Things are a lot calmer today. Roberta and some of the older boys got out early this morning and were able to take back roads to a missionary who'd just bought a bunch of fuel before the demonstrations ("manifestations" they call them locally) broke out. The missionary sold us some diesel, so we're still conserving as much energy as possible, but we're doing okay.
Haitian radio this morning was saying that the streets were calm, but local reports said that some protesters were still out. We didn't hear about any actual violence though and although the local stores were all closed today, I just talked to a guy who works at the local grocery who says that they're planning to be open tomorrow. So, it's calm and positive, but nobody's resting too easily.
The Associated Press is reporting that "peacekeepers cleared roadblocks and businesses reopened ... but protesters warned that chaos will return quickly if the government fails to rein in soaring food prices." I don't know what that means exactly or if we'll be able to venture into town at all, but we'll see. My even thinking about going into town is a huge indicator of the day we've had though. Hopefully tomorrow will be equally non-eventful.
And even more hopefully, someone can get these people some food. I don't like how they're expressing it, but at the same time you have to appreciate the position they're in.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Haiti: Day Three (cont.)
The rest of the day's been fairly uneventful. We're getting low on diesel to run the generator and can't get into town for more, so we're in conservation mode. But the lights are all on right now as everyone's getting ready for dinner.
Some of the kids just brought me a plate of fried plantain that beats any potato chip you've ever eaten. One of my favorite restaurants in Saint Paul is a Puerto Rican place that serves great fried plantain, but it's not as good as this.
Some local Christians came over tonight to sing and encourage each other. It was definitely encouraging to me to see them laughing and having a good time together with so much going on in their city. Just knowing that they were willing to get on the roads and come over is pretty amazing.
Some of the kids just brought me a plate of fried plantain that beats any potato chip you've ever eaten. One of my favorite restaurants in Saint Paul is a Puerto Rican place that serves great fried plantain, but it's not as good as this.
Some local Christians came over tonight to sing and encourage each other. It was definitely encouraging to me to see them laughing and having a good time together with so much going on in their city. Just knowing that they were willing to get on the roads and come over is pretty amazing.
Haiti: Day Three
This one'll be shorter than yesterday.
The demonstrations have spread out to this part of the city, but everyone seems to think it'll blow over soon. Mainly it's just people burning tires in the road and holding sticks and rocks. That shuts down the roads and draws attention to the suffering that's going on, but most people honor the "strikes" and no one gets hurt. This is all really new to me though and it bothers me knowing that I can't just leave if I want to. We're scheduled to be here another week though, so there's plenty of time for the situation to improve.
In brighter news, the kids picked some mango yesterday from the tree in the yard. I've eaten cooked mango and dried mango before, but this was the first time I'd ever eaten it fresh and raw. Delicious.
Might write more today if I feel motivated. Right now I'm still just getting used to everything.
The demonstrations have spread out to this part of the city, but everyone seems to think it'll blow over soon. Mainly it's just people burning tires in the road and holding sticks and rocks. That shuts down the roads and draws attention to the suffering that's going on, but most people honor the "strikes" and no one gets hurt. This is all really new to me though and it bothers me knowing that I can't just leave if I want to. We're scheduled to be here another week though, so there's plenty of time for the situation to improve.
In brighter news, the kids picked some mango yesterday from the tree in the yard. I've eaten cooked mango and dried mango before, but this was the first time I'd ever eaten it fresh and raw. Delicious.
Might write more today if I feel motivated. Right now I'm still just getting used to everything.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Haiti: Days One and Two
I was told that we might have Internet here, so I brought my laptop. Sure enough we do, but the connection's kind of slow, so I won't be posting any pictures until I get back and I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to post every day. Just gonna have to play it a day at a time.
I tried to keep my expectations flexible before getting here, but that was impossible. I pictured flying in on a small, probably propeller-driven plane into a tiny, dingy, oppressively hot airport. I'd been told that there's no ramp connecting the airport to the planes, so we'd have to do like you see in the old movies and take the stairs from the plane to the tarmac and then walk to the airport. Also that there would be some kind of band there to greet us.
The plane between Miami and Port Au Prince, Haiti was actually huge. Much bigger than the one we took from Minnesota to Florida. And flying over the island in our descent, looking over the shoulder of the Haitian priest between me and the window, everything looked green and normal. Cars went about their business. It looked very quiet from the air.
We did have to walk down the stairs and across the tarmac, but they're already in the process of building a couple of ramps. The airport is certainly smaller than major US ones, but it's clean, air-conditioned, and well-organized. And though there was no band, the staff was also really helpful and we made it through immigration, baggage claim, and customs quickly and painlessly.
