Well, I have not set foot in new country in two years. Other friends and family members have been to fun and exciting places like Iraq, Bahrain, Italy, etc... but I'm not marking any new territory!
Monday, I fly to Haiti - Country #18!
I will be meeting up with Hands On Disaster Response in the town of Gonaives to work for two weeks where hurricane season has not been kind. I volunteered with Hands On, or HODR, last year in Pisco, Peru and highly recommend them as a charity or volunteer opportunity. Who knows what I will be doing, but when my boss asked me what I will be for Halloween, I told him "a mud-shoveler." He didn't get it.
One more night of work (here), and I'm getting everything together. I will be back, God willing, to the chagrin of most of my friends, on Election Day. If not, I will need one liberal Virginian to volunteer to stay home. Any takers?
In honor of Cristobal Colon, who sailed the ocean blue in 1492... and got lost nowhere near his destination... and "discovered" a new world already strangely inhabited by my ancestors, I head south to Hispaniola. If I, too, get lost along the way, keep an eye out for postcards with scents of Cuban tobacco. Or wouldn't it be funny if I ended up in the spice islands? If so, I plan to name the people I find "Haitians" anyway.
Au revoir!
2 comments:
oh this makes me so excited!
i know a couple that are trying to adopt two kids from haiti and things there are already difficult, not including how much worse the dumb weather made things. i hope it's a productive trip for you. i look forward to photos and stories.
ps - it's all about the absentee ballot my friend! :)
Be sure to bring high rubber boots and xtra gloves. A pair of safety glasses would be good-- there's all kinds of crap blowing in the air here.
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