Day 1 in Haiti

So we finally got to Haiti after two tiring flights at around 12:30 PM. There was this band of 5 or 6 guys playing joyful music right as we got off of the plane as a welcome to Haiti. As we left the airport, things were a bit crazy. Outside the exit there were gates surrounded by 100-200 Haitians all in search for money with the hopes of helping foreigners (such as ourselves) with their bags. Our friend, John Engle who founded Haiti Partners (haiti-partners.org), set up a ride for us waiting outside the airport.

Two Haitian men helped us get through the hectic scene and onto a hotel, where we met John for the first time. While we were waiting for John we got to know the two drivers. We asked them about the earthquake and how they have been coping with the aftermath. The two were incredibly resilient, smiling all the time, even when talking about their broken houses and all of the other destruction. It was inspiring to see people in the street all waving to us with smiles on their faces. They've endured so much devastation, yet remain strong and fight through it.

We met John at the hotel and then made our way back to his house in the hills of Port-au-Prince. He, along with his wife Meryline, were gracious and generous hosts. Their two children, Daniel (his picture is on the top left)and Laila, were funny and a lot of fun to play with. While we were getting ready to eat when it began raining extremely hard immediately, reminiscent of a tropical storm straight out of a movie scene. We set up tarps outside and enjoyed our dinner and the cool air (after the heat and humidity of the day) nonetheless.

Now I'm in bed and I have to figure out this "bath" thing ~ there is no running water, so the showers consist of sitting in the bath tub with some buckets of water and pouring it over your head. It will surely be an interesting experience. After that, I'm off to sleep.

We uploaded pictures from the day onto the photo widget on the right sidebar. Stay posted for more pictures and videos to come. Make sure to check out our twitter page (twitter.com/OneLoveAdvocate) for more updates!