Made it to Haiti

I left Homer on Thursday.  Got a  few more things in Anchorage to take with me.  Left Anchorage on Friday evening at 5:30 pm.  I was suppose to fly to Seattle, then JFK  in NY, then straight to Port au Prince, Haiti.  Weather shut down JFK for several hours.  A very nice man with Delta Airlines in Seattle helped me get to Haiti by an alternate route.  I had to RUN to get on the plane for Detroit, then flew to Atlanta, THEN Port au Prince.  I was not surprised at all that my bags did not also take the same route.  Unsure which route they are on.  Hopefully they are on there way here.

Ronel, one of the drivers for Midwives for Haiti, was at the airport to meet me.  We waited for Dr. Alice Hirata, Dr. Steve Eads, and Nadene Brunk, CNM, who were at meeting.  They arrived earlier the same day from Richmond, Virginia.  Nadene is one of the founders of Midwives for Haiti. After we were all together, we began the three our drive upcountry to Hinche.  By that time I'd been up for 33 hours.  It was fascinating to observe the people, towns and country side, but I have to admit that I did nod off a couple of times on the drive.

Everyone here at the house is VERY nice.  Carrie Wortham is the incountry coordinator.  She's a sweet girl.  She is also from Virginia and has been working here since she graduated from college last spring.  She gave me a tour of the house:  classroom, dining area, kitchen, bedrooms, upstairs office, etc.  It's really a compound.  They have security guys that also help with maintenance projects around the house and property.  They have a bunk room in the building where the supplies are stored.  There are also a couple of women that prepare lunch and dinner each day.  I believe they also do housework.

This morning Carrie, Alice and Sarah (CPM from Portland, OR) took the pink jeep to a church service at the orphanage.  That was so much fun!  There was a lot of upbeat singing.  And we had song sheets so we could sing along also.  We then went to the market.  I bought some flip flops!  Mine are in my suitcase and it's really difficult to wear shoes and socks in this heat.  It's also difficult to wear jeans in this heat.  Thankfully Nadene loaned me one of her skirts.  We also toured the hospital.  Sorry, I took photos with my camera and not my phone, so you'll have to wait to see them after I get home and can upload to my computer.

Well, lunch is ready, so I have to sign off for now = -)

After lunch, we called the airport and my bags have arrived!  Now to arrange for someone to go the 3 hours there, pick them up and drive the three hours back here!

I will be precepting student midwives at the hospital tomorrow.  That should be interesting!  Especially since the only orientation I'll be getting is here is the hospital, this is your interpreter, here are the students and here are the patients!