The End

My final work day in Haiti was leisurely by the standards of my trip. We were building shelves for the Notre Dame/St. Croix hospital. I was working with Jim again. My job was to hammer, and boy did I hammer. By our count, me and three other volunteers knocked in over 2500 nails. My forearms were bulging and aching by the end of the day. Luckily, there was a tarp over our workspace, so I wasn't sweating too much and I didn't have to apply and reapply sunscreen.

The workplace was very interesting. There were goats and turkeys all over the place. We packed up at the end of the day and went back to camp. There was a palpable feeling of accomplishment for me. I had made it to the end, and I was fine. It was a long journey for me. The dysentary, the heat, the hard labor and the food all combined to provide quite a challenge for me.

There is a tradition at HODR (pronounced hoder) where volunteers who are leaving the next day get up and say goodbye. I stood up and expressed my thanks. Everything I had done over the past two weeks were all new experiences for me. It was very challenging, and I learned alot of new skills, and I also learned alot about myself and the limits that I can push myself too. I was sort of proud of myself, at least by my own personal standards (which aren't very high when applied to carpentry and manual labor).

Afterwards, we went to the bar and I had a few drinks to relax and reward myself.

The next morning, five of the volunteers shared a shuttle to the airport. It was about an hour and a hald journey. We got to the airport and it was a mess. It was raining and there was a huge line outside of the airport. I paid two Haitians to expedidte our position in line. They essentially acted as social fullbacks and plowed a way through the line. I guess that is how things are done in Haiti.

The airport was a scene of pandemonium and disorganization. I had to go through three security checks before I got onto the plane. It was very frustrating.

I got on the flight, and I was off. I had a short layover in Ft. Lauderdale and made my way to Philadelphia. My girlfriend picked me up at the airport and we went out to dinner with my parents to Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza in Horsham. I sat at the bar and reflected upon the fact that about 12 hours ago, I was in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Being in a modern American restaurant after that was quite profound.

We got pizza and I was only able to eat about two slices. My stomach had shrunk because of the lack of work it got during the trip. I am still unable to eat as much.

This was a very valuable trip for me, and I am lucky to have been able to take it. I work for a great company, and I owe alot to it for allowing me to do this.

With that said, I probably wouldn't do this again. Strike that, I probably wouldn't do it in Haiti again due to the heat. It was great to learn some new skills and learn alot about a culture that I was completely ignorant of.