The Haitian Sensation Part 3: Rain

 Welcome to Haiti.

The airport is small and unkept. The walk from the plane to customs is lined with broken windows. As we enter the baggage claim area we’re swarmed by men in red polo shirts. I’m still unsure to this day, who these men work for or why they are allowed past customs every day but here they are. They grab at our bags, gesturing that everything is okay and try to carry them for us. It’s quickly obvious that they want to carry our stuff so that we will pay them. We tell them we’re not interested a few times and they leave us alone as we enter customs. The customs agent is very curious about our bag full of shoes. He seems to believe we are bringing in merchandise to sell but the fact that they are kids shoes convinces him that they are for charity.

We exit the airport and enter what I like to call total chaos. Torrential rain adds to the insanity of the scene. The swarm of red shirts inside the baggage claim is nothing compared to outside. Right as we exit people are grabbing at our bags and pushing our cart, trying to help us so that we can pay them. They literally rip the bags out of my hand and act as though they are just being friendly as I’m fighting them for my equipment. We spot one of our Haitian workers named Lucho. Lauren runs over and gives him a big hug. He soon realized I’m having trouble with locals comes over and tells off the guy with my stuff. I get my bag back and we run, soaking wet to a red pickup truck. Piled in with all our bags on top of us in the tiny cab Toyota pickup cab. Taking our first deep breath, we drive away from the airport and into Port Au Prince. I get my first look at Haiti.

The streets are busy with people. Fruit and snack stands line every other block. For the first time in real life I see people carrying baskets on their heads. Like huge baskets full of mangos and shit! Lauren is telling me how much things have changed since she’s been there. She tells me about a tent camp that used to be right outside the airport and all the rubble that lines the sidewalks and the dust on the streets that clouded up the air. I guess she was right, I didn’t see any real signs of destruction. The earthquake was a while ago so most of the busy public spaces were cleaned. The air was still cloudy from dust and black car exhaust but I’m told it had been a lot worse, sort of the way people tell me the LA smog used to be browner.

Then I saw my favorite cultural part of Haiti, the taptaps           ! Taptaps are converted trucks that are turned into people carriers, like shared taxis. Take a flat bed with plastic cover, raise it a few feet, add benches and you’ve got a taptap. But in Haiti they don’t stop there. They decorate their taptaps to an insane degree. They carve out metal sheets and add intricate designs that look Indian inspired. They paint them bright pastels and add personal themes like soccer or jesus or batman. It’s incredible!

Also on this drive, I learned that Haitians drive kinda like me, if I knew I wasn’t ever going to get pulled over. They are ultra aggressive. They split lanes, pass on any side and even use the sidewalks or other side of the road at their leisure. The horn and lights are used to communicate constantly. All the cars are dented and beat up from the craziness of the driving but overall it seems to be in good fun.

It’s hard to formulate first impressions about a country. I think when you talk about a place you’re really describing what that place means to you. Our crappy Westland apartment is remembered as an amazingly freeing and exciting place because of who I was and what we did there. For me this first experience with Haiti had none to do with the horrors I feared on my descent. It was about the wonder of seeing people and things that simply look different. Baskets on head! Super aggressive pickup trucks! Taptaps! It’s the first glimpse into a way of life I’ve yet to see and wait to dive into.