Monkey Brain Musings

Last week, I went to Portland, OR., one of my favorite cities in the U.S. My folks live across the river, I have wonderful friends there, and the whole place makes my hippy heart and hipster tastes so happy! :) The huge bonus to this trip was that I was able to go to the Medical Teams International headquarters and meet Jamie, the volunteer coordinator who sent me to Haiti. I am happy to say, and not surprised, that she was just as darling in person as she was on the phone. Jamie and I had a number of marvelous phone calls, before my trip to Haiti, and I was very excited to share my Haiti stories with her. Most importantly, I was able to tell her that I considered my "First Date" with MTI to be a huge success and I thought we (MTI and I) should go steady. I also had the pleasure of seeing Beth, one of the wonderful women I went to Haiti with, who is a volunteer at MTI and on the board of HFH.  The absolute BEST part about my meeting with Jamie, is that I'm going back to H...

The housing situation, or lack there of, is still a major problem in Haiti.  By population, Haiti is the second largest Caribbean nation, with an estimated 10.7 million people, just under a million of whom live in the capital city, Port au Prince. After the earthquake, it was estimated that 1.5 million Haitians became homeless. On the drive from the airport to Terre Blanche, I saw homes in varying stages of development, assuming many of them were post earthquake wreckage. However, I learned that often homes are left that way due to a lack of funds. Once the money runs out, the construction ends. Some of the larger towns outside of Port au Prince have buildings reminiscent of the Creole Townhouses of New Orleans. Other homes were simple, ramshackle structures, made of metal sheets, wood, concrete block, or even cardboard. A number of organizations, like HFH, have helped locals build homes, that may house anywhere from 7 to 20 family members. Keep in mind, these simple homes do not h...

I don't remember when or where I first fell in love with street markets. There is something so fascinating about wandering down a street, plaza, or alley, looking through bins and baskets for the perfect whatever. I look for them everywhere I travel. I still remember the street market I found in Salisbury, England, almost 20 years ago. I had to drag myself away from a giant bucket of sleek, undulating black eels, for sale in a back alley of Chiangmai, Thailand. My favorite place to shop in Grenada was the farmer's market. The road from Port au Prince to Terre Blanche was peppered with street vendors and markets of all shapes and sizes. The majority of my photographs were taken from the front seat of a moving truck, which hopefully adds to the "flavor", and it was frustrating not to be able to stop and peruse. Enjoy these...

Coming home, after my trip to Terre Blanche, has been an odd transition for me. I spent a lot of time on my return flight wondering how I would feel when I got back, how I would explain the trip to other people, who would ask about the trip and who wouldn't. At our last wrap up meeting, Linda told us to prepare a "sound bite" answer to use when people asked how my trip was. She said some people would be fine with the sound bite, others would want to know more, but to be prepared for the people who didn't want details. She was right. I knew my family and closest friends would want to hear about it. They are my greatest supporters and the best cheer squad I could ever ask for. I'll be visiting my folks next week and we've been saving the details of the trip until we can talk about it in person. Today, I had the joy of having lunch with two wonderful women who truly wanted to know about my trip, what it was like, my experiences, and especially what it meant to me...