First impressions.

I'm starting my blog a day late but I figure it is better late than never.  I began to email today but realized that creating a blog is probably easier than keeping up with emailing several people a day. (Mom, I'll probably still send you some personalized messages; everyone else-you probably won't be as lucky)
Well, day one in Haiti was an adventure to say the least.  It really is a whole different world here.  We were greeted in the airport by men playing drums, which was a nice welcome.  The airport was simple and small but I must say that it was much easier to find your way around when immigration, baggage claim, and customs was all in the same room.  As we stepped outside of the airport, we were greeted by Sophie, who is our "guide" for the week, I guess you could say.  She is hilarious and very good-natured and we are very lucky to have her with us while we stay here. As we walked to our van from the building, men gathered on the outside of the fence and called to us incessantly.  I didn't understand much besides, "Hey you, pretty lady!" Dad seems to think I got a marriage proposal, but I'm not so sure that's what they were saying.  We got to the van and realized how spoiled we really are.  While many people were loading into the back of trucks with covered tops, we are being driven around in an air-conditioned van.  Anyways, so began our journey through Port au Prince on our way to Jacmel (about a 3 hour trek through the mountains).  Simply getting through Port au Prince took about an hour.  I can't speak for the entire group, but what I saw was near indescribable.  There aren't enough words to portray to everyone what the city was like.  People were everywhere, granted it was January 1st, which is their independence day, so that could be why the streets were so busy.  A majority of the city is in ruins (the earthquake affected Port au Prince the most mainly because it is the most populous city in Haiti).  Buildings are either half there or just rubble.  Tent cities are strewn throughout, we would pass one and it wouldn't take very long until we drove by another.  The amount of trash that covers the ground and any waterways is unbelievable.  I don't have the cord to the camera in order to upload pictures or else I would let you all see what I am trying to describe.  I will definitely upload them when I get home because I honestly feel that my description is not doing the city justice.  However, on a good note, the people seemed happy.  We didn't drive through a ghost town by any means.  Like I mentioned earlier, they were celebrating their holiday and it was refreshing to know that despite their living conditions and the state of their city, the people are still able to celebrate what they do have.  
From Port au Prince, we traveled through the mountains...literally, through several small towns until we reached Jacmel.  Sidenote: the driving in Haiti is an experience in itself.  The only road signs I saw were near the airport.  After that, you drove where you needed to drive, you pass other cars when you need/want to pass them.  There are no stop signs, drivers just understand when they need to stop.  I've come to realize that this is my kind of driving.  Now, if my mom were riding in this van her foot would probably have gone through the floor as she slammed on her imaginary brakes.  The roads were winding and our driver wasn't the most cautious, but he knew what he was doing, because here we are, alive and well.  I found it entertaining while others probably had their eyes clothes, praying that we wouldn't drive off a cliff at any moment.  Also, car horns are used MUCH more here than they are in the states.  While honking your horn in the US is usually a sign of road rage and impatience, here it is more of a warning, sort of "hey, i'm driving behind you and am about to pass you so you should probably move over towards the side of the road before I ram the back of your car" and other drivers are usually very respectful of this.  And by drivers I mean both of cars and small motorbike drivers that are seen everywhere.  I've seen some of these motorbikes with 4 people piled on, a woman sitting side-saddle, and children sometimes 3 deep sitting in front of the actual driver.  
We finally arrived at our destination, a clinic resting down a ways off the main road.  I believe that we are incredibly lucky to be staying here, it is extremely clean with two separate sleeping rooms, both with running toilets and showers.  There are two or three women who are here during the day that cook for us, so don't be surprised if we come back having gained a few pounds rather than losing some.  Hopefully that is not the case but with the food we're eating (hearty soup, spaghetti, rice and beans, fried chicken so far) I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.  Hopefully working 8-5 starting tomorrow (monday) will work off our meals.  Needless to say we are very spoiled.  
We attended a church service that evening which happened to be questioning for a group of confirmands.  The church is about 10 minutes away, if that, and is also off the main road.  Now that I think about it, most everything is off the main road.  But anyways, I found this service to be very incredible. The enthusiasm that the members had during the hymns was overwhelming, in a good way though.  We were able to shake hands with some of the confirmands after they were questioned and although they didn't understand what we were saying, they were all smiles and seemed very grateful for our presence.  Some boys that I shook hands with did know English and introduced themselves to me.  It was a great feeling seeing how eager they were to meet us.  I felt honored and very relieved.  

I realize that this first blog is a novel and I have a feeling that many if not all of my future posts may be the same, so bear with me please.  I feel as though I only began to describe my experience so far and unfortunately I'm not sure if I will ever be able to fully describe what I will have experienced.  After one day I wasn't quite sure what to think, I hadn't necessarily let all of my thoughts process, but it has been two days now and I have already learned so much from these people than I could have asked for. My only wish is that I can tell my story as detailed as possible and hopefully inspire everyone else as much as these people have inspired me. 

Thank you to everyone who decides to read my blog, I think (and hope) that it will be enjoyable and also a learning experience. 
More to come,

Megan