Lebrunning it...

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The plane ride over was relatively uneventful. I may or may not have stuck out like a sore thumb, an Asian American face in a sea of Haitians, dotted by a few vanilla flakes. It's safe to assume that they were there for similar reasons. Haiti isn't exactly known for it's vacation destinations, though I hear resorts here are quite beautiful.

I napped a little, having been sleep deprived, especially the past 5 days...I can nap anywhere at anytime and in any position. It has always been my greatest superpower.

A problem at Immigration after de-planing was solved by some quick thinking and technology. Thank goodness for saved emails. I told them that I had two friends following my path in an hour or so. The tone in my voice assumed that he would extend the same courtesy. I hoped Ed and Luis could also resolve the situation quickly.

I was met outside by a tallish, lanky teen with a HavServe shirt and a baseball cap, my name written on cardboard. I didn't even see him coming, as I was initially swarmed by taxi touts. He had a genial smile and only spoke Creole. The Creole iPhone app I had been studying on the plane was of no use, as the phrases learned quickly deleted themselves from my sleep deprived brain. They say 90% of communication is non verbal anyway. My non verbals are pretty damn good. I used them well.

As far as I could surmise, his name was MacAttack, the driver was Wilson. No, he didn't look like a volleyball to me. Neither was his face blood soaked. That would be there names for now, until I could clarify with Ms. Brice later. I spoke with her on the phone and she told me that I would be taken to eat while waiting for Ed and Luis. I was agreeable to that plan, at least until I saw the establishment. It was a fast food shack, menu in English with outrageous prices. I didn't want to eat a burger or chicken sandwich in Haiti, nor pay twelve dollars for a combo. So I politely declined their choice of eateries, spoke with Ms Brice again, and headed back to the airport, waiting their arrival in the minivan in upper 80's heat. It was actually quite comfortable to have the windows and door open. It allowed me the opportunity to write this....

A three hour ride to Lebrun village after seeing the brothers de-plane- I guess we really didn't know what to expect, especially the hour hike down and up rocky embankments. Had we known, we would have changed our footwear. There is a reason Ms. Brice hid that from us, lol. We approached the quaint but lovely home on the main strip of the village, sweat dripping down our body and into the naughty places. I was in good spirits. The brothers? Hmmm, I wasn't so sure, but they weren't complaining, That was a good sign. We were met at the iron gate by Ms Brice and her friends. Fast forward to a simple yet delicious dinner of rice, beans, and chicken. Ms Brice told us that people were traveling from as far as 6 hours to take our training. One young lady was already here. She was a teacher from another village. Last year, a student of hers sustained a head injury. The school didn't treat it seriously, or rather, was uneducated about head injuries. He died. That's why she was here. That's why we are here.

We all decided to go for a walk through the village. Ms Brice showed us the unfinished elementary school, a government project that was at a standstill. Why? It's the government. Promises were made but never kept. We walked along a path that circled the entire village. She also showed us two structures that they had built. One day, it would be a computer training center accessible for the entire village. She was doing very good work here, but the process was slow, the funding, even slower.

We walked back to the house, purchasing 6 bottles of beer along the way. We were lucky to have Ms Brice and company with us. I cant imagine what the going rate would have been. She was able to shave off four dollars for the bottles. The rest of the night was spent chatting, reading, writing,and of course, beers. Sleep would come quickly, about 9PM.



8/22/2014

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