Haitian Journey 2.0

33 days – until we leave to Haiti (if I trust Katie’s countdown). 190 days – since we returned from Haiti (if I trust my arithmetic skills). So surreal.

Ever the procrastinator, I am one of the last to post my little soliloquy. The super awesome Taylor is the only one I beat, which is ironic considering he and I are Scapegoat #1 and Scapegoat #2 for this team. #hateprovingthemright

Anyway, my delinquency has allowed my dashing teammates to steal a lot of what I wanted to say. #bummer

Never fear, though, loyal blog readers. I do have something to say. #iknowyouarerelieved

As I reflected on my decision to return to Haiti, I realized there is a key word – return. The advantages of being able to travel to Haiti with this group for a second time are endless. However, since you don’t want to be reading this [awesome] blog post forever, I will provide you with a concise little list: #yourewelcome

· Teammates. Specifically, I get to work and be friends with eight of the most incredible people I know. By virtue of Haitian Journey 1.0, I was well aware of the awesomeness of Nick, Kylee, Katie, and Melody; however, I am blown away by wondrousness (#bigword) of our newbies – Billy, Brian [Parady], Hannah, and Taylor. Not going to lie, I was a bit of a brat during selections because I didn’t think anybody could fill the empty spot in my heart left by the departure of Brian [Focarino] and Wesley, but I’m super glad to be proved wrong.

· Community Partners. We are so lucky to work with two of the best community partners known to man – International Child Care and Sonje Ayiti. (You know you want to check out their Web sites. I even provided the links for you. #convenient) I’m so excited to see what has changed since we last worked with them, how their awesome work has evolved, etc. We even developed a great friendship (#Facebookofficial) with Robinson at ICC and Gabrielle at Sonje Ayiti, so seeing them again will be so wonderful.

Haiti Compact 1.0 with Robinson from ICC. Cool dude
or coolest dude? This formatting is weird because I don't really
understand technology. I would say "sorry" in Creole but I don't remember how.

· Diminished Culture Shock. Last year, I learned that going to Haiti is quite a leap when you’ve never been outside of the United States. Basically, I had no idea what was going on at any time. Ever. Things I forgot to pack: snacks, hat, bug spray, sunscreen, water bottle. (#essentials) Things that scared me: the swarm of people trying to “help carry my bag” in the Port-au-Prince airport, the lack of lanes on the streets, all sorts of things hanging from the side of moving vehicles (people, chickens, goats, etc.), potholes craters in the road, the thought of losing my passport, actually losing my wallet, Customs at the Miami airport. Things that I never got used to: having to brush my teeth with bottled water, cold showers, lack of running water in public bathrooms at airports, assumptions that I was rich based on my skin color, people bathing on the side of mountains. #yougetthepicture

I spent so much of the last trip needing to have things explained to me, being completely shocked or disturbed, or generally just being dragged around like a puppy because I had no idea where I was supposed to be going or what I was supposed to be doing. Though I don’t think you can ever be fully prepared for the devastation you see in Haiti (and if you become that jaded, then you have a problem, in my opinion), I’m hopeful that I’ll spend less time shellshocked and more time observing and thinking critically about what I’m experiencing. Haitian Journey 1.0 was an amazing introduction to the country and I’m really excited to see how Haitian Journey 2.0 will allow me to build on that. #thatwasdeep

Eight great people, ten incredible days, one lifetime changed. What more can you ask for? #notathing

Peace,
Timmy Siverd aka #themanwithahashtagproblem