Our First Day: Travel

For months I have felt that God has been calling me to go to Haiti. When my alarm went off at 3AM this morning, I had my doubts. Nonetheless, I got up and got ready for whatever the day would bring. I gave Lucy, Kim and Elaina their goodbye kisses. Elaina slept through hers, Kim had never gone to bed last night, and Lucy decided to get up and send me off. Lucy had some hard times with her goodbyes. She was homesick after four days of camp and I was going to be gone for 8 days. I understand that she got to go snuggle in bed with Kim after I left. 

Fortunately, the flights to Miami and Port-au-Prince were uneventful.  If you haven't been, let me say that the Port-au-Prince airport is nothing like the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. As you get off the plane, you go down a corridor that is air conditioned. Don't get used to that. At the end of the corridor, you hop into a shuttle bus for a quarter mile ride to the customs check-in and baggage area. Nothing of note to the customs check-in but the baggage claim felt more like an Easter egg hunt. There is one track for baggage and it travels a near-W shape. Around it is a crowd a good four people deep. There is no shortage of black suitcases with wheels.  After we managed to gather a stack of our team's 30-some odd bags and enough carts to place them on, we headed outside.

 As we went outside, we were greeted by about 100 people -- all of whom were anxious to take our bags and help us out. I was not the first one out of the building so I was not aware that we had an arrangement with a team of these people so I was a bit uncomfortable when someone came and tried to take my cart away from me. He showed me his laminated ID as if to let me know that since he had a laminated ID he couldn't possibly be stealing our bags. You can't laminate a lie; he did work with our group. We were lead to a meeting spot a little ways away  to await our carriage. It's only a mild comfort to be watched over by armed UN soldiers while you wait for a ride.

Our ride came and it was something special. It is called the Tap Tap. It might have felt a bit like a prison shuttle since it had metal grating on all the windows, but that vibe was overshadowed by happy sayings, hearts and bright colors painted all over the exterior. As we drove, we got our first sights and smells of Haiti. We got intermittent diesel fumes from the Tap-Tap. Goats and chickens along the sides of the roads. Women balancing things on their heads in near-Cirque de Soleil style. Tent houses where the tent fabric had rotted through and been covered by tarps that are now rotting through as well. Homes are generational projects. First generations buy the lot. Subsequent generations start to build the homes. The roads are passable but bumpy.

After about 15-20 minutes, we made it to our home for the week. For those at home who are worried about us while we are here, you can eliminate our accommodations from your list of concerns. We have electricity and a back-up generator. We have a full kitchen with access to a Culligan machine. There are 3 bunk rooms -- all of which have air conditioning.  We have indoor bathrooms. There is a staff of three women who help us make breakfast and dinner (lunch will be snacks while we are out in the field). For the record, tonight was taco night; a true Haitian tradition complete with Doritos. So rest assured, our days may be tough but our nights will be comfortable and safe.

We wrapped up our evening as we will wrap up all of our evenings, with group talk time. We are all very excited to be here and begin the adventure we have been planning for months. I think it will be an early-to-bed evening as tomorrow will be our toughest day physically.

-Jeff Gerst