multinational appreciation

Punctuality is not my strong point here in Haiti, so please bear with me. Thank you for your patience.

One of my favorite things here in Haiti is meeting so many people from so many different backgrounds, from just about every country able to send troops to other countries. Besides UN troops, there are NGOs all trying to help in their own little spheres and religious groups doing the same. This past week, a group from the States came to help out at the clinic, with doctors, dentists, therapists, and jacks-of-all-trades. They stunned me with how hard they worked for the week they were at the clinic, they organized everything that had been sent from the States and distributed it to just about any reputable organization that asked.

The two therapists also did a great job with the rehab center, with suggestions and ideas with how to make it function better. Without much experience under my belt, it's difficult for me to know what sorts of things a rehab center needs, so it's been a tough job trying to anticipate and plan for problems. It's working better now, but we're collecting ideas and will probably make some big changes. Just a few days ago, a group from Handicap International came to the rehab center and were impressed with how we work, and they said they could fill up our 30 bed center in about a week, there were so many patients at different hospitals needing rehab. I think we would go a bit mad if we had that many patient so fast. Not to mention there is not enough food or personnel to look after that many people. We're making progress, in the right direction, I think, I hope.

On another topic besides work, a more amusing subject, I was able to take a few days off and go with my Chilean coworkers to Aquin, a coast town about a 5-hour trip from Croix-des-Bouquets. I left Wednesday after lunch, arrived just at sundown, and spent the next four days at the beach, in the city plaza, listening to sensational Haitian musicians, practicing my ever-improving Spanish, and relaxing. Most important was the relaxing. It's difficult to relax when you're an obvious minority (I have absolutely a greater appreciation for minorities), but just sitting on the patio at the house, reading a book, looking at the palm trees and the rain, and listening to the silence that you never really have in Port-au-Prince is so refreshing.

There was a great story that came out of this trip as well. One of the musicians who performed in Aquin on Friday and Saturday was named Beethova Obas. He is not terribly well known, although this makes me quite sad, since I know just how outstanding his music is. It's very Caribbean, calypso, relaxed music. Anyway, the chileans and I, about 8 or 9 of us in total, were on the beach in Aquin enjoying our time, and one of them was looking for a lighter or matches or something like it. A Haitian man offered his car lighter and spoke in awfully good Spanish, from what I understood. I could be mistaken, since Spanish is definitely not my strong point. He then started speaking in nearly impeccable English, with almost no accent, either. We didn't have much of a conversation, and we went back to playing at the beach and he left shortly thereafter, not before telling us he was performing in the carnaval that evening. None of us really registered this, nor did we fully acknowledge the magnitude of this statement. Later, we saw him up on stage performing with his brother, Beethova. We waved at each other and we were just as surprised to see him on stage as he seemed to be to see us in the crowd; quite possibly the only white faces in the entire crowd. Tremendous music, with a neat story to go along with it.