Leogane: The Hardest Hit City in the Haiti Earthquake

So I was all super excited to wake up this morning to go to the two orphanages that I had mentioned yesterday, but of course things did not go as previously planned. It wasn't a big deal because it was another great experience that came up in the morning. This is usually what happens in the morning. We all get up in the morning, usually before 6am, but today was later at around 6:45am. We all get ready and then head over for breakfast at the compound cafeteria at around 7:25am. Then we all started heading toward the vehicles going out at 8am this morning. Today, I thought everyone was going to the orphanages, but then I found out that one other team was heading toward Leogane to film and report back to Master Cheng Yang. Carrfour was the epicenter of the earthquake, but Leogane was the most hard hit town in Haiti. I don't even know how to start describing the town. Let's start from the beginning shall we...

The drive was about an hour and a half from the capital Port-au-Prince, where our Tzu Chi office is located in Haiti. There were 9 of us, including the driver. We zipped through the downtown areas, where people were buzzing around in "TapTaps" (Haitian taxis) to get to their destinations. Today is Sunday, the day of worship for the Haitians. Everyone walking on the streets were dressed in their very best outfits to go to church. Men, women, children, and elderly were all walking with their head held high toward the nearest make-shift temporary churches. Most of the people here in Haiti are protestant and catholic christians, with a minor population practicing active voodooism. Even the poorest of people had one good outfit for Sunday church ready to wear for their faith. You can see from all of the "TapTaps" here words of prise for the lord, such as "Merci Dieu" (Thank God), "Dieu viendra ici" (God will come here), "Dieu est bien" (God is good), and "Dieu est la route" (God is the way). We drove for a while toward Carrfour and the earthquake aftermath started to get very real. The road conditions progressively got worse and worse as we drove further into the epicenter. The roads started cracking at first and then huge splits and deep crevasses started appearing. Right before we got to the border of Leogane, we had to stop and go around a round about way due to the huge height differences in the connecting roads. On our way toward Leogane, we were driving along the pacific ocean front, where the ports were located. You can see from a distance all the navy ships and port supplies. It gave a sense of hope for us, knowing that more supplies and help are on their way. There were many beach houses and hotels aimed at tourist that came to Haiti, but now those are all pretty much destroyed. According to our driver, the hotels usually cost between $65 to $90 a night for two people and it does not include meals or transportation. The hotels usually have their own private beach attached and it is considered to be relatively nicer than the public beaches. When we got to Leogane, the destruction at first was not that bad, it was about the same as the other areas that we have visited. We were in the downtown areas and we first went to visit the Mayor's office. The Mayor was at church, like 80% of the population today, and so we went to look at a couple of sites at first. We looked at possible distribution sites around the downtown areas and it just didn't pan out. We kept on driving, trying to look for the clinic for pregnant women and babies that the mayor had previously told us about. We finally found it after much effort and the building was so unstable that the locals told us to stand far away in case things fall. We will discuss further instructions as to if we can help rebuild that clinic in that area. The third site that we looked at was already being helped out by the red cross and other medical organizations, which was a great site to see. It was a huge tent camp full of families. On our way toward the outer areas, we stopped at a kindergarten school that had completely pancaked on itself. We were assessing the site for a possible rebuilding of another school. It was just very hard to stand there and stare at all that rubble and thinking just how many children and helpers are still stuck under there, decomposing without a face or voice. The last stop that we saw was definitely a huge emotional hit. Most of the places and compounds all have tents, but no waterproof tarps, but this site was even worst off. The site was called K-Pity camp and no one had a tent at all. The shelter units were all made with 8 thin wooden sticks with very thin bed coverings. They all sleep on rocks with leaves on top. The raining season is starting and last night we got a taste of what is coming. All of the K-Pity residents slept on wet grounds and this morning everything they own was on the roofs for drying. It was a very sad sight to see. The locals told me that last night they had one huge tarp from a neighboring camp site and they placed all the children on that tarp so they would be protected from the rain, while the adults slept just next to them. Just thinking of that breaks my heart. I spoke at length to the locals about the site and we are planning at least to go back this week to distribute 560 waterproof tarps to all the families. I just hope the rain will hold off for at least a day...

