April 17, 2010

This is my third day in Haiti, and I'm starting to feel at home (altough home right now consists of a house with 7 women, 1 man, shared rooms and bath and the top bunk of a bunk bed.) There is a routine: van leaves for the office at 7:45, work until 6, return van, dinner, work and then my beloved Ambien and sleep. The house and the office are staffed by armed guards and curfew is at 8p.m. I feel remarkably safe in these compounds. But once I leave either protected space, it is chaos in the streets. Rubble everywhere, destruction that is indescribable, traffic jams and constant near misses (there are no traffice signs), and street vendors. We are told to walk in the streets as sidewalks pose the risk of someone grabbing you unawares and to face oncoming traffic so that you can dodge out of the way. The Haitians who work for Habitat are just lovely people--obviously happy to have jobs. Some have lost everything--living in their cars--but they keep smiling. Tomorrow I've wrangled a security guard and a translator to take one of my housemates (Lesley) and me to a marketplace. I want to see more of the city and a little retail therapy never hurts. The work is frustrating--there is so much to do but little time to explain, so my instructions of what is expected of me are fragmented at best. Again, hoping that will change so I feel more mission-vital than I do at present. Love to you all, Barbara