The Day After A Night Out

Last night was so much fun! We started at Montana's for drinks. This is was one of the most luxurious hotels in all of Haiti and where over 200 lost their life during the earthquake. Many Canadians perished here. It was very sad for the members of the team who knew The Montana before and saw what is left. The entire hotel is no longer standing but the pool, outside lounge and convention centre remains.

Mme Cheap

We moved on to Karmel, a dance bar in Petition-Ville (a more affluent part of Port-au-Prince). I had a great time and didn't get off the dance floor most of the night. I don't know how to describe the type of dancing we did, other than it's close, and, well. I'll just leave it at that. We met a table of NBC staffers covering the hurricane and talked about their experience in the country. I asked them what they thought about the Vancouver olympics and they stated that it was one of the best run olympics and that Vancouver sure knows how to party. We exchanged comments on how the Canadians beat the USA in both men and women's hockey.

We all woke up this morning feeling the after-effects of last night. We all seem to wake up by 6am without any alarm clocks, but after breakfast most of us were ready to go back to bed for a nap. It's going to be hard going back to my life and getting back on a routine. Lounging on our off days and napping in the afternoon is quite acceptable here and I'm going to miss this way of life. I got into the shower this morning and while trying to keep my mouth closed, I looked up and saw a little gecko hanging out in the shower with me. They are quite quick, so I haven't been able to take a picture of one yet.

A few of us took a walk off the property this morning and went around the corner to purchase some street art. We had 4 artisans that were invited onto the property to sell goods, so we got to do a little shopping on our own back door. I purchased a Veve. A Veve or Vévé  is a religious symbol commonly used in voodoo. It acts as a "beacon" for the loa (also spelled lwa) - a type of spirit, and will serve as a loa's representation during rituals.
Every Loa has his or her own unique veve, although regional differences have led to different veves for the same loa in some cases. Sacrifices and offerings are usually placed upon them, with food and drink being most commonly used in the West. It is covered in sequins and valued at several hundred dollars if you were to purchase it in an artisan shop. I paid 70 US dollars. We also met Elenor (aka "madame cheap") who also sold her wares and allowed me to take her picture when asked. She didn't like the first two I took so but she quite enjoyed the last photo which I will post. She gave me one of her bracelets to wear because she liked the picture I took.

It started to rain around 2pm and we are just waiting to go out to dinner tonight. The guesthouse was busy today. We had a full staff of ladies in the kitchen cooking and doing our laundry. Carlie and Karen are leaving for Cap-Haitian today and we won't see them until Sunday. Bernice, joined us 2 days ago and she has been working with Handicap International for the past 3 months and will now be doing some clinic work for HH.

I walked the entire property today and realized that we are on the back door of a shanty town and very poor part of Haiti. I decretely took a video to show the dicotomy between how we are living and the closeness of people living in tents. There is a cement wall surronding the property and literally on the other side, there is a tent village. So, while we're swimming in a pool and having people do our laundry and cook us food, there are people struggling to create a home of the few possessions they own only feet from us.

We went out for an amazing French restaurant in the mountains tonight. It is owned by Cyril's father. He also owns Tour Haiti and drives around the likes of Sean Penn and other celebrites donating time and money to Haiti. It had jazz music playing and I had a steak dinner for $15 US dollars. There were 8 of us at dinner and the bill came to $280 with taxes, tip and liquor included. The $20 I spent on a steak dinner would be close to what a Haitian would make as a month's salary. None of us remembered to pack a jacket and at the end of the night it had got so cold that you could see your breath in the air. Made me feel like I was at home.  When we arrived home, there was amazing music playing from the neighboring shanty town. I am looking forward to going to bed soon and falling asleep to the sound of Haitian music playing in the outdoor air.