Jan 10 – Day 9

It’s a starry night in Port-au-Prince, and the moon seems full for at least the sixth night in a row. (Can anyone out there who paid more attention in astronomy class explain that to me?) And what a beautiful day it’s been.

To start, we had French toast for breakfast. Yep, nothing like some Frenchy toast with spicy peanut butter and, somehow, IGA brand ‘lite’ syrup with a side of mango. Due to a recent printer explosion at ICC, we had a little extra time for breakfast so a few of us got in some good conversations with our driver friend, Jason.

When we arrived at Grace Children’s Hospital, after a friendly greeting by Robenson, we jumped right into our survey project. Because the original hospital was the Mexican ambassador’s house before it became a hospital in the 60’s, and then was largely ruined in the earthquake, ICC has the opportunity to totally re-make the hospital into a state-of-the-art facility for pediatrics and all kinds of services. They’re being really intentional about the process (including involving a pro-bono team of hospital planners from Chicago who are giving huge bank in free assistance in the design phase). In the meantime, they’ve been functioning out of transitional facilities – ranging from repurposed shipping containers that remind me of elementary school portables to small buildings to things that look like an expanded version of those sheds that hang out in the Home Depot parking lot. Some of them, though, are durable enough to last for up to 50 more years, so Grace is trying to get input from their patients on how they should use the facilities after moving to the new hospital some day.

We split up into three teams, and each with a translator, approached patients in waiting areas to survey them about their feelings about the current and future status of transitional facilities. Katie, Brian and I formed a team with our translator Jimmy/Jay-Z, and had a blast connecting with the people we surveyed. Because we each have a background in French, we could pick up much of what they said. And then came a couple of guys who, when we asked them their names and ages in Kreyol, responded to us in English. How fun is that? We got to take the conversations a little further with them, because it was fun for them to practice English, too.

One asked if we enjoyed Haiti and its culture. Upon hearing an enthusiastic yes, he asked if we loved Haiti. And upon that enthusiastic yes, he asked if we then loved him. Because we’d learned about the ways Haitians perceive themselves differently than our culture does – less individualistically (e.g. more likely to refer to themselves as “we,” even), we got that of course us loving Haiti means that we love him. And so as he was thanking us for our time here, he said (among many other kind things), “I love you” right on back to us. Sorta unexpected for a hospital survey conversation, but it certainly felt right in line with the kind of deep human/spirit connection that many people here in Ayiti have offered us freely.

We headed to our first Youth Exchange, which brought us together with 15 community leaders in ICC’s catchment area, most of whom live in tent camps, to discuss sex and understandings around sex from each culture’s perspective. Most of them gave a broad overview of their views on various topics related to sexual ethics, ranging from prostitution to sex education (which happens mostly in schools, but most kids in tent camps are not in school, so…). After we shared back what we heard from them (thanks, Nick) it was time for the discussion to begin. We had a very interesting cultural exchange, talking about our various perceptions of prostitution, how parents and children interact with each other (do parents teach kids about sex?), and our how to best promote healthy sexual cultures.

Then Nick whipped out some 1 in 4 magic (the name comes from the stat that 25% of US college women have been sexually assaulted or experienced attempted sexual assault, and is a men’s education group at W&M) and gave them a sense of how we understand sexual assault and work to prevent it. Rape is a huge issue in tent camps, with low police presence, unsecured homes (no doors, no locks), and low light, so we thought it was important to discuss this topic. Nick gave a definition of rape, and explained how at W&M guys train other guys to recognize it, know the importance of mutual consent and hold each other accountable in promoting the equality of the sexes. Our friends found the ideas interesting and had some good follow-ups. Robenson took notes throughout and will share them with stakeholders in the community and at ICC so they can delve further into the themes raised and improve education and a culture of health in the tent camps.

We bid a fond farewell to our translator Jean Felix and headed out to Epi d’Or, a Haitian fast food restaurant that felt a little bit like a mix of a Panera and a Po’Folks (do those still exist?), thanks to the thatched roof over the Haitian food counter. Ordering 12 sandwiches in this restaurant takes a little bit of micromanaging to make sure the orders are right, and because of the vigilance of driver friend Jason, we successfully avoided ketchup getting on turkey sandwiches, and any condiments at all on Timmy’s sandwich.

From there, we climbed up (that is, in our van Esther) to Petionville, where we saw the surroundings there – resonant to me of Johannesburg sometimes, and with a super crooked street, San Francisco. We rocked out on the way to a customized adapatation of “Baby Please Don’t Go,” in Timmy’s honor (who leaves tomorrow). Some of us souvenir shopped at a roadside mall of souvenir stands. Ask Brian about his new acquisition: an oil drum sun with a beard (which begs the question why all depictions of the sun I’ve ever seen are clean-shaven?).

After some chillaxin back at Walls, and lots of good conversations among the group, we embarked on a massive reflection/group builder sandwich. 3.5 hours to be exact. Lots of affirmations, lots of critical questioning and discussion about the power of culture and how movements change it, and then lots of kind, sincere and appreciative things about what we’ve learned about each other on the trip.

Which brings me back to now. As I write this, I hear the occasional and unmistakable chatter of the lizard I woke up this morning to see on the ceiling above my bed. Sort of makes this native Florida girl feel at home.

‘til next time - Melody