Last week I didn’t feel very well - physically and mentally. On Sunday or around then I began to get symptoms of a sore throat- it never really turned into one, fortunately, but I was left even voiceless for some days and feeling like I was seconds away from getting the flu. My immune system felt weak and I had little energy to work. I felt guilty because I didn’t spend my whole days working; instead I took a couple of afternoons off to lay down or read. I even watched movies. To add to not feeling well, I began to get really stressed here with my job. I don’t want to get into it on this blog, but let’s just say that the work here started to wear me down I began to feel stressed out like I hadn’t felt in years. Since my life lately has been pretty stress-free I began to think that maybe this environment is too much for me now and I began to change my mind about staying longer. I’ve struggled with making the decision of whether or not to stay longer but I’ve finally come to a sort of weak decision (which has grown a bit stronger every day) to just leave the day I have my plane ticket for, May 27th.
This means that in ten days, during the end of my next week, I will be back in my comfort zone, eating healthy, enjoying the company of many who I haven’t seen in over two months, back in a place which has no point of comparison to what I have lived here everyday. It will probably be really strange.
I feel like these next few days will fly by and the next thing I know is I’ll be gone. I’m trying to make the best of my last few days, but at the same time it is difficult. The days are long and hot and sometimes I wish I could have more energy to talk to children and do other things besides work. I feel like a part of me will feel somehow regretful for not doing certain things (starting with photography).. then again, I know I have tried my hardest- in all senses. This trip was probably not what I expected- I expected to have more free time, to be able to photograph more, etc. I don’t really care though because I have learned more than I could have ever imagined and met people I never thought I’d meet. Maybe it will be the first of other trips to Haiti, a trip to get to know a little bit of the country, of the culture, to get used to a place where I am surrounded by extreme poverty, to get used to the slow motion of things and to get to know myself better.. to know that I take precautions and don’t really feel safe in many places.
On Saturday morning I helped Eli, a volunteer nurse from Spain, with a hygiene project in the village. She gathered all 430 children and one by one spread anti-scabies lotion or something similar on their bodies. I helped on this and really enjoyed it, being able to be with the children. Usually I’m not with the children. At one point I opened the lotion lil bottle and it squirted all over my face- all of the children were cracking up.
At around 1030am a helicopter came to pick up two people who are going away to our other village in Cap-Haitien and I noticed how beautiful the blue sky was behind all the children watching the helicopter land.. and then fly away. I took many photos.
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