Bonswa!

Hello from Haiti. I’ve now only been here for a little over 24 hours, but there’s definitely been a lot of experiences packed into my first day.

After getting in a few hours late from Miami, I was met at the airport in Potoprens (Port-Au-Prince in English) by a man holding a sign. He spoke no English, but he was definitely a welcomed sight after wading through a crowd of aggressive hawkers trying to help me with my bags and force my stuff into their taxis. We quickly took off into the crowded streets headed for downtown where I’m living for the next year. I thought the streets of New York were crazy, but Port-Au-Prince definitely has them topped—no lanes, thousands of people walking amidst traffic, potholes the size of kiddie pools, and gaps of about 3 inches between humans on the sidewalk and vehicles (while driving at 50 mph).  Nevertheless, the drivers are obviously used to it and I made it to my house which is luckily very close to the center of city. The Presidential Palace (Haiti’s White House equivalent) is about 3 blocks away along with a semi-nice plaza. It’s also about a 5 minute walk down the road to my office at Fonkoze. Despite being in the core of the city, Port-Au-Prince has nothing like any downtown I’ve ever been to before. There are no big buildings. The streets are filled with poor people selling small items and the cleanliness is at a level of 1 on a scale of 1-10. Massive piles of exposed garbage create roadblocks along sidewalks and businesses are rarely more than a shack. Unlike other developing countries I’ve been to (Namibia, Zambia, etc), there are almost no formal commercial business (no fast food, no banks, very few grocery stores). It seems everything is run by individuals struggling to make a dollar (or Haitian Gourde).

In terms of my housing, its relatively nice compared to the area in which it’s located. By nice, I mean it has electricity (and a backup generator) and running water. I’m sharing it with two other roommates (Ben and James) who are also interning with Fonkoze and are college students from BYU and Villanova. They’re great and luckily Ben speaks fluent Kreyol which is so necessary here. Almost no one speaks English and without his help and some Haitian friends I would have never been able to negotiate for bread or open up a bank account. Overall the house I’m staying in is good for what I need and can afford.

It seems like there will be a lot of daily challenges here in Haiti—more than I’ve ever experienced when traveling before. The biggest is obviously the language barrier. I sure wish I knew Kreyol, or at least some French to get by. Fonkoze has also not provided a lot of support in terms of adjusting, but what can I expect….I AM an adult! :) The heat is also quite, well, hot. Temperatures are around 95 degrees during the day with nighttime lows around 80, which ensures I always will have a sweaty glow here. Luckily I have an AC unit in my room which should be good until the first electric bill comes. ATM’s do not exist in Haiti making the money situation quite annoying and mosquitoes are everywhere (you cannot avoid the bites). The poverty is also just so extreme. I’ve never seen anything like it—and can’t really find the words to describe it. But as I’ve learned throughout life, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And I certainly think I’ll get more adjusted to some of these challenges as the days go on.

I’ll write more about my work at Fonkoze in a few days when I have a better grasp on it. Stay tuned for stories in later posts about how my office got tear gassed on my first day and how I realistically live with about 5 other Haitians in my house. On that anticipatory note, I’ll leave you for tonight. I’m definitely enjoying my time overall. Thanks for all your messages and support. It means a lot to me!

Tyler