flight frenzy

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Nicole and I left the compound around 7am to meet two teams at the airport in Port-au-Prince (PAP). I was so incredibly excited to just get off the the piece of land I call home that I didn't mind getting up early, sitting in a truck without being able to drive for a combined 3 hours, and then waiting around in the hot sun for a bunch of Americans to walk out of the "terminal." I also knew that this trip would give me an opportunity to view some of the sights that I had only seen once before, when I first arrived to Haiti. I welcomed the opportunity to observe life and culture on this excursion and potentially even take pictures. Nicole and I discussed the previous week and some expectations for roles and responsibilities for the upcoming week as the team arrived during portions of the hour and a half ride. At times I would interrupt conversation to ask questions about buildings and views out our windows. Occasionally she would interject to provide additional details concerning culture, life, and language that came to mind.

After arriving in PAP, we circled the airport to find a place to park and wait for the incoming flights. Unsure of the exact flight info, we left the truck about 15 minutes after the plane was supposed to land in hopes of spotting two 20-something American women as they left the security of the airport. We stood on the outside of barriers which were erected about 6 feet from the gate surrounding the exit. After an hour and a half of attempting to gather information about the flight from the porters who will milling about between the barriers and gate waiting for work, we were informed that the flight had not arrived and wouldn't for a while yet. Despite the fact that the plane was scheduled to arrive at 8:45am, we were informed that Sunday means that the flights will arrive as they please because the airlines lie. Nicole and I also realized that all the blancs, smart, and/or seemingly important people were being escorted around the barriers and inside the gate to sit on a short concrete wall underneath the canvas tent covering just inside the gate.

Instead of spending more time standing in the sun, we all left to get lunch. We drove 4 minutes up the road and entered a gas station. My first thought looking in the windows was that the place was not open, which practically seemed to be confirmed as we stepped inside the door. Despite the somewhat cooler air (thanks to A.C.), the lack of lights, the empty convenience store appliances lining the walls, and the vacant counters implied that the business wasn't actually established. I was proven wrong as we meandered looking for refrigerated beverages and made sandwich orders. Clement was disappointed to learn that they were not serving hotdogs but managed to deal with eating a chicken sub instead. I was ecstatic to see Oh Henry! candy bars and Gatorade for my sweet tooth. I didn't even mind that the bathrooms didn't have toilet paper or water to wash my hands... at least I wasn't forced to find a place outside to squat.

We returned to the airport where we fairly easily were able to locate the two girls. I mean considering the lack of and contradictory information we had to work with the entire process was cake. We walked the girls and their luggage back to the truck, narrowly misses death at times because traffic was so congested and pedestrians do not have the right of way in Haiti. Nevertheless we arrived safely at the vehicle where conversation ensued about who was owed what and how much for the services they provided in delivering us and the bags.

After sorting through that group, Nicole and I elected to stay at the truck with the girls while Mimi and Clement went back to the gate to collect the other group who was arriving on a following flight. We had been informed that the plane had already landed moments before we spotted the girls. Quite some time passed as we sat in the bed of the truck attempting to give Leanna and Alexis some quick cultural emersion. Eventually we saw a mass group of people approaching. More chaos ensued as bags were placed on trucks and people continued to ask for money. We all moved into the bus which was chartered to drive the group into L'acul and happened to be parked two vehicles away from the truck.

We got on the bus and the driver started to take off before Nicole realized we were missing a couple people. I'll spare you all the complicated details, but the short story is that some luggage was lost and a person missed their connecting flight into PAP. Two of the guys were waiting in the airport hoping the luggage would arrive before/with the last group member. One of these two guys is a Haitian who lives in America, but has a brother who is willing to pick up and deliver all 3 guys and their luggage to the airport.

Finally we were able to sit back and relax as we drove back to the compound. I even managed to take some photos in PAP and have included them here. The first image was of some houses across the street from where we parked to sort of the issue of exactly how we would be able to get direction to the guys in the group who were currently waiting at the airport. As normal, the children were the first to catch my attention. They watched our bus for a few minutes with big smiles and excited waves before returning to their fun and laughter. The other two are near a large market. The height of the trash was amazing... as tall as the woman AND the bag (probably of grapefruit) she carries on her head. Nicole's comment was how valuable that trash would be for compost considering the percentage which is merely rotting fruit and vegatables from unsold merchandise. The vibrancy and potential of life in all of Haiti is stunning to me. Yet at the same time, you can't miss the hardship that clearly marks reality here. Like two sides of a coin, both are always present even if it easier to see only one half at any given moment.