Initial Thoughts/Reactions

I arrived in Port-au-Prince mid-afternoon yesterday (January 15th).  The country-side is incredibly beautiful,  where from the vantage point of an airline passanger, one can see the immense transitions in topography, where mountains meet the ocean, and forests scatter the landscape.  However, once we flew in closer and lower, I could see the images that most of us have seen on the tv.  My heart sank to my stomach from my first glimpses of the tent cities, scattered like legos across the hillside.  The deeper into the city you go, the denser these tent cities became.  Among the city were remnants of the earthquake, collapsed buildings spotting the city. 

I went into this trip with no expectations.  I figured if I had any, they would almost certainly be wrong.  When I arrived at the airport, the demographics completely inverted themselves from my midwest home.  I also struggled through customs.  I knew no Creole, but fortunately most of the airport staff spoke English.



View from our house, the la Maison



After the first 24 hours in Haiti I find myself still adjusting.  The AFH team down here is very knowledgeable.  Our main focus right now is schools.  The team has had a presence down here for not quite a year now, and already have 7 school projects going.  I will be working with Schendy (Shkin-dee) on one of the larger ones.  Start work tomorrow.