The team gathered at the church around 8:30 this morning, and after bittersweet goodbyes to family and friends, we were on our way to OIA. Our flight to Haiti was in two parts. We flew from Orlando to Miami and then from Miami to Port-au-Prince. Flying into Port-au-Prince was a breathtaking experience. Haiti is a very mountainous country, and from the air it looked like a giant, tropical paradise. That was the end of the “normal” part of the trip for me. From the moment we landed in Haiti, everything was far, far from normal.
The first abnormality was our method of exiting the plane. Instead of the usual “arm” that connects the plane to the terminal, we exited the plane on a ladder. We then stood awkwardly on the tarmac with the other passengers until buses came and drove us to the customs checkpoint / baggage claim area at the far end of the airport. The customs and baggage claim were all inside a giant metal warehouse. The building was hot, crowded, and dimly lit. After standing in line for 20 or 30 minutes, we made it through customs and walked the few feet over to the baggage claim. It was a madhouse. People were pushing and shouting, giant fans were roaring, and the baggage carousel was humming. We squeezed our way up to the carousel and started searching for our luggage. One by one, the other passengers located their luggage and disappeared. Not one of our bags had been found. Josh went to the baggage claim desk, but they couldn’t help us. The best they could do was tell us they’d call when the bags arrived. It had been about 2 hours since we landed, so we finally gave up.
For the drive to the orphanage, we split into two groups. Josh, Hannah, Sarah, and Courtney went with Greg Martinson, who runs the orphanage with his wife, Jasmine. Shane, Donnie, Regina, and I packed into the other car with two Haitian men we didn’t know. I had to share the front passenger seat with one of the men, who Greg referred to as “Johnson.” Suffice it to say that sharing a seat with another full grown man while driving on Haitian roads is not a exactly a pleasant experience.
Words can’t really describe the drive to the orphanage that night. We’d been warned about what we would see on the drive, but I was definitely not prepared for that experience. I was expecting to ride safely in the back of an air-conditioned van down a smooth country highway all the way to Leogane, much like we did in Mexico. Instead, I was hanging out the window of a beaten up SUV in the thick of Port-au-Prince traffic with swarms of people walking and running all around us. Trucks and other SUVs would come within inches of us on either side, and if there was ever room for a moped to fit through the gap, you could bet that a stream of them would come zipping through it.
After about 30 minutes of driving, it began to rain. Johnson, who was already agitated by the traffic, became even more jumpy and told us that if it continued to rain, the only road to Leogane would be impassible and we would have to spend the night in Port-au-Prince.
It rained off and on for the next 30 minutes or so. After about an hour, we finally reached the stretch of road that was prone to flooding. Thankfully the water was just low enough for us to pass. Johnson said that if it had rained just a few more minutes the water would’ve been too deep.
We got to talking with Johnson during the ride and found out he’s actually a Haitian police chief, which was comforting to know. We later learned he is chief of the Special Forces branch – even more comforting. He told us several interesting facts about what he does. He works closely with the president of Haiti and also serves as an escort and security for important politicians and diplomats during their visits to Haiti. He’s gotten to meet the likes of Sarah Palin, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. In fact, that very morning he’d seen George Bush off at the Port-au-Prince airport!
After three grueling hours of driving, we abruptly reached our destination. It had been such an exhausting day of travel that everything seemed more like a dream at that point than reality. Jasmine emerged from the darkness and helped us unload what little baggage we had. She then led us into a big tent with wooden tables inside and served us a Haitian meal of rice and an interesting “gravy”. We ate and had a quick team meeting before Greg took us around and showed us the basic necessities. Finally we split up and went to our tents, guys in one, girls in another. We’re tired, sweaty, and luggageless, but we can hardly wait for tomorrow!
David
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