Going a little stir crazy...or a lot. Election results were announced Tuesday night and the aftermath was not pretty. There have been protests all over Haiti, including right here in Croix-des-Bouquets. All flights were canceled from Wednesday until this coming Tuesday. Wednesday morning we went up to the roof and could see black smoke (burning tires) in every direction.
Despite the chaos outside our walls, Wednesday was a pretty fun day. Henry, Dessalines, Luke, Valentin, Corey, and I played small 2x2 games of soccer and we spent the rest of the day doing a puzzle.
Thursday, again trapped in the house. Corey and Luke headed to Santo Domingo so that he could fly out from there. Liz and I spent hours finishing the puzzle and Pastor Valentin tried to figure out how to get Kirstin home from Love a Child safely. The road was blockaded in many areas and even police were, supposedly, unable to pass. I was allowed a few minutes out of the house to go see the roads with Valentin. It was crazy. You could see where tires and various other things had been burned, blocking the road, nearly every 100 meters down the road. Crowds of people congregated down the road, but Valentin wouldn't take me any farther. When we heard the string of gunshots, we decided we should head back toward the house. UN tanks and police rolled by toward the commotion. Kirstin was escorted home by police (Valentin has friends everywhere!) We came back home and even from here, we could hear more gunshots. Don't worry, though, we are safe! We sat outside in the dark for a long time, trying to conserve gas in the generator in case we really needed it.
Friday the boredom seriously settled in. I got in the shower that morning only to discover we were out of water. We're all going a little nuts. We watched a movie in the morning and then got out with Valentin to buy oil for the generator. The roads were covered in ash where the bulldozer had just spread it all across the roads. We saw burnt shells of cars on the side of the road. Even if it was a short excursion, at least we were out of the house for a few minutes. We got back and had no idea what to do to fill the time. Later that night, we watched "Cool Runnings." Then, we were entertained by the wonders of Haitian film making. Classic. When I walked into our room to go to bed, I saw a GIANT moth hanging out on the clock. Valentin was called to save the day. His first attempt to shoo the creature was a double clap...obviously wasn't effective. He left and returned with a giant machete which he used to coax the thing onto the wall and then proceed to flatten it, smearing it and gauging the concrete wall. A good laugh to end the day.
Today, Saturday, we'll sit inside again. I'm looking forward to going home on Wednesday. Warm showers, no mosquitoes, electricity, internet! Hopefully nothing happens with the flights. I'm expecting chaos at the airport since all of last weeks people will be trying to get out too.
That's all the news for now!
Something's off with my perspective apparently. I have warm showers (if not hot), very few mosquitoes, plenty of electricity & all the internet I can consume; yet I'd rather be in Haiti (well, mostly, sort of; the not being able to move around the country part is the part that sounds not appealing).
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