Day 1

Southampton County vs. Haiti

I never thought that it was possible for me to be this completely exhausted at 8:23 p.m., but here it is, 8:23, and I’m surprised I’m even awake enough to write this blogpost. Our journey started early this morning at 2:45 a.m., when all of us woke up and got our bags together and scarfed down bagels and coffee courtesy of our team member Brian’s family who are complete godsends. After heading to IAD and arriving (and standing in line for what felt like forever), we had the chance to run into a woman who knew Timmy and is apparently the “Drew Stelljes” of Shenandoah University (and we didn’t even hold that against her, Drew!), who was on her way to Cuba. Only the beginning of random run-ins throughout our time here. After a fiasco with Melody’s checked keyboard and the discovery that the American Airlines worker thought Haiti was a city and a place where trade embargo is enforced, we headed through security (wassup no full-body screenings for anyone!) and had enough time to grab coffee and yogurt before we boarded our flight. I consider myself a non-nervous flyer, but there were some gross things going on during our ascent – lots of turbulence and shakes that were not well received by my near-dehydrated (because of lots of coffee and no water) state. After a brief layover in Miami, we were on our way to Port-au-Prince International Airport. The heat and humid air welcomed us with open arms as did the old standby mariachi-ish band of Ayitians that greeted us warmly in May.

Katie & I successfully navigated our team through Immigration Services and Customs and were praying with every being inside of each of us that when we walked outside past the amounts of swarming people searching for ways to make money, we would be greeted by Gabrielle’s smiling face – and to our relief, WE WERE! She gave us lots of hugs and kisses and welcomed us and escorted us into two waiting cars – a Nissan truck and a Nissan Pathfinder. Timmy & Melody hopped into the truck and the other seven of us hopped into the Pathfinder – and let me tell you, that was only the start of our journey. Now the title of this blog can make sense – I come from a small town surrounded by the vast boonies of Southampton County – and I thought I was a country girl at heart who knew how to roll with the big guys and be in the middle of nowhere. Somehow I found myself as we were bumping along the dirt roads (after a lengthy drive or wind around mountains that made even my strong stomach feel nauseous) completely blown away by the lack of things that were present. Roads peppered with large rocks were normal, as was driving through deep water. It was refreshing to me to watch the faces of Brian, Billy, Hannah, and Taylor as we drove these roads and saw the wide-eyed wonder and fascination that was present in their faces. It even made me giggle – remembering fondly the horrible feeling that I walked out the airport with in May – one of undeserved leadership, nervousness, but most of all – one of complete and utter fear of what was about to transpire. There was no such feeling this time – instead it was replaced by a feeling of excitement, joy, and near familiarity of the area.

Our car ride (which was supposed to be a bus ride – hey ya’ll, it’s Haiti – we have to be flexible!) ended up taking us 5.5 hours – which doesn’t seem like a horribly long time until you realize that you don’t get to stop and it’s windy and half of it consists of roads that have never been paved and have potholes that my 6’5” father could lay inside of and have extra room. We rolled with it, and although there was excited Backstreet Boys singing in the truck, in our car – we decided to replace the lyrics of Wiz Khalifa’s “Young, Wild, and Free” and finish the chorus with ‘Livin’ young and wild and in Haiti’ which I’m sure will be a repeated track on our trip, I’m sure.

Finally – we’re here! At Gabrielle’s house – which is much farther out in the boonies than any hunt club or random farm is in Southampton County is. I’m so excited for what is to come this week – lots of new experiences, love, smiles, and change. So, even though I’m disappointed to say that Southampton County loses the “boonies” challenge, I’m not disappointed to be able to find myself this week in new situations and revel in the opportunities that are about to come my way.

We’ll keep you posted – although we have somewhat limited wireless access and I’m 99% sure this might not get posted tonight!

Tons & Tons of Love to all of our favorite people –

Kylee & the rest of the Haiti Compact gang