Haiti Cherie

Last Friday, most of my dearest Peace Corps friends got on planes to the United States, where family, friends and even one boyfriend were waiting on the other side. I, on the other hand, went to a sketchy part of Santo Domingo at 5.30 in the morning and boarded a bus full of Haitians, who happily taught me some words of Creole. My cat was stored safely, if unhappily, in the trunk of the bus, and I sat uncomfortably wedged between two people, my big backpack in the space where my legs should have gone. About eleven hours later, the bus pulled into a small station right next to Haiti’s collapsed presidential palace, where the sole gringo (or blan, now that we’re in Haiti) was David. The Dominican bus driver gestured to him as if to say, here she is, delivered safe and sound. It was pretty apparent who was picking me up.

I’ve been living in Port Au Prince for a week now, and it’s been an incredible one. Last weekend David and I hosted five (FIVE!) visitors from the DR, all but one of whom were just-finished Peace Corps volunteer friends who wanted to take advantage of their location to visit Haiti before going home to the States. We rode around in David’s Nissan Sentra carro publico style – that is, the way people ride in public cars in the DR – with two people in the passenger seat and four in the back. We had some close calls with huge potholes and barely-paved roads, but we and the car survived our journeying. We went hiking in the mountains outside Port Au Prince, went to an expat birthday party, visited a metal workers village, had lunch at the famous Hotel Oloffson, and had a visit from a Haitian who made friends with one of our visitors when she volunteered with earthquake victims at a hospital in Jimani just after Jan 12.

Since then, they’ve taken off, and David and I have organized our place, finally unpacked, and started settling in. I’ve been going with him to work to use the internet and keep myself occupied, and I’ve already started doing some reporting with Ben Depp, a talented photojournalist and friend of ours who’s been freelancing in Haiti for almost three years. Haiti is a tiny country, and the expat community is even smaller, and in the week I’ve been here I feel like I’ve already met some of the stars of the scene and seen a lot. David and I watched with awe a live graffiti performance by Jerry, a world-famous Haitian painter whose subject matter is the strife of the Haitian people. I met Pooja Bhatia, probably Haiti’s foremost foreign journalist, who has interviewed Aristide since his return to Haiti after years in exile in South Africa.  This week Ben and I have been hanging around a forum on housing rights organized in part by activist Beverly Bell and we’ve visited a small tent camp near where David and I live. The new president, Michel Martelly, was inaugurated on Saturday. I’ve started reading The Rainy Season, one of the canonical books on Haiti.

I’ll be starting summer classes online toward an MA in communication in about a week and start looking for part-time work. For now, I’m taking my time settling in, picking up on Haitian Creole, and reporting a story with Ben. As you’ve probably noticed, I’m still blogging! I plan to keep it up, as this year will probably be even more interesting than last (I assume since you’re reading, you found it interesting at all). I am more a stranger than before, as blan stick out more in Haiti, where people are darker, there are no tourists, and fewer people have US ties. I don’t speak the language and will not be using public transportation, at least in the short term. It’s a little like doing Peace Corps all over again, except for real this time. The DR is pretty posh, after all.

I’m really excited for the next year. Haiti is a fascinating place, culturally and politically. I have a lot to learn, but I feel that my time in the DR has prepared me for some of the differences in culture and for sure some of the inconveniences of developing-world living. I feel lucky to be here.

From Haiti visit

The view from our hike.

From Haiti visit

From Haiti visit

From Haiti visit

From Haiti visit

From Haiti visit

From Haiti visit

From Haiti visit

A nice spot for a picnic – I hope to go back soon.

From Haiti visit

We had hamburgers for lunch afterward. Some things are the same no matter where you are.

From Haiti visit

The view from our roof.

From Haiti visit

Drinking Prestige, the national beer, at sunset.

From Haiti visit

Shopping at the metal workers’ village.

From Haiti visit

At the Oloffson, one of Port Au Prince’s famous gingerbread houses.

From Haiti visit

Packed into the car. We’re used to it. At least this one has air!

Thanks to our lovely visitor Mary for the pictures.