Tough times

The first thing I did, after arriving in Haiti, was to get a ride from the international airport to the national airport. There, me and my MCC Haiti team members flew to Cap-Haitien for the annual retreat. I had no idea I was timing my arrival so well. So my first few days in Haiti looked a lot like this:



Reading in the lounge chair is Aileen, who teaches at a college in the southeast. Altogether, there were 23 of us, Haitian and North American, including a bunch of kids. I didn't really feel like I earned this retreat, with its perfect beaches, volleyball, snorkeling, and hours of backgammon, but I also didn't feel like complaining.

But there was some discomfort. The first night for dinner I ordered a spicy chicken dish called "poulet diable" which means devil chicken. Well, I woke up in the middle of the night and knew that something wasn't right. I ran to the toilet, and, down on all fours, excorcized the demon.