Arrived Safely in Port-au-Prince



Today, seventeen Canadians learned a thing or two. They learned that seventeen human beings each carrying 110 lbs of donation bags is too heavy for an 11-seater van – no matter how much they will it otherwise. They learned that ‘organized chaos’ is actually possible and that no matter how good your Canadian French is, you’re completely incomprehensible. A few learned what avocado tastes like, and most learned that the local beer, Prestige, goes down mighty fine after a long day in 34°C at 90% humidity.


We arrived today in Port-au-Prince, a quick stop-over en route to Jérémie. We were greeted by the lovely Sr. Mérilise, the local site director who will be accompanying us on most of the journey. She informed us that we would be singing our grace, in Creole. She wasn’t kidding. Mercifully, Haitian Creole is one of the most phonetic languages we’ve encountered, and we muddled through. 


With sunset at 6:00pm, we’re all struggling to keep our eyes open by 8:00pm. The vibe of the group is an interesting mix of reflection and anticipation. Many group members are thinking about their family in Canada and want everyone to be assured that they are safe and content. Everyone is brimming with excitement to reach Jérémie – 8 hour bus ride and all. Please pray for our road travel, our driver, and our bladders!


Comments

  1. Lovely blog though thank you it's very interesting and it's captivating and I'm almost tasting that Avocado and BEER!!

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    1. Glad to see someone's reading it ;-) It's great to be able to share a bit...Kate Mosher is our Blogger, she is awesome! I just have to post :) I'll let her know that her writing is so effective you can nearly taste the avocado (which has a sweetness to it...I've not tasted one quite like it before, even in the field) and Prestige!

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  2. Kate and Jo .... great to hear that you're off to a good start. We're praying for your group every day. MA

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  3. Kate and Jo .... great to hear that you're off to a good start. We're praying for your group every day. MA

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  4. Glad to know you're safely in Haiti. Thank you all for doing this.

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  5. Kate! I'm glad to hear you made it! For someone who loves language as much as you do, I bet the Creole is a whole new intriguing world!

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