I just returned home to Port-au-Prince today. I spent the long holiday weekend in Gonaives, Haiti with my dear friends. On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day) my friend, Keziah, and I took a bus north to Gonaives. This sounds simple enough, but as I've said before: In Haiti nothing is simple or easy! Thursday morning the first part of our "journey" began. I left my apartment at 6 AM and walked about a mile uphill (literally) to meet Kez at main Delmas. From there, we waited and walked until we could find a tap-tap with room for both of us. Unfortunately, we could not find one that was going as far as we needed to go. So, we took one tap-tap as far as we could, hopped off, and then caught another the rest of the way down Delmas. After getting off of that tap-tap, we then walked a couple of blocks to the "bus station". Just to get the few miles from my house to the station took us over an hour.
Now, I don't know exactly what you might be envisioning when I say "bus" and "bus station" but I will explain. The bus station is basically just a designated area along the side of a road where all the buses load and unload. If you didn't know about it, you might not even realize that it is a "station". Oh, and the buses? They are not nice air conditioned roomy charter buses or greyhound buses, ha, think again!! SCHOOL BUSES. Yes, school buses.
For 225 gourdes (about $5.50 USD) you can get a ride on one of the school buses from PAP to Gonaives. In my opinion, a good deal. That is, if you don't mind the uncomfortable riding conditions. When you arrive at the bus station, you find a bus that is loading, pay the 225 gourdes, and get on. If you are lucky, the bus will be mostly full. If it is not full, then you have to sit on the bus and wait until it is filled beyond maximum capacity before it will leave the station. You see, school bus seats are made to fit two or maybe three small children comfortably. NOT three large adults, but this is Haiti. While we were waiting for the bus to load, street vendors tapped at the windows selling food, medicine, drinks, sunglasses, flashlights, etc. Several men and women came onto the bus trying to peddle their snacks to the passengers.
After an hour of waiting in what seem to be the smallest school bus seats ever created, our bus was finally full. I did a quick calculation in my head and realized that there were over 100 adults on the school bus. That poor bus. Not surprisingly, Kez and I were the only two white people on the entire bus. Keziah was sitting smashed against the window (somehow sleeping), I was sitting in the middle with my torso turned in an uncomfortable angle and my hips being smashed on either side, and a rather large (and slightly cranky) Haitian woman was sitting to my right in the aisle seat. In order to accommodate this cranky woman, Kez and I had to stand up and slide the seat cushion away from the wall so that the woman had more of her body on the seat. That meant that Kez was now sitting in a crack rather than on a seat cushion. I basically could not move anything but my hands for the duration of the drive. Every few minutes the woman to my right would attempt to shove her hip and shoulders farther onto the seat. She did not seem to understand that there was literally no place for our bodies to go. Sounds pleasant right? Yes, I will admit it was pretty uncomfortable, but it was only for several hours and it makes for a good story, ha!
Normally, the drive takes between two and half to three hours one way. However, that was not the case for Kez and I. It took us almost 45 minutes to go roughly two or three miles because we made several unexplained stops along the side of the road. Then, we were stopped by not one, not two, but THREE police checkpoints (all of which were on the same small stretch of road). Finally, we hit the main road and were able to drive at a decent speed. All the while, a man was standing at the front of the bus trying to sell random things like azithromycin, lotion, toothpaste, bars of soap, a cologne called "sex appeal", and bottles of homemade cure-all that looked like rum mixed with pieces of tree bark. Surprisingly, he was selling a lot of stuff!
We were cruising along nicely when all of the sudden "BAM!" Can you guess? A FLAT TIRE! Despite being hot, dust covered, tired, and unable to move my body, I could not help but laugh to myself. Of course we would get a flat tire...just our luck! Thankfully, the driver was pretty quick at changing the tire and we were back on the road.
Finally, we arrived in Gonaives. The station in Gonaives is not within walking distance of the Brooks house. So, From there, Kez and I each hopped on the back of a moto (motorcycle taxi) for the final leg of our journey. Over six hours after leaving my house that morning (only having traveled about 93 miles) we arrived at the Brooks house!
