Haiti Arrival

Arrival in Haiti

The plane from Miami to Port Au Prince was only about one third full, so I had my row to myself.  I had really hoped to sit next to a Haitian who could answer questions and teach me some Creole, but no such luck on this flight.  So I slept.  I woke up in time to get a view of the southern tip of the island.  

PICTURE COMING

Since I knew we were getting close,  I worked up the courage to go a couple of seats behind me.  “Excuse Moi, Madame, est-ce que vous parlez Francias?”  She nodded her head.  “et Creole?” Another nod and a smile.  So I asked if I could sit down and ask her some basic Creole phrases.   I was learning Creole when the pilot announced that we were landing.

Deplaning and customs went without a hitch. Walking out of the airport also went without a hitch as it were – and I was introduced to the helpful Haitian demeanor.  On my way out to where the driver would meet me, no less than 30 people offered to help me with my bags.  Finally, I just said yes. Because I figured if someone was helping me then, others would quit asking, and I was right.  The man named Steven sheparded me to the area where the driver would meet me. 

It was probably 45 minutes until the driver Otis came and found me.  IN the meanwhile I made a number of  new Haitian friends, who were thrilled I could speak some French, and we shared some English and Creole phrases.  When Otis came- there was a bit of a hugabaloo as all of my new friends wanted to escort me to the car, but Otis kept them at bay for the most part. I gave out some money, it felt OK, if not a little hectic for 32 seconds.  Overall the exoierence was a good one and a fine introduction to Haiti.

As Otis and I became acquainted in the car and moved into the streets of Haiti – I immediately thought of Ghana.  There are a lot of similarities, because of the timing there were a lot of kids on school uniforms on the streets, and the ubiquitous vendors.   There were also a  lot of people working on construction tasks.  All in a ll the area outside of the airport looked like the streets of a typical developing country.  Oh and let me say that the driving style is not for the faint of heart. I just had to put my faith in Otis and know that we was a skilled driver that handle it.

PICTURE COMING

At one point we turned a corner and there was a military vehicle in front of us, Otis guessed they were French.  I waved and we exchanged some very genuine smiles.  It was funny, lit was like we knew each other. And I guess in some ways we do.

To be continued…for now it is time to get to the hospital for my first day there…