30 Jan 2010

Finished up late last night and was expecting to be up around 3:00 am to go to Haiti, but when the plane which was waiting in Miami for clearance to land in the Dominican got clearance they found a hydraulic leak, so I was able to sleep in. I had just gotten back to my room from excercising (yes, got to stay in shape) when the phone calls started. There are some items in the Dominican that we are adding to the air shipment which is now scheduled for tomorrow. So my plans of having a break today are gone, oh well, it is too hot to enjoy very much. If it was colder, say around 32 degrees then that would be good weather for visiting the beach.

Anyway a picture of the Elders and Sisters and Kahow's son. They moved half a 45' container of 125 lb bags of rice from one container to another. The missionaries are great, but a forklift and dock would be good also. Later that day a smaller truck came with 125 lb bags of beans, but we had no elders. The locals wouldn't let me carry the bags on my head like they were because the said my neck wouldn't hold up.

Now a few road rules. First there is not a problem with texting and driving here and little problem with talking on the cell phone and driving for one simple reason, survival. If you don't focus on the road it will eat you up.

Rule: fast moving traffic has the right of way, in slow moving traffic do what you need to do, it will all work out.

Rule: Use the space available, don't be wasteful. Notice the bus on the wrong side of the road. A cop was directing traffic at the intersection so he just waved the bus into the right side of the road. No harm done.

Rule: Don't commit to the right lane, the publicos and buses will stop anywhere as well as people will just park. Correllary: Don't commit to the left lane that gets blocked by cars turning left, keep your options open (besides a bus may be on the wrong side of the road.

Finally a comment about telephone. They are sooo yesterday. There was such a demand and it is so difficult to keep it all straight. Just get a cell phone.

The pace of life here is great, everybody has someplace to go but the journey is part of the adventure.

29 January 2010

I completed some negotiations today for the purchase of a few items. Once I had approval I gave the information to the Dominican Brothers here who "reviewed" the cost with the vendors and were able to secure a little better price. I wonder if it would help if I had them do that for me in the states.

A plane load of supplies was supposed to arrive this afternoon, we would then take it to the border and cross first thing in the morning, make the delivery then get out before dark. The plane has not arrived yet but there is still a possibility.

We have been loading another truck of supplies here at the area office. All by hand. Do you have any idea how many 125 lb bags of rice and beans fit into a 45' container. The missionaries from the MTC came over in the morning and spent a little over an hour. Kahow's son was with the group. He said to tell his mother hello. He looked good. I have pictures, but the attachement is in the hotel room, so maybe tomorrow if I don't go to Haiti.

This afternoon we have been loading with the local young men. It was much easier with all the missionaries. Many hands is better. Even better would be a forklift.

Last night for dinner I had a green salad. I noticed a stringy thing that looked like a thin slice of bad meat. The waiter said it was egg plant. I had never seen stringy gray eggplant, but whatever, I ate it and it wasn't bad. Today I ate my rice, beans and chicken later in the afternoon so I shouldn't need to eat tonight.

If I don't post tomorrow it is because I am returning from Haiti.

28 Jan 2009

Today was busy. Spent the morning looking at trucks to send to Haiti then spent the afternoon on inventory and supplies for a shipment tomorrow.

Interesting event: Two Americans stopped by. One has a house near San Pedro that he has opened up to Haitian that are recovering from injuries, but cannot stay in the hospitals here because of capacity issues. They are funding the operation out of their own pockets so they asked if we could help. We loaded up two vans with supplies such as hygiene kits, newborn kits and first aid kits. They had been to Haiti today with a group of doctors that had flown into the Dominican Republic for a day trip to Haiti then a vacation in the Dominican. This gentleman that took them was not impressed with the sightseeing doctors. He is going to e-mail me some pictures tonight, so there will be something to see tomorrow. Thanks to all those who have donated time and materials for the hygiene kits.

A note about driving in the Dominican Republic. Three lanes means up to four cars abreat unless at a traffic light then it can be up to 6 depending on the size of the vehicles and the condition of the shoulder. The best roads do not have lines painted--fewer restrictions on where the vehicles have to be in relation to one another.

Also, I took a picture of a three car left turn. I messed up today, I was in the lead or upstream position and was not aggressive enough at cutting off the on-coming traffic.

Finally, for all you cold weather folk, I took a picture of the Caribean Sea (ok, that is the second word that I tried to use but was unsure of the spelling, if Mrs. Stewart the english teacher wasn't reading this I wouldn 't worry about it--where is the spell check?). Sorry, there just happens to be a tractor in the picture.

Sitting in the airport late at night is not an exciting experience. The few people that are not trying to sleep are huddled around outlets on the outside wall with their electronic devices plugged in like some sort of life line. Others try to sleep but all the seats have arm rests, which are necessary during the day when the airport is crowed so that strangers can sit next to each other without making eye contact or conversing. Late night fliers end up trying to sleep sitting down draped over the divide like a rag doll or laying on the hard floor.

My three week supply of necessities weighed 65 pounds, not including my back pack and carry on. You don’t want to know what an overweight bag costs to fly international. I Should have checked two bags and broke up the weight. I thought I was doing good to get everything into these bags. They will be lighter on the return I hope.

I could go on but reading the babblings of somebody stuck in an airport at 12:30 am is definitely not going to be at the top of anybodies list. Good night.

First Post--Monday 25 Jan

Good news and bad news, first the good, the mission is getting clearer. I attended a meeting with the first medical team to return from Haiti. Their report was sobering but helped to clarify our direction. The bad news is that it was suggested to hold our cards close to avoid any undo attention.

The real purpose is to get the blog up and let everyone know how to find it. Kimberly will be monitoring this so I will try not to be too dull.

I want to thank my publisher, Lauren Roberts, who made all the connections (and I just noticed used that title "Steve-o", but oh-well what can I do?)

TAFN (anybody who figures that out gets a price).