Once outside the airport though, the chaos hit. Before we even left the airport there were about fifty local guys all wanting to carry our bags to the truck and each wanting a tip just for touching them. I tipped a couple of them, but was starting to argue with a third when our hostess told me to just get in the truck. Apparently there are sometimes fights between the men over tips and I was probably just adding to the confusion by passing out money. Stupid American.
In the truck was my dad and I, our hostess and one of her sons. Our hostess is a woman named Roberta who single-handedly raises and educates twenty-something local kids. With the help of some US charities she feeds a couple of meals a day to about seventy more out of her carport. Once in the truck, she immediately started out of the airport and gave us the local report.
"The city is hot," she said. It was about 90 degrees, but she wasn't referring to that. Trouble had broken out in downtown Port Au Prince; people were throwing rocks. Pulling off the airport road we had to wait for a caravan of maybe ten or fifteen UN vehicles with troops to go buy. Roberta said it was because people are starving. The government's having a hard time getting control of corruption in the ports and food is either too expensive or is rotting in customs because there aren't enough people to process it. The violence wasn't near where we were, but just knowing that it was going on in another part of the city made me more alert as we drove through town.
Driving in Port Au Prince isn't all that different from driving through some small towns in the US. There's the occasional traffic light, but mostly you're left to your judgment about when to stop and when to pass. But the traffic's a lot heavier than Small Town, USA, so it makes for an interesting trip. I'm not a nervous passenger, so I trusted Roberta not to kill us or any of the pedestrians or bicyclers who we passed dangerously close to.
On the way to Roberta's house we stopped at a grocery store to pick up a couple of things and exchange some currency. Roberta took care of both. She gets a much better rate of exchange than White Guy does. I think everyone knows she's from the States, but you wouldn't know it from looking at her or the way she speaks Creole. My dad and I stayed in the truck while Roberta and her son went inside. I didn't feel like we were in any danger, but there's no hiding that we're strangers here.
After the store, we went back to Roberta's; our home for the next ten days. She has two pieces of property, both walled and gated like every other property along the dirt road she lives on. There's barbed wire and razor wire running along the top of all the walls and she hires a security guard to patrol the property, though he's stealing from her.
She knows the guard's stealing because she's seen him wearing some of the stuff he takes and his girlfriend tells her that the other items are at his house. But Roberta hasn't caught him red-handed yet, so she can't fire him until she can afford the severance deal that Haitian law requires her to give him.
The house is on one piece of property. On the other is the garden and livestock that includes a couple of cattle, maybe a dozen goats, and thousands of tilapia. Apparently the tilapia are popular right now and they're selling them every day. They're even negotiating with the grocery store to start selling them there.
The sun was already going down as we were checking out the fish, so we went inside for a dinner of peanut butter sandwiches made on this delicious local bread that's long and shaped sort of like a flattened baguette, but is really soft and fluffy.
Behind the house is a small guest house where my dad and I are sleeping. There's been no electrical power for like three weeks, but Roberta's got a generator, so we were able to get a couple of fans going and have a comfortable night's sleep.
This morning we had an excellent stew for breakfast made from grits, garlic, and some other stuff cooked in tomato soup. Right now the kids are receiving French lessons from a local tutor in the other room. I'm at the kitchen table where last night I was rocking the smallest member of the household, a six-month old named Joseph. Everything seems peaceful and routine, but Roberta told us this morning that the violence in town has spread to the airport road where they're burning tires.
She's surprised that that's carried over into a second day. Usually the police have it under control in a lot less time. She doesn't expect it to last much longer and later in the week we should be able to go into town, but it still makes my imagination go all sorts of places I'd rather it not. If we'd flown in today instead of yesterday, for example, she wouldn't have been able to come get us.
So for now, we're sticking close to home. Nobody seems worried, so I'm not either. It's just kind of surreal to have the knowledge of the violence running in the back of my head as background noise. I've got a couple of Rottweilers sleeping at my feet and that's pretty cool. Looks like it's going to be a typical day for this remarkable family.
Update: Maybe not so typical. Apparently some folks just tried to storm the palace, the police shot into them, and some of them were killed. Roberta says that's just going to get people more riled up. We may have to stick at the house for our whole trip.
I tried to keep my expectations flexible before getting here, but that was impossible. I pictured flying in on a small, probably propeller-driven plane into a tiny, dingy, oppressively hot airport. I'd been told that there's no ramp connecting the airport to the planes, so we'd have to do like you see in the old movies and take the stairs from the plane to the tarmac and then walk to the airport. Also that there would be some kind of band there to greet us.
