We have a group of five fearless travelers in Haiti this week, working on videography and IT projects. Today’s post comes from Tara on the marketing team:
Christine greeted me in the security line, with a warm smile amongst a sea of groggy eyed travelers in the RDU airport at 6am. She was headed to California and something in my face must have been radiating excitement over my upcoming adventure (or maybe my massive hiking sack gave it away), because she turned around and asked where I was headed. Of course, I started gushing about being Haiti-bound to film a series of videos for Hope for Haiti Foundation.
My short conversation with Christine was the first chance I’d had a moment to be excited about the trip. I somehow had been so busy, I hadn’t had a chance to start dreaming about Vierge’s food, the breathtaking mountain views, or the smiling faces of my much-missed Haitian friends.
The excitement hit full throttle when we started our descent into Port au Prince. I wish everyone could see this view because then they would know I’m not just going to some third world country, I am going to a gorgeous place where the people just need a little help so they can then help themselves.
We all relished our first class plane ride as a last oasis before what we knew awaited us: a 5 hour car ride to Bainet, no air conditioning for a week, bathing in rivers (if at all), and the hot hot hotness.
In the words of Alisane, one of our first time travelers, when asked how that whole “middle part” of our day went: “Oh you mean the part with the driving, or the rocky roads, or the part where we had to get out of the car and walk because half of the road was missing?! Yeah that part was alright. But what made it all worth it was that view of the coast as we pulled in to Bainet.”
Even veteran traveler Jessica asked the age old question “are we there yet?” after only 45minutes on the road. It’s a rough, but rewarding ride.
We all made it safe and sound to Bainet and were greeted by Vierge and Intern John – and plenty of curious locals.
After dinner, several of us had a hankering for Prestige and somehow convinced Vierge to take us to a local beach bar. So I write this as I am having a beautiful moment. I’m under a tiki style cabana, with a Prestige in hand, and live music – all ocean front. People would pay premium dollar for this. And I have time to connect with Vierge. And Barry. And intern John. And Jessica. And I’m in a third world country? God is good, people are kind, the clouds are pretty, this trip is perfect… And so are the stars he created that I get to sleep under tonight.
