Patrick's Thoughts, Musings, and Lessons from Haiti

1) While I knew that living in Haiti would transform me in a variety of ways, I have already been changed in one significant, but expected way. Personal hygiene. Yes, my daily habits pertaining to bodily cleanliness seem to have improved by living in Port Au Prince. Due to an extremely early encounter with diarrhea, and fear of more such encounters, I have now gone five straight days without biting my fingernails. In addition, I have also washed my hands every time after using the restroom, which, between you and me, was not always the case in the U.S.

2) Without question America has a tremendous influence on the rest of the world. It seems that many of our brothers and sisters around the globe are paying pretty close attention to what is going on in the land of the brave. Various little things that go on in the States are often brought to light in other parts of the world. For obvious reasons, particular attention is paid to the political climate of our country. Allow me to cite an example; on Sunday while Kim and I were listening to a conversation in Kreyol between Pastor Patrick and Pastor Guy I found myself not understanding a word that was being said until Pastor Patrick uttered the words, "Joe the plumber." Are you kidding me? My friends I am afraid I am not. My friends Joe the plumber is has spread into world-wide political discussion. My friends I think this is suspect.

3) In Haiti there are countless trucks called 'tap-taps' that serve as the primary mode of public transportation. These 'tap-taps' consist of a driver, a man who collects money from passengers and then 'taps' on the truck when someone needs to stop, as well as anywhere between 6 - 30 people crammed in the back of the truck bed. The 'tap-taps' tend to be painted in bright colors with random artwork on them. There may be a picture of Bob Marley for example with the words, "One Love" or an assortment of rainbow colored peace signs. However, I would say that the majority of 'tap-taps' contain biblical passages or proclamations about how great Jesus is. Today I saw one with bright red letters that spelled out, "Mother Mary is great" with a picture of three cocker spaniels below it. I think this is a lesson for all of us. 

4) While sitting at the gas station today for 5 hours waiting for a team of Haitian mechanics to remove diesel from Pastor Patrick's unleaded only car, I inevitably needed to use the restroom. One of the interesting things about living in Haiti is that there are no public restrooms. So I did what one does when they need to go pee-pee in Haiti, I held it until I could no longer do so, then I peed, right in the open for everyone to see. No one laughed, pointed, or said a word. And I would like to tell you that I found the whole experience very liberating. I cannot say enough about how wonderful I think it is to be able to go when one needs to go, regardless of where they are located. In fact, it begs the question of how free a country can truly be if it does not allow public urination? 

5) The streets of Port Au Prince are absurdly chaotic. The roads are filled with people, cars, 'tap-taps', semis, UN tanks, goats, stray dogs, large piles of garbage, and pot holes the size of small swimming pools. What makes the driving scene in the capital even more intense is that there are essentially no rules when it comes to driving. One should honk their horn often, sometimes without cause, but besides this, anything goes. Despite this anarchistic approach to driving, Haitians are remarkably calm and polite. Today I pulled into a four-way intersection and completely cut off a guy who was further along in the intersection than me and certainly should have had the right of way. Instead of cursing at me or raising that one finger that only Satan could love, he merely smiled and waved me through. That's good stuff.

6) Finally, I would like to end with what I hope will be a reoccurring segment in "Thoughts, Musings, and Lessons from Haiti." I will call this section "Random T-Shirt of the Day." As many of you probably know, Haiti receives an assortment of throw away clothes from all over the First-World. There are clothes that didn't sell well and some that never made the shelves. For example, today I saw a 1995 Cleveland Indians World Series Champions shirt that read, "The Real Tribe Won." Avid sports fans know, of course, that the Indians were defeated that year by the Atlanta Braves. Hence, the t-shirts made up in case Cleveland won the World Series never made the shelves and some were apparently shipped to Haiti. Here's to what could have been Cleveland. That is today's random t-shirt of the day.

7) Since some people will certainly think that I am poking fun at inappropriate things I would like to note that living in Haiti is extremely intense. Even after one week I have found that humor is a necessity and that if Kim and I lose it we are in big trouble. That being said, I think it is important that we acknowledge how ridiculous it is that people die of things like diarrhea in Haiti, how unfortunate it is that American politicians spend more time talking about Joe the Plumber than they do about the dire poverty that pervades the world, how absurd it is that the people of Haiti must be packed like sardines in the bed of a truck in 90 degree heat to get around town, how sad it is that there is virtually no sewage system in Haiti, which increases the amount of disease, how pathetic it is that Americans get so upset over something silly like being cut off while driving, and finally how unjust it is that most of us spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year on clothing in the States, while Haitians are reduced to wearing our throwaways. On a brighter note I want to end with today's quote of the day, which was recommended by Caitlin Trussell and comes from 1 John 4:12, "No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God's love lives in us, and God's love is made complete in us." I'd like to think so. Amen.