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