Before I get too far into Brazil, I thought I should update you on the rest of our trip to Haiti. On Feb 11th (Saturday), Mom, Naomi, Marguerite and I headed out at 5:45 am for our day trip to Jacmel, along the southern coast of the island. It had been recommended to me by a teacher at school, although she warned me that the drive was a bit nerve wracking (winding mountain roads). We had been feeling a little bit of cabin fever from staying near the guest house (and I would have been very up set if I had come to Haiti and had only seen one small section of it (which is the richer part). We had to sign a waiver with GLA, releasing them from liability, and then we hired Oz, who is Haitian born and raised stateside. He returned to Haiti about 5 years ago, and runs Haiti Tours and Translations. He gave us a fair price, and organized the driver and activities for us. Continue reading Jacmel and final thoughts on our volunteer trip. →

So, we have had a few more days here, and unfortunately, it seems that I have caught one of the kids colds. I have a very stuffy nose and sore throat. This is also unfortunate for my roommates as I was snoring last night. Currently I am inside, as the smoke from garbage burning heaps is bothering my throat and lungs. That being said, I am nicely showered, and ready for dinner. Continue reading Fort Jacques and the Baptist Mission →

Well, mom and I have had our first day at God’s Littlest Angels (GLA) and so far so good. We were warned that the Port-au-Prince airport could be a bit chaotic, and once we reached the baggage claim, we understood why. There were hoards of people trying to reach the Air Canada carousel in what can only be described as a free for all. I set mom up in a corner with our carry-on, and then pushed my way to the front of the line. I am pretty good at making my way through large crowds, and in no time, was at the carousel. My location was not helpful though, as our bags were no where in sight. I left my spot to check on both sides of the carousel, since people were taking bags off and leaving them to the side, but still no luck in finding ours. There were still at least 50 people waiting for bags, although many were waiting for their carry-ons (there wasn’t enough space on the flight to have all in the cabin). Finally, an hour and a half after landing, our bags came, one after the other. We met our driver, who was getting worried that we hadn’t made it, and were led to the van. We were still waiting for Marguerite, a 78 year old, who was on the same flight from Montreal. About 5 minutes after we were loaded on, she arrived. But otherwise, nothing out of the ordinary. Our plane was primarily Haitian citizens (or Haitian born) and the rest of us were either traveling for a wedding, or coming down to volunteer/do mission work. One girl that we met at our hotel in Montreal is coming down for 6 months. Continue reading First Impressions: Haiti →