A wrap up of last night: my immigration client didn’t show up, but I guess that was more of a communication error (ahem, Reuben), rather than being stood up. I guess he came by yesterday and told someone (ahem, Reuben) that he wasn’t going to be able to make it last night, and that he would come tonight at 8. We shall see.
Joe’s, of course, is never a lost cause though. So although my main purpose for being there didn’t quite work out, we still had a good time. Brianne, Ian and I headed over there and we pulled a table out to the open area so we could get a little bit more of a breeze, since it was pretty hot last night. My UN buddies (as I will know call them) showed up at Joe’s, along with about 20 other UN workers, so that was very interesting. Joe also tried making pizza, to see if it’s feasible to make it on a large scale and regular basis, and sell that along with drinks. I’m sure he’ll figure it out, since he’ll make a ton of money from all us homesick foreigners.
It was great to see my UN buddies again and catch up on the last couple days, as well as talk about the general situation in Haiti, and the Haitian people’s culture and approach to things. I had also talked to them about heading over there today to check out their work, but it turns out one of their drivers had a pretty serious accident last night, so I don’t think now is the best time to really bother him with my dorky aspirations.
As for today, the mayor’s office was pretty cool. We met in our office first, where I got a run down of how things go, and a chance to read the report that the team has been working on the last couple of weeks. It basically consists of all the information they have gathered from interviewing all the city officials, from what their job description is, what they do, how they do it, how do they keep their files, what could help improve efficiency, etc. It was actually pretty cool to read through and get an idea of how the government in Leogane-kind of-works. We did get done a little early though, so I was able to get some reading time before lunch, which was awesome.
Since things fell through with my trip to the UN, I joined my usual rubble sight, and had a great afternoon full of hard labor. Brianne and I ran into a little trouble in our corner of the house because the floor level was uneven, which made it really frustrating when you’re trying to pick up shovels full of rubble. I really, really like the site that I work at, and the people that usually work at it. I feel like each site has it’s own vibe. There are people that rotate sites, but I think there’s a good handful of people that stick to one place and definitely give that site it’s own personality and work flow. All the people I have worked with have been awesome: they kick ass on the site, they’re thoughtful about rotating when needed, and it’s just overall just amazing.
Funny thing today. I went to change into some shorts for the day, and I was kind of dreading it because they were fitting me a little tight when I was back home. Um....they fit me perfect! I think the hard labor and little food is working into an amazing diet! Hopefully I can keep this up when I get back home.
Anyhow, I’m making a list of things that I really want to share with you guys, just about the country in general, the situation over here, the problems that are being addressed, difficulties that non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) are coming across, etc., but I really want to spend some time on that one, so I might just save it until I get home.
One last thing: I was checking my email today around 545 pm, and Brianne came in saying my immigration guy had showed up at the door and asked for me. Hilarious, because I’ve told him multiple times that we have our meeting at 6pm, and Reuben told him to come at 8pm. It’s just funny how appointments mean nothing to some people. Of course, he didn’t come at 8pm ;)
Hope you are all doing well!
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