Somehow it seems as though time is going quickly and yet standing still…
It is hard to believe that we have only 2 more full days left here in Haiti and yet we have done so much that we all are wondering how we fit it all in.
Today dawned early, as we had no power or water from early last night, and at some point in the middle of the night the generator failed… so the fans all stopped. Too warm makes for a restless night, but thankfully around 3am the power came back on. Of course then it went back off around 5am, just as we were getting ready to do things like make breakfast and upload pictures. 😉
After the morning power yoga session, there was time for quick showers (yay for water!!) before getting ready to head off to meet the head of veterinary services for the Ministry of Ag (Dr. Max Millien). Anticipating traffic we arrived over an hour early (which was an exhilarating feeling in Haiti!), however felt a little guilty, since when Jasmine went in search of a washroom to calm her nerves his secretary wound up interrupting him in the middle of another meeting in order to let him know that we had arrived.
As it was we got in to see him 45 minutes early – a first for our time in Haiti! The meeting was a short explanation of the vet services plans for the future and what they would like from us as a group.
It lasted just over an hour, and then we were on our way… Tyra was fascinated by the alligator that the Ministry elect to keep in the front pond of the building. Of all mascots, it seems a little odd for a country that doesn’t much like reptiles…
Our next stop was the dept of geology’s map group to pick up another few maps… it is a strange environment… there is almost like a time warp going on – you enter this space where no one seems to be doing anything, and yet the room is full of people doing “busy” things. Around 45 minutes later “poof” you have a map. We haven’t yet figured any of it out… perhaps it is related to Narnia… or the land of Oz.
Our last stop on our time out was Agronomes et Veterinaires Sans Frontieres (Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders) which is a blended group of the French chapter of VWB. We had a chance to quickly talk about some of the projects that they have going on but unfortunately the vets were all out in the field or out of the country at a conference and so weren’t available for a serious discussion. Next time….
Over the few hours we had been out, we somehow had managed to collect so many layers of smog that even scratching mosquito bites left your hands blackened. Yuck. Needless to say coughing left black bits…
Once home no one was immensely hungry (we ate smog all day… lol), so the girls conducted their daily ritual of unpacking, evaluating and repacking bins. Of course this may have to occur again tomorrow… so really why do they do what they do? Kind of like the question “why did the chicken cross the road?” (the answer to this changes every time we see a chicken… crossing the road. lol)
After the bin packing Amanda headed off for a nap, while everyone else congregated on the roof. Rick read his book while Jasmine and Tyra desperately tried to remember what they had put in the newly repacked bins. They then started making a wishlist for next trip.
At some point tummies were rumbling enough that Jasmine headed in to start dinner, luckily there has been a tremendous amount of culinary assistance! After a chicken curry and peanut satay meal, Rick and Amanda played a couple of games of crib, while Tyra busied herself sterilising the kitchen, and Jasmine madly tried to catch up with some of her doctoral project. The card game was the most successful endeavour. 😉
Anyway, tomorrow looks like a freer day, so hopefully there will be enough power that we can upload photos!
Lots of love to everyone,
TRAJ