The plane between Miami and Port Au Prince, Haiti was actually huge. Much bigger than the one we took from Minnesota to Florida. And flying over the island in our descent, looking over the shoulder of the Haitian priest between me and the window, everything looked green and normal. Cars went about their business. It looked very quiet from the air.
We did have to walk down the stairs and across the tarmac, but they're already in the process of building a couple of ramps. The airport is certainly smaller than major US ones, but it's clean, air-conditioned, and well-organized. And though there was no band, the staff was also really helpful and we made it through immigration, baggage claim, and customs quickly and painlessly.
Once outside the airport though, the chaos hit. Before we even left the airport there were about fifty local guys all wanting to carry our bags to the truck and each wanting a tip just for touching them. I tipped a couple of them, but was starting to argue with a third when our hostess told me to just get in the truck. Apparently there are sometimes fights between the men over tips and I was probably just adding to the confusion by passing out money. Stupid American.
In the truck was my dad and I, our hostess and one of her sons. Our hostess is a woman named Roberta who single-handedly raises and educates twenty-something local kids. With the help of some US charities she feeds a couple of meals a day to about seventy more out of her carport. Once in the truck, she immediately started out of the airport and gave us the local report.
"The city is hot," she said. It was about 90 degrees, but she wasn't referring to that. Trouble had broken out in downtown Port Au Prince; people were throwing rocks. Pulling off the airport road we had to wait for a caravan of maybe ten or fifteen UN vehicles with troops to go buy. Roberta said it was because people are starving. The government's having a hard time getting control of corruption in the ports and food is either too expensive or is rotting in customs because there aren't enough people to process it. The violence wasn't near where we were, but just knowing that it was going on in another part of the city made me more alert as we drove through town.
Driving in Port Au Prince isn't all that different from driving through some small towns in the US. There's the occasional traffic light, but mostly you're left to your judgment about when to stop and when to pass. But the traffic's a lot heavier than Small Town, USA, so it makes for an interesting trip. I'm not a nervous passenger, so I trusted Roberta not to kill us or any of the pedestrians or bicyclers who we passed dangerously close to.
On the way to Roberta's house we stopped at a grocery store to pick up a couple of things and exchange some currency. Roberta took care of both. She gets a much better rate of exchange than White Guy does. I think everyone knows she's from the States, but you wouldn't know it from looking at her or the way she speaks Creole. My dad and I stayed in the truck while Roberta and her son went inside. I didn't feel like we were in any danger, but there's no hiding that we're strangers here.
After the store, we went back to Roberta's; our home for the next ten days. She has two pieces of property, both walled and gated like every other property along the dirt road she lives on. There's barbed wire and razor wire running along the top of all the walls and she hires a security guard to patrol the property, though he's stealing from her.
She knows the guard's stealing because she's seen him wearing some of the stuff he takes and his girlfriend tells her that the other items are at his house. But Roberta hasn't caught him red-handed yet, so she can't fire him until she can afford the severance deal that Haitian law requires her to give him.
The house is on one piece of property. On the other is the garden and livestock that includes a couple of cattle, maybe a dozen goats, and thousands of tilapia. Apparently the tilapia are popular right now and they're selling them every day. They're even negotiating with the grocery store to start selling them there.
The sun was already going down as we were checking out the fish, so we went inside for a dinner of peanut butter sandwiches made on this delicious local bread that's long and shaped sort of like a flattened baguette, but is really soft and fluffy.
Behind the house is a small guest house where my dad and I are sleeping. There's been no electrical power for like three weeks, but Roberta's got a generator, so we were able to get a couple of fans going and have a comfortable night's sleep.
This morning we had an excellent stew for breakfast made from grits, garlic, and some other stuff cooked in tomato soup. Right now the kids are receiving French lessons from a local tutor in the other room. I'm at the kitchen table where last night I was rocking the smallest member of the household, a six-month old named Joseph. Everything seems peaceful and routine, but Roberta told us this morning that the violence in town has spread to the airport road where they're burning tires.
She's surprised that that's carried over into a second day. Usually the police have it under control in a lot less time. She doesn't expect it to last much longer and later in the week we should be able to go into town, but it still makes my imagination go all sorts of places I'd rather it not. If we'd flown in today instead of yesterday, for example, she wouldn't have been able to come get us.
So for now, we're sticking close to home. Nobody seems worried, so I'm not either. It's just kind of surreal to have the knowledge of the violence running in the back of my head as background noise. I've got a couple of Rottweilers sleeping at my feet and that's pretty cool. Looks like it's going to be a typical day for this remarkable family.
Update: Maybe not so typical. Apparently some folks just tried to storm the palace, the police shot into them, and some of them were killed. Roberta says that's just going to get people more riled up. We may have to stick at the house for our whole trip.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Countdown to Haiti: D-Day
And we're off. Really bad timing from a writing standpoint because I'm starting to see movement on a couple of projects, but what're you gonna do? See you guys in two weeks.
