Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Finally the Weekend!

At the Orphanage
We got up Saturday morning and did our rounds before leaving the hospital for a day’s excursion. All our patients were doing well so we left in a tap-tap for the orphanage. We have been going to the same orphanage on every trip I have been on to Haiti and it’s been really fun to see the changes happening within the orphanage and to see the kids growing up. They definitely remember us! Each time we have gone, the orphanage has become more of a structure with walls and less of a tarped-off area. There are still a ton of kids there, but like always they greet us with smiles and singing. We brought them more clothes, shoes, and care packages that were sent from the team that followed us back in November 2010. We stayed and played for a while and I had the complete joy of holding this little girl who walked up to me the minute we got to the orphanage and held out her arms to be picked up. These kids are always so cute and seem to be happy and enjoying life. It’s sad to think about their situation, but hard to not feel joy after spending time with them.
Pat, Tom, Amy, me at La Reserve


La Reserve
After leaving the orphanage, we took the tap-tap up the mountains and stopped for lunch at La Reserve. Walking into the restaurant,  you would have no idea that you were in the middle of Haiti. The scenery was gorgeous and the decor was completely impressive. We all treated ourselves to Rhum punches and ordered a slew of appetizers. Interestingly, although they were “out” of chili fries, they did have fries and they did have chili (which was on the nachos we ordered). I am thinking there may be a trend with ordering in restaurants in Haiti...


Me, Pat, Tom, Amy at Fort Jacques
After a delicious meal, we headed further up the mountain to Fort Jacques. This is the ruins of a fort dating back to the Haitian revolution. The Fort overlooks the entire city of Port-au-Prince and the coast of Haiti. The view was breathtaking. After spending some time walking around the Fort and getting a questionably accurate account of the fort’s history, we wandered through the nearby  forest and got a great view of the mountainous farmlands of Haiti. 


On our way back to the hospital to meet up with some of our 2nd week team members that were flying in that night, we saw a man walking across the busy streets of Port-au-Prince on his knees. He clearly had some untreated congenital disorder that left him without lower extremities that he could walk normally on. And after our brief oasis, we all were brought right back to the reality of where we were.
at the Orphanage
random truck from St. Paul in Haiti








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