Welcome to Haiti

Rain is pouring down in buckets, lightning is flashing and the thunder is so loud it sounds like bombs are exploding all around us! We thought we had escaped the rain when leaving Chilliwack but apparently not! Wow, what a weather! It was a warm day again today but right after dinner the clouds gathered and now we are finding out what rain is really all about. As soon as I heard the first drop, I ran to the door and raced onto the patio. The rain is really a blessing here today! I actually wanted to stay standing under it for awhile. With the amount coming down I figured I would have a better shower this way then inside. The water here just trickles a little, so the pressure of the rainstorm was quite a big deal! I didn’t stand there to long though, because I didn’t want my clothes to get too wet. Doing laundry here is a real specialty to right now so you have to wear your clothes as long as possible. My whole idea of clean has gone right out the window too! I’m not sure how long I’ve been wearing the clothes I’m wearing now and I have no idea when the sheets on our bed that we are sleeping in were last washed. Everything gets dusty and dirty here pretty quick, but for some reason it doesn’t really bother me. I’m not sure if it’s just because my survival instincts have kicked in, and I realize that none of that stuff really matters in the big picture or if I’m still not functioning quite right because of the long time I’ve gone without sleep! Since our house doesn’t have power yet, we are currently living in another home. This morning we walked to our house (takes about 5 minutes from where we are staying), and as we began to unpack I really did look forward to actually cleaning everything, so I guess I haven’t lost that Dutch blood in me just yet. So what else can I tell you about Haiti? The Haitian people have been very friendly. I don’t feel scared or worried at all, like I thought I might. The MAF staff here has been great! Every night this week we are invited to eat dinner at one of their homes, and they have all been very welcoming and friendly. One more thing, Julie White, one of the MAF staff took us to the two nearest grocery stores. Stepping into them was like stepping into the US. They both had air-conditioning and had almost everything you could buy back home. Even toys and gifts! They also were set up in much the same way as grocery stores back home. However the cost was a different story. We bought enough stuff to make three basic, easy meals and it cost us $80! I guess we have to rethink our ideas about what meals are all about. We bought things for pizza, spaghetti and tacos, but from now on we go back to the old-fashioned Dutch way of cooking. Sorry Jason, but vegetables and potatoes from now on! J And occasionally some rice and beans thrown in!