Expect blogging to resume on April 21.
Now, did I remember to pack my tom-tom?
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Countdown to Haiti: D-1
Got some shorts and other clothes bought yesterday. (Also saw Nim's Island and pretty much fell in love with it.) Today, I've got to buy sunscreen and make sure I have water bottles. I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Countdown to Haiti: D-2
Well, I just finished the most daunting part of my preparations. I could leave tomorrow and be okay. Fortunately though, I don't have to leave tomorrow, so I'm going to try to do some shopping for warm-weather clothes - which I'm in woefully short supply of - instead.
After Nim's Island, of course.
Oh, no Saturdays with Jane today. Netflix has delivered the Gwyneth Paltrow Emma, so I'll watch that when I get back and report on it. Taking Jane and the Man of the Cloth to Haiti with me. Nothing like reading about Jane Austen fighting pirates while you're running away from witch doctors.
Friday, April 04, 2008
April Theatrical Releases
TodayNim's Island: My son is SO excited to see this because it has a bearded dragon in it and we've got a bearded dragon. He's been going around for two weeks now telling everyone that it's coming out on April 4th. It does look fun though, so I'm looking forward to seeing it with him.
April 11
Smart People: This one's all about the cast. In order of attraction: Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Dennis Quaid.
Chaos Theory: And this one's all about Ryan Reynolds. Is Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place available on DVD? Oh, look! Yes, it is.
April 18
88 Minutes: I kind of feel like I've already figured out the mystery, which means that I'll either be a) really disappointed or b) really surprised. I wish I knew which it'll be.
The Forbidden Kingdom: Jet Li and Jackie Chan has to be better than Jet Li and Jason Statham was. The trailer certainly looks better.
April 25
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: Looks stupid as all get out, but the trailer makes me laugh. I can't account for my funny bone.
Deception: Because the plot sounds like something Michael Douglas oughta be starring in, I actually wasn't going to list this one until I was farting around on Apple and watched the trailer there. I should've trusted more that I'd like a movie with Wolverine and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ewan McGregor looks especially cool as a nerd who has to man up in order to do battle with the evil Hugh Jackman.
Adventureblog Theater: Sexy Sci Fi
Space: 1899
I'd forgotten how cheesy that show was. And look! It's available on Netflix!
(Oh, yeah, I guess I should also mention that re-mixing this into a silent movie is kind of clever, but honestly I was too transfixed by the space gorilla.)
Via.
Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls
Cool mash-up of old serials to create a tribute to Hammer's unmade film.
Via.
Doctor Who Season Four
Cue me squealing like a three-year-old girl in 4, 3, 2, 1...
Via.
I'd forgotten how cheesy that show was. And look! It's available on Netflix!
(Oh, yeah, I guess I should also mention that re-mixing this into a silent movie is kind of clever, but honestly I was too transfixed by the space gorilla.)
Via.
Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls
Cool mash-up of old serials to create a tribute to Hammer's unmade film.
Via.
Doctor Who Season Four
Cue me squealing like a three-year-old girl in 4, 3, 2, 1...
Via.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Happy Headless Jesse Honey Day!
I'll have to think of a better name for it, but today's an important day for me. Most importantly, it's my wife's birthday. So even though you're not reading this: Happy Birthday, Honey!
It's also the anniversary of the day Bob Ford shot Jesse James in the back of the head.
We just watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford again a couple of nights ago and I was reminded of how inappropriate Casey Affleck's Best Supporting Actor nomination was. I understand why for political reasons they went after Supporting, but Best Actor would've been more appropriate. That was his movie.
It also reminded me that I really want to go to Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield this Fall.
Finally, it's the anniversary of Washington Irving's birth, which is serendipitous because I just got to the part in my novel where the Headless Horseman comes up. And I didn't even plan it that way.
To celebrate, enjoy some Horseman art by Frank Frazetta and Gil Kane.
It's also the anniversary of the day Bob Ford shot Jesse James in the back of the head.
We just watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford again a couple of nights ago and I was reminded of how inappropriate Casey Affleck's Best Supporting Actor nomination was. I understand why for political reasons they went after Supporting, but Best Actor would've been more appropriate. That was his movie.
It also reminded me that I really want to go to Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield this Fall.
Finally, it's the anniversary of Washington Irving's birth, which is serendipitous because I just got to the part in my novel where the Headless Horseman comes up. And I didn't even plan it that way.
To celebrate, enjoy some Horseman art by Frank Frazetta and Gil Kane.
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