When we got back to OECC, I ate a really quick lunch because I only had 30 minutes to get ready for the next assignment. I was heading to the General Hospital with the Tzu Chi medical team to visit the trauma units. The Tzu Chi clinic cannot do on-site surgery and emergency response, so we do referrals to the hospitals that are in Port-au-Prince, which are General and Miami Hospitals. We headed to the General Hospital at around 2pm for a visit. General Hospital in Port-au-Prince is pretty much the only hospital there is around. It is the only hospital with a university program. The hospital sustained a lot of damage from the earthquake and many of the medical students died there. The University that was just adjacent to the hospital was the hardest hit part. The nursing school dorms completely pancaked on itself, burying 200 nursing students alive under the rubble. They are still there today and you can smell the odors in the air still. When we arrived at the hospital, there were tents everywhere. There were about 10 to 12 different NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) with their tents at the hospital. I was informed that the NGO doctors pretty much run the whole hospital right now and at night time the Haitian residents take over. All the tents were separated by units: OBGYN, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Post-ops, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Laboratory, Clinic Intake, Blood transfusions, Maternal Ward, Divers, and Pharmacy. One of the nurses took us on a tour around the compound and we did some bed-side care with the patients. I visited the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and saw such tiny babies. I mean I saw tiny babies in Ethiopia already, but this was like a slew of them. So tiny, all pre-mature babies, only about the size of both of my hands combined. In the maternity ward, they were putting mothers on their backs with their legs supported by braces after they gave birth to let the placenta fall out and drain the excessive blood. That was quite a sight to behold.

On our way back to OECC, I asked the driver to take us to the most hard hit place around Port-au-Prince. Since he was a local policeman, he knew exactly where to take us. We were up by one of the mountain areas and it was so bad. So so so bad. Literally streets of houses would be flat and completely destroyed. The smell was actually so strong that we had to put masks on. I cannot even begin to describe that kind of smell. It was a mix of burning flesh and dust and rotting garbage, something to that effect. The driver told us that the black charcoal colors that we see on a lot of rubble pieces are from people burning the bodies. This was because so many people are under the rubble with their limbs exposed, but they cannot be moved. So people would just start burning the whole entire area, in hopes to get rid of the body parts and smell at the same time. It was so hard to see and go through just knowing how many died here and are still there today...my heart sank deeper and deeper.

It was a very emotional day today, seeing all the hardest hit areas by the earthquake. The last image I was left with before the sunlight gave out was the Haiti Presidential Palace that was still standing, but looked like could collapse at any time if something else triggered a movement. It really spoke to that no matter how rich or poor you are, nature will treat you the same way at the same time...

Tomorrow we will be heading to orphanages and working with both the U.S. and Jordan Armies on site assessments.

Erika's Story...

We got up a little bit later than usual today at 5:30am for another distribution site. This was the same tent camp that we went to assess with the U.S. army yesterday. Once again, U.S. army escorted us to and from the compound. (and once again it was still super cool :) ) When we got to the tent camp, all the people were gathered around the front entrance already. All the little kids poked their heads out of the tents to see what all the commotion was. We quickly set up the areas for our giving ceremony. The people were very intense when they saw the huge bags of rice, flour, corn starch, blankets, and waterproof tarps. The speeches were given and songs were sung and everything seemed to go smoothly. Well, that was until the Si Guo started passing out color pencils and colorful crayons/markers to all the children in the middle of the mob of people waiting for relief goods. Oh boy was that not a great move....yeah so the children came rushing down and had no where to exit and the people were getting restless. Then the army started getting worried and put on their "we need to stop all this riot" face. Yeah, when the military gives you that face you know something is going down. So before I know it we were all being rushed out by military personnel and things started getting chaotic. People were grabbing people and yelling. Then finally the military people lined up on the sides and made a small pathway for us to get through the crowd, while yelling "Go Go Go, we gotta go NOW!" Yeah....it got interesting for sure. So we left the compound way earlier than expected. Lesson learned I guess. I was a little bit sad when I saw the little children that I had bonded with so well run out after our van just to wave goodbye to me. It was hard to leave behind the little ones. Initially, when we first got to the compound, since I spoke French, I went around to all the curious little ones and introduced myself. I asked each one of them their names and age and they were all super happy to see us there. ::sigh:: safety first I guess...things were out of hand due to chaotic distribution situations. Better luck next time.

