Le deuxieme semaine

First let me just say that Haiti is nothing short of what I expected. Many people are asking me if it is a shock or cultural surprise and I say "no." I know we all hated Area Studies (if any of our fellow classmates/employees that are heading here in a few months are reading) but it was helpful.  It is a beautiful country but very sad and dirty. Regardless, we are here and appreciating and embracing the few pro's of the country...

For any of you who know my arm strength or should I say my arm limitations, this water pump is doing wonders for me! This should be on an infomercial for toned arms!

Food

Cooking at the moment is very difficult.  There aren't a lot of fresh herbs or food for that matter.  No, we do not shop at local markets because they are: 1. slightly dangerous and 2. not the most sanitary.  There is a decent grocery store in Petionville called the Caribbean Market.  I was dumbfounded when we went inside; it is like a normal grocery store in the US! They even have my favorite brand of Greek Yogurt and wonton wrappers (which were hard to find in the US!) however, it is really iffy what quality of food you get.  There are even Costco brand items but we can't buy everything we want...we learned this the hard way with some cheese (thankfully we didn't get sick from it) but you can tell when something appears to be frozen/unfrozen etc.  I looked at frozen shrimp and they were extremely freezer burnt and frozen pizza looks like it has been tossed around a lot...If there is an item you really want you have to just take a chance and then when you open it at home smell it and look at it...I guess we can't be picky but we also do not want to get sick.  Most of the food is imported from the US and some is driven from Santo Domingo, DR...but it sits in customs for a very long time...we are talking weeks.  Also the cost of groceries here is insane!  A bag of 21-30 frozen shrimp that looked sketchy were 50 US Dollars...nonetheless I was surprised at the variety of products at the store.  Items like beans, cornmeal, rice etc. are very prevalent and okay to buy because we cook them thoroughly.  So keep an eye out for a super delicious and super wallet friendly recipe that I made...also...I have to light the stove every time with a match AND it doesn't work when it is raining b/c there is a draft!   I'm scared of the oven...no baked recipes for a while...don't want to tamper with that.

We use the water from the water pump to brush our teeth and to cook with...we keep a Dasani bottle at the sink so we don't forget (we are still turning the faucet on out of habit).  We can cook with the faucet water but only if you boil it...I'd rather air on the side of caution and use the water pump.  All vegetables and fruit here you must remove the outer layer, boil, or wash it in bleach (which I find to be comparable to the nasty sanitation here)...so I remove the peels and anything sketchy looking.  The mango's and avocado's here are phenomenal!!! Best mango's we've ever had! I'm currently experimenting with the most efficient/least messy way to butcher a mango...let me know if you have any pointers.  The avocado's are the huge big green ones...not the little ones we find frequently in the US.  It is definitely more difficult for us non-meat eaters here, however there are a handful of nice restaurants that serve seafood.  And....drum roll please!!! There is a sushi restaurant that flies fresh fish in from Ft. Lauderdale and we didn't get sick from it!!  It is on the UN base, so relatively safe as well!  Everyone keeps telling us we will get food poisoning a handful of times...even from food at the Embassy...it all has to do with food preparation and thankfully we have both been okay so far!  I miss salads mostly because lettuce and spinach are the hardest to clean and prepare.  It is so funny to me that in the United States I avoided packaged food and we tried to buy local produce...and now it is a complete 180!...it is safer to buy packaged foods and to not buy locally! So bizarre...

Tap-Tap from behind

Driving

Driving here is absolutely insane.  The roads are so little with huge potholes everywhere.  There is a reason I haven't seen a single CAR here...you definitely need a 4-wheel drive.  And I may need some packages including Dramamine folks, WHEW!  It takes roughly 30 minutes to go 3 miles..and that is being generous.  We were placed in housing very far away (once we move out of temporary housing)...about an hour or more commute both ways...and there is a shortcut.  The shortcut is crazy.  I have never been off-roading but it seems pretty similar.  The culture here is just so laid-back...if someone has a flat tire they will stop in the middle of the road and fix it...nobody cares (except Americans). They don't think to put it in 'neutral' and push it to the side...They will put up a "haitian roadflare" which is a pile of weeds propped up with rocks to warn people...and then the cars will just drive in the opposite lane or on the shoulder (not that there is a lane or a shoulder, just trying to explain to you all)...There is no point in yelling at the Haitians ridiculous driving and lack of thought because you won't change them! This is all they know and it is a waste of your anger and ultimately you will end up the only disgruntled person.  Road rage is inevitable here but it is better to just remain calm and accept the fact that it will take you forever to get anywhere.  C'est la vie ici!

