Howdy, folks. I realize that I didn't update my blog as much as I had intended to do this summer and for that I apologize (because I know everyone really cares). Regardless, this is the final post as I just left Haiti for the last time.
To be completely honest, it wasn't a thrilling summer. It was great to be with my parents again, to see our neighbors and friends again, to be in a place that had become familiar to me. But I have to say I didn't do much. I started working right after I arrived, so I didn't have much time to go places or do things that I didn't do last year.
I did get to do a couple things that were interesting, two being in the last two weeks before my departure. Part of the job of ACS is to deal with the American citizens who have died abroad. A few weeks ago I helped sort through the belongings of a deceased American, which is as morbid and interesting as it sounds. My colleague and I were both thinking the same things: what if this was me? What kind of stuff would people find in my suitcase? It just goes to show that you never know when you're going to go, you never know what you'll have with you. As I said: tragic and thought provoking but also very interesting.
On my last day of work (Monday), I went on what's called an outreach visit. Three of us drove down to Jacmel, which is on the southern coast. If you look at Haiti, it's shaped kind of like two claws opening to the left. Jacmel is on the bottom of the lower 'claw'. We left the embassy around 730 am and drove through downtown Port-au-Prince and other suburbs. It was crowded, noisy. The roads were relatively evenly paved and reasonably maintained, until we started driving in the mountains. I didn't get sick, but I sure thought I was going to be. The roads were horribly bumpy and windy, and we were driving on them for almost two hours. Furthermore, we couldn't roll the windows down for safety reasons, so there was no chance of fresh air. I was so nauseated by the car ride that I didn't feel back to normal until the next day (of course, when you add in the stress of packing plus saying goodbye plus airplane travel, that didn't help either).
The visit itself was really interesting though. We visited with other Americans who live in Haiti for extended periods of time and gave them information about the Embassy and ACS itself. Really the car ride was worth getting to meet other Americans who were down there for something other than government work. Sometimes I forget that not all Americans are either missionaries or Embassy folk. There are a ton of other organizations that do an incredible range of things.
All in all, it was a successful visit. The view from the mountains was amazing, even though I couldn't look out the window for very long before my stomach would twist and turn. The air was so much clearer up there, especially given that the air in downtown Port-au-Prince is practically opaque with dust. Really anything is clearer than the air in PaP.
That night a few of us went out for sushi at a local restaurant as a sort of farewell dinner and I also went over to the Embassy the next day to say goodbye. I'm not good at them (I can't imagine one person who likes or is good at saying goodbye) but it had to be done. It made me genuinely sad to say farewell to everyone, particularly people who have been there since the very beginning with us. I had some incredible role models in our friends and neighbors, and that's not something easily forgotten.
As for Haiti, I don't think I will miss it very much. I had some great experiences, some not-so-great experiences, and a lot that were just in between. I will not miss the heat. I will not miss the smell of burning garbage or the dust that clings. I will not miss the mosquitos or the frustration of doing something that should be simple, like going to the grocery store. However, I will miss the tight-knit community I leave behind. I will miss the sense of freedom within the restrictions. I will miss the beautiful beaches and the mangoes and the friendliness of everyone I met.
I've said it before and I'll say it again a hundred times: taking a year off was the best decision of my life, and the fact that I got to continue that to a certain extent is really quite incredible. A lot of people my age have never left their home state, let alone the US. A lot of people will never experience the things I've been lucky enough to see or do.
So overall it's been a good ride. Thanks for sticking with me. This is THE VERY LAST POST so you won't be hearing from me again, at least not on this particular blog. If I go anywhere else I'll start a new one because honestly I don't think I could top the title of 'It's Always Sunny in Port-au-Prince'. It takes too much work to be funny.
Anyway. It's been real and it's been great and it's been really great. Cheers.
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