We got back to the compound quite early and I actually had the time to sit down and eat a bowl of rice porridge. It was very yummy. At around 9am I went out to help out with the clinic areas. Once again I ran from place to place to help translate for the doctors. It was a very heartwarming morning for me today due to all the children that came to see the doctor. There were many injuries today related directly to the Earthquake, especially the little ones. Before we would see many people who have emotional scars that cannot sleep and cannot eat due to anxiety and stress, but today it was all actual physical trauma. A family of three, which I later found out was actually 13, parents with 11 children all sleeping in one big tent. There was a little girl of 8 years old and her little brother of 6 years old that came to see the doctor. The little boy was first and he had open sores all over both of his legs. When asked why they were here today, the mother told me that it was for his legs. The little boy was hurting badly and the mother really wanted some help. I asked them what exactly happened to cause the wounds and she responded with that both of her children were stuck under the rubble during the earthquake and couldn't get out. The little boy's legs were caught under a big cement block and were bleeding when he was eventually pulled out. The little girl was hit on the back of the head and back with blocks of concrete that fell from the ceiling structure and was force to fall down flat on her face. She had scars all over her face and body. The little girl was very lucky, because she did not sustain internal head injuries, just exterior injuries, which are healing nicely after a month and a half since the earthquake. The little boy's wounds were treated on-site and he was in a lot of pain. He held my hand the whole time and squeezed tight when he was in pain. He was definitely a very tough boy to have gone through that ordeal. Just seeing his little body with all those injuries completely broke my heart. When the little girl was interviewed by Da Ai channel, she said that she was very scared at the time of the earthquake and that all she wanted to know was where was her mother. She was trapped under the rubble with many of her siblings, but couldn't move at all. Eventually her parents came running home to pull them out from the rubble. I cannot even begin to imagine what that little girl was and has gone through. The resiliency of these children are just so amazing...

I was abruptly pulled out from the clinic rotations to go do another assessment of a possible new site. We took the van all the way to Tabar today for the new assessment. We looked at a school that was built for adoptive children to poor families. There were a total of 250 children in the neighborhood. The school was destroyed in the neighborhood and the founder needed our help. We also went to look at the local church where most of the families went to. The church's roof was completely destroyed in the earthquake and people were pretty much just sitting in an open space. It was decided that the distribution was going to take place at that church, since the space was a lot bigger. We needed to accommodate for 800 families on ceremony day. After getting back from the site assessment, I continued to help translate at the clinic. Half way during the afternoon, the U.S. army came by to talk with us about some priority sites that they found. We will look into it in the following days. This time the army wanted to take photos with us, it was funny. haha. Then not long after, the Medicines du monde group came by, who only spoke French, and I was once again pulled over to help speak with them. It turns out that they have a list of 10 orphanages they need a lot of help and they wanted to collaborate with us to do distributions. We will also assess the sites in the following days. I am hoping we can go to all those orphanages, since those are the places that I love to help out in. Let's keep our fingers crossed for this one shall we?

When the clinic was done, just right before dinner, I saw another van pull up at the lot with a group of people. I asked where they were going and they said, "we are doing a home visit, get in." So not knowing any of the situation, I hopped in the van. It turns out we were going to one of the local Tzu Chi volunteers home. Her name is Erika and she is pretty amazing. She helps out at the compound 6 days a week as a translator and dental assistant. We drove her back to her home, which took about an hour with traffic. It turns out she has to walk 10 minutes to go get "tub tub" (which are like the equivalent of taxis in America, except with like anywhere from 6 to 15 people in one small pick-up truck). She has to take three "tub tubs" every day just to get to the Tzu Chi compound, which is at least an hour and a half. It was very hard to get to her place because the road conditions were just horrendous. Driving was so hard on it and I am sure walking is not any better. When we finally got to her door, we realized that she was sharing the same quarters as the chickens. It was a chicken house, not that many chickens left, but it sure still smelled like chickens. There were three thin and broken up mattresses on the ground with a hole in the roof and no real coverings around. She started to talk about how they take showers just outside with everyone watching and no real soap. They have to walk 15 to 20 minutes to go get water for the shower and they just go to the bathroom anywhere that is discrete in public. She started to talk about all of this and broke down. She told me that they have been at this new place for about two months now and before the earthquake they lives with their grandmother, whom now is under the basement rubble of what is left of their old house now. She said that her little sister is so afraid to stay indoors that many days they just sleep on a thin tarp outside in the grass. hearing her store it just broke my heart. I just wanted to swoop her up and take her with me and tell her that everything is going to okay. I cannot do that though and everything is not going to be okay. Instead I told her that she has been so strong and keep on going with that. That things will get better. We gave her some donations and we will go back to give her some tents, so at least they can have some shelter areas of their own.

