Day 3

I helped build a hospital today. I asked the aforementioned Jim if I could join his crew for the day, and he 0bliged.

I've never really built anything before, so I'm happy to get some experience with carpentry. My job was to assemble trusses for the roof of the hospital. It was actually pretty challenging to get everything flush and not out of whack. The heat today was unreal. In the first half of the morning I almost passed out. I sat down for a half and hour and then we had lunch. After we had lunch (I had very little because it was some weird fish stew with the heads, bones and eyes of the fish all still intact) I went to go exchange some money at the local bank. I use the term bank loosely. I had no idea where I was going, which probably wasn't a good idea with $100 (some of which was other people's money) in my pocket. But I asked a group of people where the bank was and they looked at me with blank stares and laughed.

Eventually, a guy on a bicylce approached me and asked me if I needed help. I was suspicious at first, but he put me at ease. He started by thanking me for being there to help his country. He told me that he would take me to the bank and he did. His name was Charlie. He was 27 and jobless. He asked me if I was married or single, and I said that I wasn't married. He asked me if I had any kids. I said no, and he said he had one. He said he wasn't married, but his girlfriend was the mother of his child. He said that most Haitian men prefer to have many girlfriends instead of just one (purely a Haitian custom, I assure you). He said he preferred to have just one and I said I thought that was a good policy. He said that he didn't think he was smart enough to handle more than one woman. I told him I felt the same way. He said he was humiliated because he didn't have a job and couldn't feed his child. He said that he wanted to die every time he heard his baby cry. I felt very bad for him. I considered the possibility that he was trying to get money from me, but he never asked. On the walk home from the bank, I gave him 20 Goude (Haitian currency) anyway. Maybe it could have provided a meal for his kid.

He wanted to get my phone number so we could hang out, but I dont have my phone turned on down here so I declined.

After lunch, we went back to the job site and continued to construct the trusses for the roof of the hospital. A couple of Haitians came over to help us. One of them, Roosevelt, was very good with a hammer. I have blisters all over my hands. I want to go back tomorrow to this site, but I don't know how much pain my hands will be able to endure. I'd like to see a finished product that I helped make happen.

I really love the kids here. It seems they have all adopted a universal greeting for Americans: "Hey You!", which is pronounced more like, "Ayooo". It is funny. I met a girl Julie today who walked up to me and demanded my name. The kids literally walk right up to you and start holding your hand. Considering what they've been through, their collective attitudes are nothing short of a miracle. When you contrast that with a bratty American kid on a leash in the mall, well, I think you get my point...

I'm going to head over to Joe's Bar right now to socialize with other volunteers. I look forward to tomorrow.