some of Gail's friends from Canada, France, and Ireland at Hotel Montana. I swear, that place gets more beautiful each time I go! Pretty stark contrast to the daily life in Port-Au-Prince sadly...

view from the bar at the Montana

pool by the bar

lounge area

I can't believe how close it's getting to the end of my adventure! A few more days to do & see everything I can...

xo

Day 45: Fet Gede...

This week was only a 3 day work week, but because of holidays instead of rain thank goodness. Haitians don't typically celebrate Halloween - instead they celebrate Day of the Dead or "Fet Gede", also known as All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Since the clinic was closed yesterday and today in observance of those holidays, Alise and I decided that we should celebrate on Halloween! We printed out pictures and colored them with the 3 crayons we had in the clinic, and Alise dressed up the skeleton. Then we put on creepy makeup and played Halloween-themed songs during the day...at least we entertained ourselves! Here are some pictures of our efforts...

oh hey there friend!

some of our artwork

Alise & I with our version of "Papa Gede" who is the spirit that guards the dead

kisses!

:)

Clerge wanted his own picture haha

so did my translator Herold

Yesterday I spent the day hanging out by the pool and playing Uno with Lissette since neither of us had to work. We decided that we wanted to go out to celebrate Fet Gede, and what better way to do that than to go see a live band! There's a famous Haitian band called RAM that plays every Thursday night at Hotel Oloffson. They're music is known as mizik rasin, which means "roots music" - it's a combination of traditional Haitian vodou ceremonial music with rock & roll. Here's a link to one of their videos on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eppC82rUK3g

The group of us that wanted to go out ended up being me, Lissette, Gail, John, Jake, and two of Gail's Haitian friends - good thing we brought them because it was PACKED and they were able to navigate us to the front of the line. We spent the night drinking rum punch and Prestige beer, just listening to the music and checking out all of the decorations & costumes. We even got our picture taken with a Vodou priestess!! At one point it started pouring, but it actually felt good to cool off from all of the humidity and all of the dancing. Such a cool night in this incredible country. Here's a few of the pictures I managed to take...

 

as if the Oloffson wasn't creepy enough, they had weird decorations like this...

yikes

props for the performances

creepy hotel balcony at the Oloffson

Dia de los Muertos performer from Mexico

creepy Dia de los Muertos props...

some of the Haitian dancers

more of the dancers for RAM

Gail, Lissette, and I with the Vodou priestess!!

RAM   :)

We didn't get home until after 3am, so today was a very relaxing day spent by the pool. Typically in Haiti, people celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day by going to the cemeteries and bringing offerings to the Gods and to their deceased loved ones. The more I learn about this culture, the more I love it!!

xo