When we got back to the compound, everyone hurried to go get dinner. I was hesitant to eat. I was still thinking back to what Erika told me. It resonated very deep within me to not only hear her story, but to see it, as well. Maybe it had a greater impact on me because she was speaking French directly to me or maybe because she is one of the volunteers that I have been bonding with during shifts. I am not sure, but what I am sure of is that she has such a big heart, and this is exactly the message that Tzu Chi gives. She really embodies, "you receive more in return when you give to others." She herself is struggling and has gone through such a traumatic experience, but she still finds it in her heart to travel high and low to come volunteer for the betterment of her people. That is what we call unconditional love.

Tomorrow morning we will go assess two different orphanages with the Jordan Tzu Chi team, and possibly the Jordan UN army, not sure yet. And in the afternoon, I will be going to the General Hospital here to get some trauma training. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I hope everything works out tomorrow. Oh yeah, I switched rooms, into a new room with actual beds. Feels kind of weird. I actually like the hospital stretchers better (yes I know I am weird). I moved because the last rotation of volunteers just left today for Dominican Republic. The rest of us, all 21 people, are the smallest group yet since January. This is going to be a challenge.

As I sit here in my mosquito net typing this note...I cannot help but wonder how are all the people outside in their tents doing? It just started raining here, I'm really worried about the Haitians....flooding has already started outside my door....but it is not nearly close to the amount of water running down my cheeks...

U.S. Army Escorts are so NOT overrated!

So the second day in Haiti was even better than the first day...go figure. It was pretty awesome. I woke up at 4:00am for the 4:30am distribution at a local church space. I got out of my miskitoe net and temporary make-shift hospital style fold-out lift and changed with lighting speed. Everyone met outside at the OECC compound to be assigned a car to be loaded on. We all had to be there at exactly 4:30am to leave, because we were following the U.S. army orders. I've always thought that getting an army and/or police escort was not a huge deal and that was overrated, but oh boy was I wrong hahaha....yes sometimes people need to feel like they, too, can be in the president's shoes. We had the U.S. army escorting us on this early morning distribution, well the U.S. 92nd Airborne Civil Division to be exact. Both their Alpha and Beta teams came out to help us out with security issues. It was pretty cool I must admit, watching men and women in uniforms with giant guns hanging in front of their chest....people saluting one another with dark and mysterious shades on...I wonder what is going on in their heads as they secure the premises? It was way too cool, like an awesome WWII movie or something. Maybe I am completely romanticizing this, but I don't care, because I felt like I was in a movie today. The military groups referred to each other as "the White Falcon" and "the Black Falcon." So we were completely surrounded by "Falcons" this morning, with 5 cameos escorting 5 Tzu Chi vans. It was pretty intense out there on the streets.

We finally got to the distribution site at around 5:15am and we started getting everything ready. The U.S. army secured the premises and was walking back and forth between all the barracks. When we arrived, there were already a giant line of people waiting for us to hand supplies out. The distribution was not suppose to start until 6:30am. Everyone started unloading all 100 boxes of Tzu Chi blankets and 100 boxes of Tzu Chi tarps. We also practiced mandarin sign languages to a couple of different songs that we were going to perform at the opening ceremony. Once the gates opened, the people poured in. It was a very heartwarming experience to go through. The distribution went on for about two hours after that. Throughout the whole ordeal I was pulled left to right to help interview the Haitian volunteers and people who had received the donations. I would interview them in French and then translate their responses into Mandarin for the Da Ai channel in Taiwan. It was a very fulfilling experience for me. Everyone was very grateful. After the distribution was over, everyone started to fool around with the military people. We talked about life back in the U.S. and what was their perception about Haiti. Most people told me that they have been here for about two months now and they have not yet seen any governmental personalle come out to help their own people and even now they are taxing people for receiving humanitarian efforts???? WHAT??? NOW THAT IS JUST INSANE. I don't know if it is true what the U.S. army people said, but if it is, that is just sad. The army, once again, escorted us back to our compound and we gave them a thank you ceremony of their own to end the distribution period.

