Long drive to Haiti

I made it to the Dominican Republic with no problem. When I applied to volunteer I said I was willing to help wherever and however they needed me. After some correspondence via email I got the impression that I might be staying in the DR. I have to admit that was a little disappointing especially after I told everyone I was going to Haiti. Just look at the name of the blog. Anyway, that turned out to be a false impression.

Almost as soon as I got to the home here in the DR I was asked if I wanted to leave in 1 hour for the 10 hour drive to Port au Prince. Luckily, I was not needed and did not go. The convoys for Haiti generally leave at midnight. But, the next night another convoy was leaving and I was driving. It looks like that will be my main job, driving people and supplies to and from Haiti.

The drive is very tough. There are really bad stretches of road, the drivers are very aggresive and lanes mean nothing. I got to nap a little before our midnight departure. It ended up taking 8.5 hours. I was at NPH's hospital helping or trying to rest for 5 hours then turned around and drove back 9 hours. I think I may have gotten 20 minutes of napping in at the hospital. When we got back at 11pm the same day I was exhausted. That was last night. My brain is still a little fried from the trip. I am back on the road tomorrow at midnight.

Martin, a man from the German NPH support organization, rode with me and took some good photos. I will upload them in the morning and tell you about my 5 hours in Haiti. Martin could not help drive but I was very grateful to have him along. When I got tired we played 20 questions. One of the people I chose for him to guess was David Hasselhoff. Hahaha. I love teasing Germans about the Hoff. I will never understand it but they love him!