Thursday: September 2

I am exhausted! Going on 28 hours of no sleep. If my writing seems a little off at times, I blame it on my fatigue. And I feel the mosquitoes biting as I type, so I'm doing a little squirmy dance. Picture that...it might make you chuckle : )

I left San Diego at 2:40pm yesterday (Sept. 1) and stopped over in Vegas for merely enough time to grab a sandwich and board the next plane to Fort Lauderdale. It was a pretty uneventful trip. The woman in the middle seat next to me did absolutely nothing the entire 4.5 hours. Nothing. Just sat and stared. At what, you ask? Honestly, you're guess is as good as mine. The woman in the window seat saw my book, "The Uses of Haiti," and asked me about it. I told her where I was going and she asked me a lot of questions and got all nervous. She told me (repeatedly) that I should go stay at her house and grab a couple hours of sleep before my next flight. Can anyone say "Stranger Danger!?!" Oh, and of course I was sick, snotty, and sneezy the whole time...every traveller's dream (or is that the person sitting next to the sicko?)

We arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport at around 12:15 EST and I got my bags. I soon realized that I was going to have to make my way to another terminal to get to Spirit Airlines departures. The sign said the shuttle ran from 8:00am-7:00pm. Just my luck! Fortunately, the parking lot shuttle driver was nice enough to give me a lift. Terminal four was (as my mother-dearest would say) "deadsville man!" There were a few deep in slumber in various uncomfortable looking positions and others, like me, trying to stay awake and tough it out for the night. I settled in to one of those prized plastic seats with the wretched arm rests that dig into your sides, popped a dvd into my laptop, and began my caffeine free all-nighter.

Finally, the time came when I was to head to gate H4 with my duffle and backpack and wait to board Spirit Airlines flight 951 service to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I met a documentarian who later ran up to me in the Port-au-Prince airport parking lot and gave me his business card. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that, exactly. So, anyway, as I sat in the plane and looked out onto the mountainous island of Haiti, I grew excited! (And the anticipation builds.........)

I really love this place. Haiti may be a third world country. It may be the poorest and most corrupt country in the western hemisphere. It may be heart-breaking and devastating. But it is truly is an amazing place. Something about it just makes me want more the second I step foot onto Haitian soil.

When Frantz (the driver) and I were making our way to Love A Child, we got stopped by the Haitian police who sit on the side of the road with large guns. They had Frantz give him his paperwork and then asked for my passport. I handed it over. It was when he began to walk away from the car with my passport still in hand that I became slightly worried. I'm pretty sure that is something I might need. No worries. I got it back after the policeman exchanged a few brief words with Frantz and a quick question for me about our destination.

When I arrived at Love A Child, Betsy and Dr. Scotty were there in the eating area (newly air-conditioned, I might add.) After a moment of rest, Betsy and I headed down to Camp Hope. I was reunited with Lamy, Jeff, Junior, Thomas, and all my little Haitian kiddos. David (my little Spanish-speaking buddy) kept trying to convince me to buy him a Nintendo. He had all sorts of justifications and creative ways for me to get it for him. When Josh translated that I had taken 3 years of Spanish in school and had just forgotten most of it, he told me that he learned it in only one year in the Dominican Republic. Gotta love that little smart-mouth. They melt your heart with their smiles, though. What amazing people, all of them.

Currently I am sitting on an ant-covered bench, fending off bugs trying to get a little taste of the Andrea Factor, and enjoying the warm breeze sweeping across my face. The sun is going down and the yellow school to my left holds promise for the future. The mountains in front of me convey strength and resilience. The trees and greenery have almost a safari-like feel to them.

I think I will soon go make some dinner and will probably hit the cot pretty early tonight.

I'm glad I'm back.