In Gonaives, Kez and I have friends with a ministry called "Much Ministries". They are working on establishing relationships and rebuilding a community called Jubilee Blanc which happens to be the ghetto slums and poorest of the poor in the city. When they are not working in Jubilee, all the missionaries are very close knit like a giant family. They rent two large houses that are across the street from each other. Most of the girls live in one house, while the Brooks' family, some of the guys, and other random guests stay in the big house. It is pretty chaotic and there are people constantly in and out doing all sorts of different things all the time. But, it is chaotic in a good way just like any large family. I don't know if I've ever experienced so much love under one roof!
They decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday because it worked out better for everyone. So, on Friday I spent most of my day helping to prepare the feast and intermittently relaxing with everyone. Julie (one of the permanent residents in G-town), Keziah, and I made cookies, brownies, salad, fruit salad, and green bean casserole while Mama Rustin made the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, apple strudel, and pumpkin pie. Half-way through cooking, we realized that we needed fruits and veggies from the market. So, Becca (the Brooks' 12 year old daughter) and I took a tap-tap to the local market. I love market shopping so we had a blast weaving in and out through the tiny paths between vendors. I love listening to the Haitian women talking to each other trying to figure out if we can speak Creole or not. I heard one woman say to another "well, the white lady asked me how much the peppers cost and when I told her 50 gourdes, she handed me 50 gourdes so she must speak Creole!" After two different trips to the market, Becca and I successfully purchased fresh bananas, avocados, oranges, bell peppers, lettuce, carrots, coconuts, and sugar.
In the afternoon, our work was done and we just had to wait for dinner time. What better way to relax and enjoy Thanksgiving than to go swimming?! Scott, Isaac, Amos, Brayton, and I hopped on the motos and went to a nearby hotel to swim. For 100 gourdes (roughly $2.50) we were allowed to swim for as long as we wanted. It was the first time I've ever gone swimming on Thanksgiving Day!
At dinner time, TWENTY SEVEN people held hands and each shared what we were thankful for. I felt so much love and joy in the room that I was overwhelmed with happiness. Then, we pigged out on the best food I've eaten since I moved to Haiti.
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| post dinner "food coma" |
That night, seven of us decided to sleep out under the stars on the roof of the girls' house. So, we spread out a blanket on the roof. The breeze was heavenly...the concrete that we slept on, not so much. But, it was great none the less. I swear the sky is bigger and more beautiful in Haiti.
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| Our rooftop bed |
After our joyride, we spent time in Jubilee hanging out with all the local children.
That evening, we were invited to a "God Party" thrown by the children of Jubilee. It started at 4PM in the community gazebo. A bunch of the boys lead worship by drumming and sining in Creole. Most of the kids in the community came out and gathered for the party and quite a few adults came, too. We all laughed and danced together until the sun went down! It was amazing!
That night, Julie and I decided to "baby-nap" Frances and Francesca for a sleepover. If you remember, Julie was the one that brought the twins to Dorothy last November when they were three weeks old and only four pounds. Their mother had died after giving birth and the twins were not doing well. I lived with them helped to care for them until they were bigger and could return to their family. So, both Julie and I call them "our girls" and we feel like we have a special connection with them. Their grandmother was a little bit too eager to let us take them, but we were happy just the same.
The girls are pretty healthy looking considering how extremely poor their family is. However, they are 13 months old and much thinner than when they were living with me at Dorothy's house. Neither are walking yet, and Frances was wearing a size 0-3 month old outfit the night we watched them. I know they could be much worse off, but it pains me to see how much lack of stimulation they have and how much weight they have lost since August. Julie and I had a blast loving on them all night Saturday and all morning Sunday. Francesca spend the night with me in my bed and Frances spent the night with Julie in her bed. The next morning we reluctantly took them back to their grandmother. I never imagined that I would ride on the back of a motorcycle, in Haiti, while holding a sleeping baby. There are a lot of things that I've had to do in this country that I never imagined!
I experienced so much sense of family, community, and love this weekend that I was reluctant to come home today. But, my students here at TLC need me! Keziah is staying another day in Gonaives so I had to take the bus home alone this time. I had to sit sandwiched in between two grown men. However, it was much more comfortable than the ride to Gonaives and it took significantly less time. The man to my right listened to his iPod the entire way while the man to my left held a live pigeon in his hand. When I asked him, he said he was going to give it to his friend in Port to eat. Oh, Haiti!
Thank you God for blessing me with so many amazing and loving people in my life. I am thankful that I have a "family" here in Haiti. I'm thankful for crazy adventures, bus rides, Thanksgiving dinner, rooftop sleepovers and friendships. God is so good.
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