Alberta Team, Journal 1

Below is a blog post by Daniella M., from Alberta. She and her husband came to Haiti for the first time last February together with their two oldest children. They spent time in Port au Prince and Anse Rouge and shared their experiences on our blog.  This time they came  as chaperones for a Grade 12 class trip. Since the group totalled 16 we split them in half so that they travelled a day apart and we only had half of the group at a time staying at our house on either ends of the trip. The rest of their time they spent in Pignon.

February 11 & 12

The day has finally come! We are off to Haiti! After waiting and planning for months, our team was quite excited to begin our travels. For us chaperones, Dave and Daniella, it is our second time visiting Haiti, but it's the first time for six dedicated, adventurous CCS Grade 12 students. 

As we fly we admire the changing landscapes; everything from snow covered rocky mountains to the bright blue Caribbean ocean!

After 21 hours of traveling we were quite excited and relieved to finally arrive in Haiti!

We loaded our suitcases on top of the taxi and then began our drive through the busy capital to the Krul’s residence. 

The drive was a unique experience to say the least!  The crowded streets were filled with a chaotic jumble of tap-taps, motorbikes, school children, vendors and pedestrians. Colourful, hand painted buildings nestled between shacks and shanties. Vendors lined the streets waving their products, trying to sell their wares.

Many people seemed unhappy. We learned that countless people flock to the capital city looking for opportunities and employment, only to find none.

What also struck us were the many security walls topped with razor wire and the heavy metal gates surrounding most places.

After unloading our suitcases at the Krul’s we headed off to the Baptist Mission. Again there was lots of interesting sights to see out of the taxi windows.

It was hard to see the street kids knocking on our taxi windows, begging.

Up in the mountains, at the Baptist Mission we enjoyed the cooler temperatures and lush surroundings. 

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We ate lunch there,  visited the museum and had our first experience with Haitian shopping! Some of us learned to barter quite well, others not so much!

Back at the Kruls we ended our first day in Haiti with a delicious spaghetti dinner. As day turned to night we  thanked God for bringing us to Haiti safely and protecting and helping us thus far.