This is my first trip to Haiti, actually, it is my first real trip outside of the US. I had absolutely no idea what to expect on our arrival. I know that during my sleepless night before we left I was just hoping to get to Haiti with everything and everyone. All I really knew about international travel was what I had seen in movies. Once we landed in Port au Prince, my nerves actually calmed down, in hindsight, that was when they really should have started to act up. It truly is a different world compared to mid Missouri, or anywhere else I have lived or visited. First and most notably, is the weather. It is not as hot or humid as I had anticipated, but much hotter than St. Louis had been at 4 am. We (all 10 team members) make it through customs (I am guessing that it was customs) and climb into the back an ambulance to begin the journey to the OSAPO clinic. This trip too was unlike anything I have ever experienced, its seems as though there is no rhyme or reason to the traffic. The only thing I know for sure at this point is that we are following our luggage and driving as though its trying to get away.
The trip to the clinic is the my first real experience of Haiti. I see how people are living both in and out of the city. We see the tent cities built after the earthquake, but what really surprised me was the landscape. During the 90 minute ambulance ride to the clinic, we have seen everything from cacti to palm trees, beaches, rivers, and large mountain ranges. I did not expect that at all.
We arrive at the clinic and are greeted by a fantastic feast. As soon as we have eaten, we feel like we should be working. I am non-medical personnel and I know that I will be getting off easy for the next week. Technically I am here for research and teaching but I really hope that I can help out as much as possible.
Following our tour of the clinic we unpack and attempt to organize the medications we brought along with us. We do our best to keep things organized and out of the pharmacists way. The following morning I realize that we stacked all of the medications underneath the distribution window. The pharmacists and her assistants however are not phased, and get right to work in morning, people are already showing up with their prescriptions. I assist the best I can with only one person in the pharmacy who speaks English. I did manage to stay busy and finish feeling like I was somewhat helpful.
The Need for an Autoclave
In the afternoon I hear an interesting story about how the cook was so concerned with feeding the team she removed the sterilizer from the burner. This held things up in the clinic as they were waiting for the speculums that were being sterilized to continue seeing patients. Sandra our team leader from Columbia pointed out specifically that we need to hunt an automatic autoclave down when we return to Missouri.
There are so many more stories to tell. Hopefully some of the others on the trip will be able to share their experiences.
Curtis, glad to hear you made it safely. Thanks for blogging. It's great to get a different perspective. Sometimes I feel like I'm almost too comfortable in Haiti to convey that sense of wonder that hits when you see it for the first time. And it doesn't hit you just once. It hits you over and over throughout the week. Enjoy you time, have a great week, blog as much as you can, and get Sandra to blog as well.
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