Day in PAP

 

Original post date was March 29, 2012.

I've been having trouble with Internet access all week, so I'm updating the blog all at once. At the end of each day, I wrote about my experiences in a word document so that it would be fresh in my mind.


Today I spent with my friend Orio. He took me around PAP so that I could visit the Hotel Dumbala, Rue Villate, the Petionville Club, and the Palace in downtown PAP. It took us all day to do those things because getting around the city is so difficult. The traffic is stop and go the entire time, the vehicles all spew black exhaust that takes its toll on the breathing, none of the vehicles are new, and there are basically no street signs. We left the guesthouse at 10:00 in the morning and returned at 5:00.

I did lots of “firsts” today: my first “moto taxi” rides, my first tap tap rides, my first ride in a Haitian bus, and my first time walking along the Haitian roadways. Not a bad day! I was going to bring a bike with me next year when I come, but I’ve decided that I want to buy motorcycle instead. That would be way more fun! Gertrude wants a motorcycle, too, so the two of us can go tooling around town together.

When we visited the Hotel Dumbala and the Petionville Club, the staff were great about letting us come in and walk around even though we weren’t members at the club or staying at the hotel. All I had to do was tell them that my family had been there when I was little and they let us look around and take pictures.

Oriol and I walked through the Petionville market, and he told me that most Haitians prefer shopping in the open markets as verses the grocery stores because the markets are cheaper. I get that, but it is so crowded, busy, and noisy I don’t see how they do it. Somehow they know what is good, what is a fair price, and who to go to. I guess it works the same way at our farmers’ markets, but the apparent lack of order boggles my mind.

I couldn’t decide during the day whether I loved PAP or hated it. I find the city fascinating in so many ways. On the one hand, it is dirty, loud, and crazy, which I found overwhelming. And, getting around in the city is so difficult! Few, if any, road signs. A tap tap system that has no order to it that a foreigner can figure out. Garbage everywhere. Crowded. Amazingly crowded! I was glad to get back to Notre Maison/St. Joe’s for the relative quiet of 41 kids running around playing.

Even with all its flaws, though, the city functions. People eke out a living. Everyone (except for 4 people) worked. Everyone sold something: belts, water, juice, food. You name it, people worked to make a couple dollars a day. It breaks my heart to see such a willingness to work and yet receive so few fruits of their labor.

It was an exciting night with the kids! While we were eating, a fight broke out amongst three of the special needs kids. Natalie was kicking Mickey, so Mickey grabbed her foot to make her stop. Junior thought that Mickey was picking on Natalie, so Junior dumped Mickey out of his wheelchair and started hitting him. Of course, the other kids circled up and started cheering the fight on (kids are the same everywhere!). You’d have thought the world was ending given the racket that drifted upstairs! The kids were then put on “silence” after supper, which the younger boys had a hard time with, so we had about 6-7 five year olds kneeling upstairs for a couple of hours! Crazy! I really don’t understand how Gertrude does it. Somehow she raises the funds, manages the various projects, oversees the staff of 25, and loves the kids unconditionally. Through it all, her faith remains strong. She believes that God has determined that this is the place He needs her and that He will see her through it. From what I’ve experienced here and seen here, I think she’s right. What a privilege it is to be a small part of this work.

I will write more tomorrow (Wednesday). I plan to visit TeacHaiti School of Hope and spend some time there. I hope to have pictures and video to post at some time if I can get the stuff to actually download!

No photos or video because nothing downloads for me