Welcome to Haiti... this is what you wanted!

Posted by David Herzenberg, GN, our beloved nephew...

Let me preface this blog with a couple truths.

1.     I only slept 3.5 hours last night

2.     I woke up at 4:30am

3.     Been traveling all day

4.     I refuse to check or edit this blog for content save for spelling errors

     The Herzenbergs plan a disaster relief mission to Haiti in wake of the most recent earthquake… hilarity ensues.  Keeping in tradition with past travels, our late night of packing is not to be out done by our early morning emergency.  Our transportation to BWI airport seemed to have overlooked a minor detail of our reservation.  It’s in situations like these that I see the true value in using military time.  We somehow rise to the occasion and hit the road by our own volition at 5:30 am, or 0530hr to clear up any confusion.  Miraculously we arrive at the airport with time to spare, greet the rest of the team, and manage to board the plane with thoughts of anticipation, excitement and nervousness. 

            

     And we’re up and off… and for the most part the first flight was uneventful, which happens to be a quality I quite enjoy while flying.  Sleep, sweet, sweet much needed sleep. We land in San Juan around 1200hr local time.  The reality of our mission is becoming more of… well… a reality.  Although we are still in the terminal I can feel the sweet sensation of tropical heat though moistened breaths.  I am slightly disheartened to see a Cinnabon in the terminal… Don’t get me started!!  Anyhow, we board the tiny double propeller plane on the tarmac and I instantly feel like I’m sitting in a giant croc pot, stewing in my teammates juices.  We have an issue with one of our bags that delays our departure.  Apparently a few moderately large containers of hand sanitizer have managed to spill contents and the smell has alerted the crew.  Unsure as to the source of the smell, the crew spends an additional 45 min “solving” the issue before we depart. 

            

     Finally we are up and off again…  Just a quick oceanic voyage from San Juan to Port Au Prince.  It is instantly clear we are traveling in the midst of the rainy season.  I play a long game of charades with the low hanging cumulonimbus clouds.  It was not difficult to appreciate the Dominican landscape… rolling green pastures enclosed by even greener mountain ranges.  My eyes pick out several unexpected yet familiar shapes.  The landscape is dotted with a myriad of baseball diamonds, so many in fact; Sammy Sosa himself would be impressed.  However, this wondrous backdrop does not continue forever.  Like a slide in a power point presentation, our lush greenery is abruptly replaced by a landscape that is stripped and brown.  My mind is jarred by the contrast and is searching for answers as to how such a dichotomy can exist.  Static from the overhead speakers is followed by the captain’s voice, “Attention passengers, we have just crosses into Haiti’s airspace.”  Closing in on the capital, tell tale signs of disaster make themselves known.  Those bright blue dots, some spread out, some so close together, what are they, they seem so familiar.  No, those drops of bright blue are not swimming pools, they are the lengths of blue tarp that are covering damaged homes and providing extra shelter from monsoon rains.  Welcome to Haiti.

            We land, we deplane, we make our way across the tarmac into the terminal.  Unapologetically Haiti greets us in the only way she can.  We are blasted by heat, assaulted by humidity, overcome by noise, and intimidated by a culture that remains a mystery to most of us.  We rally, we steady our nerves, we collect our baggage.  We feel good with the knowledge that all of our bags and our entire team has made it, at least, to the airport.  Only one problem remains… does anyone know how we are going to get to the hospital?  I’ll spare the details, but if you have ever traveled in a third world country, much less after a disaster, you understand how difficult it can be to get to your destination from the airport.  Our arranged transport arrived, somewhat delayed by unpredictable PAP traffic, and underequiped to transport of team of 18 laden down with 2,000 lbs of geat. After another hour in the sun, we wade our way through the airport loiterers and solicitors and fill three vans with our crew and bags.  We are moving again. 

           

     I’ve had the honor of volunteering in the wake of several disasters; the atmosphere here in Haiti is no different.  Filthy streets, undulating crowds of people, outstretched hands reaching into your vehicle looking for a donation, animals rooting out a meal, piles of trash clogging the streets, rivers of plastic damming up the gutters, the sweet stench of rotting organic matter, that dry feeling you get in your nose from swirling dust and diesel fumes, crippled buildings, roads, and infrastructure, numerous tent cities, and traffic, my god the traffic!  Ladies and Gentlemen of Team Sinai, you have arrived; this is what you asked for. 

     There is more… but I’m just too tired to write.  Part of the team got drafted to the OR within an hours of our arrival. The rest of us unpack, set up our mosquito nets on the open air veranda. We have a 6:30 am preconference tomorrow before we hit the floor. Just know that I’m safe, (perhaps not from the Mosquito’s) I’m at the hospital we are staying at, and it’s hot! Hotter then… well… Haiti… 

Again, sorry for the bad grammar and poor usage of imagery. More to follow...

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