I quickly grabbed a bowl of rice porridge, but it wasn't long before I was pulled to go help translate for the free medical clinics. I was running back and forth, in-between four to five doctors, helping both the Haitian clients and doctors to understand each person's situation. They were so short staffed that I was put at the Dentist clinic to do initial intake (i.e. name and age), blood pressure readings, and current temperature readings, as well. It was pretty crazy, but I loved it. There is something about chaotic situations that I just love for some reason. Then after I went through about 25 people in that line, I was pulled to go help out a famliy doctor to translate for her patients. After about 45 patients with her, the pediatric doctor needed me to help translate for him, which I was super happy about because I got to play with cute babies (yay). Then after that I was pulled to the Acupuncture station and then the Internal medicine clinic. It was pretty awesome. Translating English, Mandarin, and French while doing like a super residency rotation in all domains of medicine. Needless to say, I felt pretty useful at the end of the day. The Haitian patients left with a smile on their faces (while it is either the huge amount of drugs they just received for free or that it was my help to translate their problems? you can decide :) ) and the doctors felt relieved they helped make their lives a little bit better and more manageable.

I did that job till about 12:30pm and then was immediately told to get in the car because we had to go show the next group of U.S. army escorts where our next distribution site was going to be at. It was to do a site assessment, so the army can have a plan of tactic for safety barriers. We drove for miles and got lost and I started to speak French with the driver, ha, it was quite an ordeal. One small SUV with a native Haitian driver, while two U.S. army cameos followed behind. Getting lost is one thing, but getting lost with the military behind you can be quite stressful. Then the fancy army gadgets came out with all their GPS systems and all, but the coordinates did not help too much, since it wasn't an exact location, so in the end, asking random people on the streets prevailed (yes, men need to learn how to ask for directions more often, but that is just my own personal opinion). When we finally got to the site, there was so many children waiting outside to greet us. I shook everyone of the kids' hands and they all giggled. Many children didn't even know how to shake hands, they would just hold on to your hand for as long as possible. That was the cutest thing ever. We assessed the site and I spoke at length to the locals about the history of the sites and the earthquake in French. It was a really great learning opportunity. The compound was comprised of about 150 families and the majority of the population at the site were people under the age of 10 years old. It looked almost like a women's shelter, since there weren't that many men to be seen. It was just one of the many tent communities that is spread through out Haiti right now.

We got back at around 3pm and I continue to pick up the translation part in the medical clinics again. That lasted till about 5:30pm and then this guy ran over to me and was like "I heard you speak French" and I was like "yeah I do. Can I help you?" and he said that it was just crazy that an asian girl from Taiwan would speak French. We got into this whole huge conversation about the country and languages and how much pride Haitian has of their country. I completely agreed with him and told him that he should be proud of his country. So then I ended up helping one of his friends translate her story, which Da Ai channel is covering. We drove all the way to her old home, which was destroyed in the earthquake. I mean, we see a lot of broken down homes and complete pancaked houses, but to actually walk through the rubles and to come face to face to someone's house that has been destroyed is a completely different thing. She talked about how her family was not at home at the time of the earthquake and she, herself was at work, but her four friends who lives in the basement weren't so lucky. The house, which you can tell was a very well off home, completely pancaked on itself. She told me that all four of her close friends died in there and till this day, they are still under the rubble. It was a very sad sight to see for sure. I hugged her and told her how strong she was. I was sobbing inside.

So came back to the compound at around 8pm and started writing reports. Tomorrow will be another fun filled day with U.S. military escorted distribution in the morning, medical clinic rounds, and tent city interviews. I cannot wait. On the way back home from the tent cities today, I stood on the back of a pick-up truck looking over the city. It was beautiful, not by the landscape or by the neon lights glowing in the far distance. Haiti was beautiful to me because I heard the chants of the people who refuses to give up on their country and whole-heartily believes that a better day will come. Yes, a better day will come, we gotta believe.

