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!
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