I had one of those moments again today... A great moment, when i thought "If you'd've asked me six months ago what i'd be doing today...There's NO way i could have imagined this moment; Sitting on a tin roof, hamming roofing nail at twilight surrounded by complete strangers in a extremely poor foreign land." I'm telling you, the thought would not have occurred.
So...It was a really hard day, all day. We got up at 5:15 this morning and got to work extra early to avoid the heat. We hit it hard all day. Just before lunch, i took a trip to the airport and picked up another member of the medical team. Had a great time talking to her on our way to Coconut Villa and then to Cite Soleil. I came back to the job and picked the guys up and we all went to lunch at a great authentic local restaurant. Cold Cokes, the whole deal! After the amazing food, we fought traffic to get back to the job site, we stopped by the Eko Depot hardware to get a few things. Then it was nonstop work; cutting joists and hammering out the tin roof. Hours went by and everyone was extremely beat... and as the sun started setting we were really anxious to finish the last 6 pieces of roof with our blistered hands and stiff muscles and get home to a haitian home cooked feast. Tension was rising and i was at the edge of frustration...Then all the sudden i thought of a good friend of mine, that i admire deeply. Some one who has surprised me again and again with his positive attitude (especially when it comes to tough conditions), and how that attitude can change everything. I was inspired in that moment as i laid out on my back and spread my weight across the thin metal roof in a brief pause to my hard work. I though for a moment... I couldn't help but smile...
"What the hell am i doing? ... This is so awesome... I am living this right now... I am here and my mind is nowhere else. I am on a roof in Haiti on March 30 sweating profusely, hammering, and just existing...This is incredible and simple at the same time."
At the dinner table, the conversation was so hilarious. Everything seemed to be cracking me up. Dave was explaining why the chickens were covered in concrete today and all the events leading up to that. The people who had not been over to that job sight just didn't understand why the chickens were even near us while we worked on the ladies how. "The living room is chickens!" he exclaimed in a partially concerned serious tone. This group has such a fresh sense of humor, that's mostly accidental. I love it.
I almost forgot...I had almost no sleep last night because the gatekeeper came to the roof last night at 2:00am and was concerned about the generator running all night. I could have sworn that i had cleared it up before bedtime, with the assistance of a translator, that it was going to run all night and it would be fine. But NO, he shows up at my bedside, two a.m., with a translator because he's still worried....omg....i about freaked out. But he's such a nice person that i can't be mean to him. He has got a firm foundation on his language barrier.
Dear Mom and Dad, Please send a new gatekeeper, and make sure he likes Tuna. (Just kidding, I love the gatekeeper...just not at 2am).
So Stephen and I were talking tonight...we pretty much agree that we never want to see the Haitian White House again...or any of the other earthquake hot spots...we've taken every team so far and we are done. It's so funny...I mean, we live here, c'mon. So when we pick up new people, the moment they step out of the terminal, and especially the first tap tap ride, they are snapping pictures left and right, trying to get it all in. And i see it every week with the new teams. We were saying that we should just be like:
"Save it...there's at least 120 people (that we personally know of) with the same exact series of photos that you just took..."
And we've become a little cynical about it too:
"Every picture in Haiti looks the same...set you camera on timer and just throw it... and that picture will have these two things in it...a naked haitian and a cinderblock...guaranteed! I'll bet you a hundred gudes."
Anyways, i've got to be up in 5 hours for another long day like today. Night!
So...It was a really hard day, all day. We got up at 5:15 this morning and got to work extra early to avoid the heat. We hit it hard all day. Just before lunch, i took a trip to the airport and picked up another member of the medical team. Had a great time talking to her on our way to Coconut Villa and then to Cite Soleil. I came back to the job and picked the guys up and we all went to lunch at a great authentic local restaurant. Cold Cokes, the whole deal! After the amazing food, we fought traffic to get back to the job site, we stopped by the Eko Depot hardware to get a few things. Then it was nonstop work; cutting joists and hammering out the tin roof. Hours went by and everyone was extremely beat... and as the sun started setting we were really anxious to finish the last 6 pieces of roof with our blistered hands and stiff muscles and get home to a haitian home cooked feast. Tension was rising and i was at the edge of frustration...Then all the sudden i thought of a good friend of mine, that i admire deeply. Some one who has surprised me again and again with his positive attitude (especially when it comes to tough conditions), and how that attitude can change everything. I was inspired in that moment as i laid out on my back and spread my weight across the thin metal roof in a brief pause to my hard work. I though for a moment... I couldn't help but smile...
"What the hell am i doing? ... This is so awesome... I am living this right now... I am here and my mind is nowhere else. I am on a roof in Haiti on March 30 sweating profusely, hammering, and just existing...This is incredible and simple at the same time."
At the dinner table, the conversation was so hilarious. Everything seemed to be cracking me up. Dave was explaining why the chickens were covered in concrete today and all the events leading up to that. The people who had not been over to that job sight just didn't understand why the chickens were even near us while we worked on the ladies how. "The living room is chickens!" he exclaimed in a partially concerned serious tone. This group has such a fresh sense of humor, that's mostly accidental. I love it.
I almost forgot...I had almost no sleep last night because the gatekeeper came to the roof last night at 2:00am and was concerned about the generator running all night. I could have sworn that i had cleared it up before bedtime, with the assistance of a translator, that it was going to run all night and it would be fine. But NO, he shows up at my bedside, two a.m., with a translator because he's still worried....omg....i about freaked out. But he's such a nice person that i can't be mean to him. He has got a firm foundation on his language barrier.
Dear Mom and Dad, Please send a new gatekeeper, and make sure he likes Tuna. (Just kidding, I love the gatekeeper...just not at 2am).
So Stephen and I were talking tonight...we pretty much agree that we never want to see the Haitian White House again...or any of the other earthquake hot spots...we've taken every team so far and we are done. It's so funny...I mean, we live here, c'mon. So when we pick up new people, the moment they step out of the terminal, and especially the first tap tap ride, they are snapping pictures left and right, trying to get it all in. And i see it every week with the new teams. We were saying that we should just be like:
"Save it...there's at least 120 people (that we personally know of) with the same exact series of photos that you just took..."
And we've become a little cynical about it too:
"Every picture in Haiti looks the same...set you camera on timer and just throw it... and that picture will have these two things in it...a naked haitian and a cinderblock...guaranteed! I'll bet you a hundred gudes."
Anyways, i've got to be up in 5 hours for another long day like today. Night!
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