We visited a few places last weekend (refer to my pictures on Facebook).  One was the Karibe Hotel that is very close to our permanent house.  It was awesome!   It is a complete reality check when you are at these hotels and restaurants and then the second you leave you need to be 110% aware of your surroundings and people in the street.  We then went to the Montana which has phenomenal views.  From there we went to a Lebanese restaurant called Magdoo's.  We didn't eat much there but the atmosphere is great!  Parking was interesting...When you park your car kids run over and say "I watch your car" and then you must pay them.  These kids started fighting with each other about what spot was who's etc...We just moved spots.  Then you have to give them a little tip before you go in the restaurant and a tip afterwards for them to watch/for watching your vehicle.  Little weird but we will get accustomed.  You have to tip evvvvveryone here.  They are all super money hungry and I understand why but...just something else we need to get used to.  The other day we walked out (within the temporary compound) and some random worker here was washing our vehicle...We didn't ask him to do it and we weren't going to start that trend to turn into an everyday thing so we just got in the car and went on our way without tipping.   Reminder that we lived in NYC for two years and I saw my fair share of men peeing on the streets but omg! Never have I seen sooooo many people openly going to the bathroom.  Another thing we need to get used to is people swarming the car and coming up to the windows to sell us things...

Temporary Housing

Some of you might have seen my pictures about how our apartment floods. Haha! Oh well, we will have to deal.  Also skype doesn't work in the rain - just an FYI.  Temporary housing isn't too bad besides the flooding and caged animal feeling you get - haha.  I can't complain...there is a pool and housekeeping services and it is sad that I'm complaining about having a cleaning lady but she comes EVERYDAY! And okay, if it is so that she has a job, unlike 80% of the population of Haitians that are unemployed, that is wonderful and I support her, but she literally comes a few times periodically throughout the day.  First she comes to do the dishes, grabs our sheets and towels and leaves.  She goes to wash and dry the sheets and towels and then she comes again an hour later to put the dishes away, make the bed, hang the towels, clean the bathroom, mops the floor and dusts.  It is ridiculous.  In the long run I don't mind because it is supporting her and her family and I get to practice my French with her a little bit so that is fun!

So after about a year of having Mardigan he finally has learned to "Drop it!" and we can successfully play fetch.  He also has been nothing short of his usual self and SUPER PICKY about where to go to the bathroom.  In NYC and DC he would pee on evvveryyyythingg, every tree, every building corner, every telephone pole etc but here! Ohhh no, he holds it in until he finds the perfect coconut tree and then we stand there for about 3 minutes as he gets it all out in on spot - Haha.  He is still loving the Gecko's...some of you might have seen this on Facebook but for those of you who have not...Geckos release their tails when they feel threatened.  The tail continues to move and is aware of a predator; it continues to evade predators....DISGUSTING!  Jonathan emailed me with "Babe it is just a tail, step on it!" Haha. Thank you Mardigan for my first encounter with a Gecko Tail.

I cannot wait to move into our house!  We heard it is pretty big and that Mardigan will have a nice yard with a patio!  Our house will have three security guards that rotate 8 hour shifts.  And good thing for us (you all know Mardigan is an escape artist and he runs so fast it is impossible to catch him), there is currently a Jack Russel at the house who is also an escape artist and the guards right now are conditioned to picking him up every time they open the gate to let the owners/visitors cars into the house compound. Hopefully we will have the same guards. Regardless I will be telling them about him and his escaping anyhow.  We are interviewing a potential housekeeper/tire Mardigan out lady tomorrow.  I have not met anyone here who doesn't have a housekeeper here; some people even have live-ins. It is almost rude to not hire someone ; it is a great job for them. 

Jonathan is enjoying work so far and his office has some great people in it so it is a good atmosphere.  It has taken a while for IT to set up his computer accounts etc.  That is all I can think of for now...there hasn't been any progression on the job hunt for me as a lot of people are rotating our in July...keep your fingers crossed! I am working in a temporary position for a few weeks but it wont be my permanent job here...

Please comment with any remarks or unanswered questions!

Ps.  Got a local cell phone today (for emergency purposes only) and it was 20 US dollars including the minutes.  The company is Voila! and the store was in a trailer guarded by a man with a shotgun (as are most stores here).