Day One--Grace--8/1/15

     It has only been one day, but this has felt like the longest day of my life. I attribute that to the lack of sleep and early morning flights. When we arrive at the Cap Haitien airport, I can't stop smiling. I want to be able to take in as much as I can, as fast as I can. After getting our checked bags, we wait for the car to come. When it pulls up I saw that it didn't have any seats in the back, and I immediately think "This must be where our luggage goes." What I don't realize at first is that it has two benches in the back for people to sit on, and our stuff is going in the back of a truck. Ten people squish into the back for what feels like the most dangerous ride ever. Cars are passing each other at speeds that are way too fast, honking their horns for a warning or a greeting or just to be noticed. Motorbikes with three or four riders weave crazily through the traffic. Pedestrians risk their bodies just to walk on the side of the road.

     After breakfast, we settle into our rooms, and then set out on a walk through the town. Again, the traffic. Cars come hurtling through narrow streets, honking at you to get out of the way. The streets were littered with trash because they don't have an organized sanitation system. Whatever they have ends up on the street. The terrifying traffic and large amounts of trash cannot take away from the beauty of the town, though. Since they were built around the same time, Cap-Haitien's architecture resembles that of New Orleans. Buildings are painted bright colors, and people are selling things in the street. One thing I realize while we were walking is that for the first time, I am the minority. We get looks in town because there aren't many white people here.

     For lunch we eat at Deco Plage, which is just down the street from the mission house. We order and wait for what feels like forever, but the food is totally worth it! Sitting on the patio, we have an amazing view of the ocean. After lunch, we go back to the mission house for a quick siesta, and then some of us go to see the clinic, so we squish into the car and head out there.

     After 45 minutes and a literal speed bump along the way (it sends me crashing into to roof of the car), we arrive at the village. The clinic has been closed for several years because a lack of funding made them choose between the clinic and the school. There are no working light bulbs, so it is difficult to see. We sort through the medicine that had been left, sweep the floors, and try to set up the space in a way that would flow smoothly. As we are cleaning, some of the local people (mostly children) come to watch us work. At first they are silent, but after a while one spoke up and asked for my name. I, of course have no idea what she is saying, so I look to my dad to translate. When they hear my name, they giggled because maybe it sounds funny? (I'm not really sure.) The girls then start to follow me around while I was cleaning, and after I am done, I go outside where they all crowd around me. They all want to touch my hair, look at my eyes, and they must have found my hands intriguing, because they won't stop looking at them. I then put my sunglasses on one of the girls, and they all take turns wearing them. When we leave the girls are all waving and leave right after we do.

     Once we got back to the mission house, we have dinner, our devotional, and then go to bed. Nights here are nearly as noisy as the day, but only a few car horns, and more bugs and waves. It takes me a while to fall asleep because I am still processing everything that happened. First day=success, I can't wait for the rest of the week!