We left the Mission of Hope at 12:15 Thursday afternoon. Took somewhat of a roundabout path to the airport in Port au Prince. I'm having trouble calling what we did sightseeing but that's what it was. Oh, the sights we saw. Drove right past the mass graves just north of highway #1. Headed south into PAP. Much heavier traffic leaving the city then going in. All the trucks leaving have entire families in them with all their possesions tied on top. They are all headed into the countryside to hopefully start anew. We next made a lap through the hardest shaken areas. The damage is incredible. No building is without damage. Roofs down to street level. I can't help wonder what is still under many of those piles of rocks. Then we passed the destroyed government buildings. Not much left of the buildings or of the government. Next through the business district: little business taking place. On to the airport, minimal security but why should the airport be any different then the rest of Haiti. I haven't felt "secure" at any point during this trip. Our exit plane arrives and it's tiny and with no frills. A significant drop in luxury from the jet we arrived in. Similar to my perception of the world since I arrived in Haiti; not always a luxurious place. It's been an eye opening trip. I never knew that places like Haiti existed in the modern day world: Naive, uninitiated, standard American with no clue about the rest of the world's plight? I qualify. Friday after taking a commercial flight from Florida to Austin I was relieved to be back in home. I drank water directly from the faucet, ate Mexican food until I was about to pop and took a nap on my pillow top matress. All of them were the same as when I left them six days previously yet vastly different.
My trip home was difficult but it pales compared to the thousands of Haitians who have no home to go to.
I now appreciate the luxuries I have been blessed with after seeing the absence of such in Haiti.
Thanks Haiti for opening my eyes.
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