Everyone has a hustle....

Reading the Sinai Newsletter ("Bridge") at the main gate
leading into the hospital. No guns allowed except for the guard!

Day Seven........rounds in the morning, followed by a trek to an orphanage( a trek it was up a windy dirt road in the mud, the van fishtailed)......two stories no real running water but electricity. There were 20 or so kids there. We brought toys, soccer balls, coloring books, frisbees, pencils. We tried to give everyone something, we even had the hand made blankets we were giving out to our patients the previous week. A few members of our group went and bought snacks and pasta and fixings so the kids had some food to eat. Most gobbled up the snacks right away, some hid them to save for later. It was an eye opening experience for me as I heard of the owner trying to get us to contribute an extra ordinate amount of money to buy another property. Claiming no money to run the place.... Everyone has hustle, a way to try and get more. Although motives are questioned at least they have a roof over their heads and someone watching them.

After going back down the hill, we started our tour of Port Au Prince, squalor is the best word for the worst parts of the city with destruction, like the earthquake was yesterday. Masses of concrete houses placed on top of each other along the hillside, decimation at the valley. This slowly weaves along some paved and unpaved roads into a less cramped area with a hint of manicured lawn( our driver said it's a club where tennis is played) along the winding road beautiful vistas pop through concrete a glimpse of the port and ocean.....

We stopped for lunch at Epi D'or a cafeteria style bakery/fast food/Haitian restaurant in a relatively affluent part called Delmas. There were a few boutiques, the roads were paved although caddycorner from the restaurant was a decimated building. About 1/3 of our group partook in the pastries, 1/3 "American food" and rounding it out was a combo of Haitian food and crepes. Coca colas, Tampico and champagne cola as well as coffee was enjoyed at our tables. Geteau simple( Haitian cake) was introduced to us by Ron and Tara.....Thank you. A lighter crumbly pound cake of sorts with a hint of coconut was a a great treat!!

After our enjoyable lunch, we headed to the presidential palace. Across the street is one of the tent cities where I overheard a man say 2800 people live. The palace once shining and standing tall, now sits a little shorter, askew and across from a constant reminder that something must be done. We followed the palace down to the PAP cathedral, where the presidents used to be inaugurated. It was a shell of it's former self, some stained glass left in a skeleton church.
Residents of the local area came asking for money or food, when we gave they just asked for more. A difficult situation.....one inspiring man was a double amputee in his own motorized wheelchair. He sat in this wood box with a captains chair of sorts. He had a hand crank drive that motorized his cart. Ingenious!!

We returned to HAH tired, rejuvenated and excited at the same time. Our adventure had taken us not only out of the hospital but off the grounds of the hospital. We topped off the night with a yummy buffet at la auberge Quebec around the corner and up the hill from HAH.
We shared a meal with the volunteers at the hospital as well as our amazing translators. We shared in an operation rainbow tradition of an awards ceremony, yours truly received Miss Congeniality something I now share with Sandra Bullock, :) you'll have to check in with the rest of our amazing team as to who was the happy curmudgen, the girl scout, macgyver, the brave one, the designated hitter, the octopus, the juggler, the lone ranger, the eager beaver, the scrub-a- dub-dub etc........
My reflections on this trip will likely come out later...after sometime has past and thoughts have settled!

Yo Jen Peacing out from Haiti.....what a long strange trip it has been...I mean that in a good way!