Greetings from Haiti

I have arrived in Port Au Prince, Haiti safe and sound! My day started very early...my alarm was set for 2:45 but I woke up about 2. I got up, got ready and made sure I had everything packed. I had made a reservation for a taxi to pick me up at 3:45am but by 3:55 it had not shown up. I decided to call to see what had happened. Turns out the communication line in the cab that was supposed to pick me up went down. They were able to get a cab to my house shortly after 4. I made it to the airport safe and sound and with a little time to spare.

My flight to Miami was uneventful. I got off the plane in Miami and low in behold I ran into Andrew (a HODR employee) that I met in Cedar Rapids. He was supposed to fly out of Fort Lauderdale but his flight got cancelled so he was on my flight. I also flew in with David (HODR executive director). It was nice to be able to have some company in Miami.

The flight here from Miami was only 2 hours, nice and short, at least for an international flight. I sat next to nice American woman who lives here in Haiti. She is a teacher on the north part of the island. We also sat next to a crazy Haitian man, that lives in New York and drives cab! I would love to be on one of his cabs! Upon arrival we did the typical customs stuff and picked up our bags. The airport reminded me a lot of the airport in Africa. Small , humid and warm! We left the airport looking for a guy named "Big". Turns out he was not as big as I thought he would be. He must be big in Haitian terms! He took us to the shuttle that would bring us to the orphanage. We arrived here around 5:30. The drive here was about what I expected and again, reminded me of Africa. We had enough time to put the bags down and "freshen" up for dinner. Dinner, and breakfast, are included with your stay. There are lots of nice people here from all over. A few HODR volunteers who are coming to or going from the project.

The shuttle picks us up tomorrow and takes us to Gonaives. The shuttle should be packed….6 of us and luggage. It sounds like the shuttle ride will be quite the adventure.