First Day in Haiti

I have arrived at Haiti! no problem. It was an adventure for sure, but finally made it. Today has already been super fun filled with stories to share. I met up with other Tzu Chi Si Guo and Si Bro at JFK airport and then the plane was delayed for an hour due to the pilots being missing. ha. something about a computer glitch that told the wrong people wrong assignments. it was funny! So we waited on the plane for a while, it wasn't bad though. I spoke to a lot of people and many people on the plane were Earthquake survivors who are returning back home to help out or see relatives. it was incredible. There were two really adorable Haitian children sitting right next to me and they were super anxious the whole time, which made sense because they were there when the earthquake happened, so naturally they are jumpy and wanting the mother's attention at all times. The mom was like a rock for the children, super patient and understanding. It takes a lot to be that strong! I also sat next to a women who is going back to Haiti, to her neighborhood, to start an orphanage for the children who's parents have died in the earthquake. She wants the children to stay in Haiti so they can rebuild Haiti. She wants to set up a foster care system in Haiti, so this way the children can stay in the country and still have their cultural identity intact. I think it is a great idea. Her and I talked a lot about children and organizations on the plane. When the plane landed, everyone clapped, as a way to thank the pilot for landing safely and also they are happy to be back to their homeland. The amount of resiliency that I see in these people are just incredible. The clapping reminded me of Ethiopia, just the manner of gratitude people have for others. It was a great sight to see.

When we got off the plane, there was Haitian music playing to welcome us to the gates and then we were shuttled to the immigration and baggage areas. This was the time when everything became super chaotic. It was so chaotic because there are just so many people pouring in to help you get the bags. There will be like 7 to 10 people grabbing your bags to put on the carts and then pushing the carts where you wanted to go and taking the papers for immigration officers. It was super crazy. We finally got to the end of the arrival area and the people started demanding money from us because they helped out, it ranged from $5 per person to $25 per person. It was just impossible almost. We finally got out of there and was waiting for the Tzu Chi van. When the van arrived, the same chaotic baggage helping scene repeated itself, except this time was in the middle of the heavy traffic streets. There were cameos everywhere rolling around with soldiers holding heavy machinery and UN signs everywhere. We all finally got into the two Tzu Chi vans and fended off all the mad baggage helpers. We zoomed off toward the direction of the Tzu Chi office and the tent cities started to appear. To my left blue tarps hung and to my right white tarps hung. Apparently by what color the tent tarps are, you can figure out from which organization and country the distribution was made. I have yet still to figure out which colors belong to which country/organization. Whenever the car stopped, children would run toward the car and start banging on the windows for money. They would lift their shirts up to show you just how skinny they are and needed to eat. It was a very hard sight to see, but we had to keep driving. Sadly, this is a very common sight all across the country right now.

Right before we got to the Tzu Chi office, there was a traffic situation and cars were stuck in narrow streets. We ended up stopping at a corner for 20 min trying to move our way through. Everyone in the van was so confused as to what the situation was because the drivers were shouting at each other in Créole. I tried to translate what was going on, but it was just so chaotic and so many different languages happening at the same time. Just imagine this. One giant cement truck down a narrow road (big enough to fit just a truck) while our little Tzu Chi van is stuck at the corner he is approaching. The only reason we were all in there was because there was a house with their gates opened and our front end was half way in there. All the while, pedestrians were wiggling their way through the tiny cracks between the cars. Finally after 20 min of yelling and confusion, we got out of there with the driver fuming. We arrived at the Tzu Chi office and unloaded all the bags. The free clinic was happening at the same time and I spoke a little bit with some of the locals there. We took a tour around the compound and I met some of the local staff. It made it a lot easier for me to meet people because I spoke French. And they were super surprised by it and some were so shocked that they choked when responding to me. We all had a good laugh about it afterward when full conversations broke out.

The distribution is at 4:30am tomorrow morning and I cannot wait to get out there and help out. We just finished loading the trucks with 100 boxes of Tzu Chi blankets for tomorrow morning. We did it like an assembly line. It was very efficient. I was the only girl helping with loading the boxes, because apparently that is not a girl's job. Oh well, I am like a boy, so it worked out. We had dinner and couple more people arrived at the compound from the airport shuttle. In about an hour, we will have an all staff meeting to go over what we all need to do tomorrow. In the mean time, I am writing this massive note to all y'all. Just a lot of thoughts to process that's all. There are frequent black outs here and the new people today freaked out. I guess I am use to it from Ethiopia. When I first arrived here it reminded me a lot of Ethiopia. The people, the culture, and the state of the environment, as well. I miss Ethiopia a lot and I know it has only been not even 24 hours, but I am already falling in love with Haiti.

So yeah, that was my day and I am so looking forward to tomorrow!

New experiences awaits me when dawn hits!