12 February 2010

On Thursday I left Haiti and crossed through no-mans land again. That place always amazed me. I was also amazed at the change that occurred in Haiti between Friday when I went in to Thursday when I left. The long lines at food distribution locations were gone. People were still picking up food but there were short lines and it was very orderly. People were clearing rubble, cleaning the streets, digging foundations and building more permanent structures. Large tracts of land have been cleared by the US Army and people were being given the materials to build temporary structures. The line at the US Embassy which we passed everyday was very short, just a few dozen people compared to a line that stretched down the street on Monday. Banks are open. US AID has a program called work for cash. They hire groups to clear streets and rubble for $5 cash per day, payable at the end of the day. There is heavy equipment around the city moving rubble. It would be nice if they fixed up some of the roads while the equipment is around.

I was disappointed that the one man road crew was not working yet when we drove by Thursday morning. I was ready to make his day.

One of the biggest tragedies of the quake could be what happens to the young men in the picture. They are all returned missionaries and were in school. Now the schools have collapsed and they are worried that they will not have the opportunity to finish their schooling. The one on my left JP gets married on March 1st.

Thursday after arriving in Santo Domingo I went to the Area Office and worked until almost six. Friday morning there were a few more things to do at the Area Office before running off to the airport. I was able to order take out rice and beans con pollo which I ate while waiting in the check-in line at the airport. I am on the last notch on my belt, if I don’t get a good meal soon I will look as bad as I did the first time I returned from the Dominican Republic.
Apparently there is a place on the blog for comments and questions. I will try to find that and answer any questions, other than that this is it. I hope it wasn’t too wordy or preachy. Monday I will go back to being an American Trucker.

PS. On the emigration forms I completed yesterday when entering the country it was acceptable to put American as my nationality. Why can’t I put “American” as my nationality on the census form? You should try it. You will find they don’t like it.