Haiti: my first impressions

Okay even though it's been a few months since I went to Haiti, I'm finally ready to share about my experiences now. (I'm kind of a bad blogger...ha)

Haiti---- 
A republic in the West Indies on the western part of the island of Hispaniola; achieved independence from France in 1804; the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.


--- Because I had traveled to a few other countries in my life I had created a picture in my mind of what I thought Haiti would be like based on those countries and based on what I had heard previously about Haiti.  There were definitely some similarities, however I was mostly shocked on how my imagination had failed me. It's hard to explain sometimes, I knew that it was a poor nation and had just been devastated by an earthquake so I was expecting some tough stuff, I thought I'd be prepared...but I honestly think that the nation we live in and the crazy spoiled life I have kind of blurs things.
      In every country I have visited, I had the chance to see an area that was struggling...with houses made out of palm leaves and card board, families making less than $2 a day and so many necessities (ie. health care, education, water) out of reach. I visit these areas of extreme poverty for a few days and return to the areas that have developed a little more...many of these developed areas are still struggling and by many American standards lack so much but they visibly have more than the extreme places I mentioned. Okay, so that's what I guess I was expecting in Haiti. That yes, there were going to be some of those places but you could eventually drive out of it and see something different. Now I'm not saying Haiti doesn't have this...every country has some rich people, poor and those in between but by what I first saw I was shocked by the magnitude of people living in that extreme poverty which I had only seen in a few places in the other countries.

A river/stream where people washed clothes, bathed, got drinking water from.

You see those two boards over the hole? That's a toilet!

the soccer field.

Now another thing that I hadn't totally expected was the positive attitude so many of the people here had. I guess I've met these kind of people before...in the other countries... but it never ceases to amaze me. It always is an eye opener in the way I view things in my every day life.  ..it makes me smile and feel like crying all at the same time. How beautiful to see people shine despite their circumstances?  Kids not complaining when they have to play soccer with a basketball in a field full of trash. Churches jubilant in their praise towards God while jam-packed in a hot, un-air-conditioned room. Families offering what they have to you when they might not have it. People who work allllll day just to come out with maybe $2. Or kids that mention that they've only had one meal the entire day and usually go to bed hungry but never stop smiling or playing with you.
All these situations and struggles really are incredibly sad and no human should have to go through them, it's not fair that many of us are able to eat until we feel sick, throw money away on frivolous things, and not think twice about clean water, getting health care or even on who will pick up our trash. There is SO much that we need to be doing...but I guess I'll write about that in a different blog.
Back to the Haitians....after the earthquake I remember watching a show late at night, there was this guy talking about all the bad things that had happened in the last day to him. I remember this because he had a strength in the way he talked...he said something like...there are times I feel like giving up, us Haitians have been through so much, but then I realize that we are fighters and can make it through anything. I remember being awed by his attitude and realizing how much we...I could benefit from having that same kind of view. I tried to imagine myself in a similar situation and couldn't. It's really amazing to think of the power God has given people to make it through things you'd never thought possible.
Haiti had lots of people like that guy on the show. They were making it despite all of the obvious drawbacks, they were not giving up and they were full of hope. Haiti is a beautiful country with some beautiful people and I'm so blessed that I even got the chance to go. I can't wait to go back...and I can't wait to share more stories of my time there! :) For now I hope to have a Haitian kind of attitude in my everyday life!!