Upon the First Tour of the City

I am still trying to digest what I saw during my first tour of the

city. The organized chaos of the traffic system is complicated by the

recent introduction of the occasional red light. They are just few and

new enough that drivers cannot remember if they are supposed to go or

stop on red or green.


Tap-taps are the primary mode of public transportation in Haiti.  They are small trucks individually owned, with a covered back and bench seating.  They are called tap-taps because you tap on the side of the vehicle when you need to get off.  It costs an average of 12 gourdes for a ride.


One sees buildings flatted by the earthquake,

rubble still partially blocking some streets and potholes as big as my

first house. Garbage piles are everywhere, waiting to be picked up by

the city's collectors. Collections are dependent on whether or not the

city has paid their employees.

Toward the end of the tour, we dropped by another tent city to locate

a Haitian nurse who had worked with Dr. Don's medical team in the

past. She had been displaced by the earthquake and was living in a

tent with her children and grand-children. She invited us into her

home. A daughter was preparing the main meal of the day. Although

there was a propane stove in the tent, the meal was being cooked on a

charcoal grill because there was no money for propane gas. The floor

was made of dirt and there were five people living in an area that

measures less than 250 sq. feet.

The anxiety of being in a third world country is nothing compared to

that of being out of the country on Valentine's Day without your wife.

For some reason, a trip to Haiti was not what she had in mind when I

asked if she wanted to spend Valentine's in the Caribbean. So with

that in mind, our next stop was the downtown open air market to find

the perfect Valentine's gift. With few tourists to buy their handmade

crafts, it is pretty easy to spot a mark. I was lucky to escape with

only three items, knowing that she probably will not like any of them.

I will still find great pleasure in reminding her that she could have

spent Valentine's Day with me in the Caribbean.

-Jerry Shelly