I believe it is time for my month (plus) blogging hiatus to finally come to an end… As some of you might know, my last week in Haiti (in mid December) was interesting to put it lightly. An unpopular announcement regarding the presidential election sent the entire country, especially my city, into a complete whirlwind of violence and destruction. I decided to flee…a week before my scheduled departure date. The only problem – all commercial flights in AND out of Haiti were cancelled for the foreseeable future. Things were real bad, and I was real stuck!
After a terrifying week of listening to a symphony of gunfire, firebombs, and barricade building just beyond my door, I made it home. I even got to swing through the beautiful Bahamas on my way. (Never mind that it was while stuffed in the cargo compartment of a tiny 6 seater private plane… I was happy.)
Stepping on to American soil was comforting. I felt safe. However, readjusting to the United States proved to be far more difficult than it had been for me to adjust to life in Haiti. Watching grumpy passengers in the Miami airport argue with airline employees about the weight of their clearly oversized bags was hard for me to process. I had flown out of Haiti on the floor of an evacuation flight with nothing but my laptop and camera. No clothes. Nothing.
After several days in a groggy funk – which my mother attributed positively to parasites and malnutrition, I snapped out of it. Seeing friends and family helped! I split my time between hula-hoop making, Christmas parties, and grad school applications.
The Holidays came and went, as did my amazing trip to Portland. And before I knew it, January 15th (my return to Haiti date) came creeping up. Uncertainty had surrounded my return, due to the potential for political violence. But when the time came, all in Haiti was calm. So here I am.
The feeling of excitement I had felt the first time was gone. But still I knew I wanted to return. As I emerged from the airport on to the streets of Port Au Prince a wave of relief washed over me. It was so good to be back. – My first night, we had no running water. Instead of being a slap in the face, the inconvenience, in a weird way, felt more like fun.
This time around will be a little different. The long hard works days and mosquito attacks will be shared with another American. Daniel’s Sasquatch like stature has meant twice as many stares in the market place. While the ladies at work fell in love immediately.
Quickly I found myself back in the grind. Almost as if I’d never left. The food was as delicious as I recalled and the bucket showers, just as refreshing. The students could not have been more welcoming or excited. Their greetings served as reassurance that I had made the right decision to return.
Big plans for the semester are now already under way. Syllabuses are finalized, and essentials, needed from the market place, will be gotten this week. Also in the works is a dinner out at the pizza joint where the Tet Kale political rumble went down in November!
Last fall I learned a lot. Not only how to flush a toilet with no running water, but I also learned that, in Haiti, anything can happen. The peace in the streets today could be civil war tomorrow.
For now, I will enjoy my breakfast spaghetti and soak up the hot hot Haitian sun!
Side note: I’ll be moving my blog to wordpress soon, so stay tuned for a link!
