Haiti, here we come!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

This morning started at 3:00 am for most of the Haiti Compact team. We woke up in the cold VA darkness and headed to the airport to catch our first flight to Miami. After a little bit of confusion and a lot of standing in very long lines we made it to Florida. After a short layover we made it to Port-au-Prince.

We were picked up at the international airport terminal by a taxi company contracted by the wonderful travel company we used to get our tickets. They were prompt and polite and the general agreement was that the airport experience on this trip was by far the best that anyone had seen. When we got to the domestic terminal, spots were available on the earlier flight, which the woman working the counter was gracious enough to give us. After waiting about 30 minutes we were loaded on to the short 20 minute flight to Cap-Haitien. It was a good day for traveling in Haiti, which isn't always the case!

When we got to Cap, we had to wait a little longer than expected for our ride, but that turned out to be good, too. The team had a good chance to be together and goof around a little bit before the serious work began, and the airport staff were consistently kind and courteous to our needs. We got picked up eventually, and then headed to Gabie's house for dinner and the beginning of our week's work. 

Dinner was rice and beans, with cashews and other Haitian dishes, and as always, delicious. Everyone was pretty tired from the day, so after dinner we had a short reflection on Gabie's roof, looking at the super-bright moon and stars. So far, so good--as far as Haiti goes, today was exceptional.

-(Grace Purnell)