Re-entry

I returned from Haiti yesterday. Robert will remain for four more weeks. My return home was fairly typical-I got a cold the day before I left, so I was feeling a bit under the weather. The Haitians had moved my name to an earlier flight but didn’t bother to tell me, so there was lots of confusion. We always call to confirm our flight our but the lines had been busy for 2 days prior so there was no getting confirmation. Fortunately, I arrived two hours before my previously scheduled departure so I was able to negotiate my return.

The airport in Cap Haitien has improved with a functioning, relatively clean toilet but lacks creature comforts of modern airports, so it was a pretty miserable 5 hours of waiting and wondering. You are never given any information about the status of your flight. Passports are checked no less than a dozen times as the airlines are fined thousands of dollars for delivering passengers from Haiti with false passports. Haitians grow anxious and weary with the process. Sad but true, white Americans are given preferential treatment at the airport, so I was confident I would get out eventually. I found out from the flight crew that the plane was delayed as it was diverted to pick up people in Guantanamo Bay.

I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale to the comforts of an American hotel. All I could think about was eating a green salad. I ordered a Cobb salad from a local restaurant and had it delivered to my room by a young Haitian man (yes, I did say a young Haitian man). It seems the universe is aware of transition. I savored this ginormous salad with cool crisp lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken, and flavorful crumbles of blue cheese. I have never appreciated the crispness of a fresh mushroom like I did that evening.

I awakened early the next morning, exhausted and trekked to the airport. I reflected upon my last return trip from Haiti, where I was so sick, I thought I might die…that was the longest journey of my life. This time a runny nose and headache seemed so cliché. I arrived home to find our house in tact only in need of a little yard work. The car battery was dead, but I had AAA to rescue me. I went to the post office to pick up the mail and there was only a line of three people standing in an orderly fashion.

I walked around the neighborhood and enjoyed the local early signs of spring. Re-entry into this life is always a process. The hundreds of emails, piles of mail, dozens of phone calls and laundry can only be dealt with in piecemeal . There is a paralysis that lacks words for description. My senses are keen for nature. My heart is torn between gratitude for the exquisite shelter that I call home and the guilt I feel for acquisition and gluttony. My stomach takes in little nourishment as I am mindful of those I have left behind.

Haiti is country that feeds my soul and breaks my heart. I will continue to blog over the next few days and weeks with the remainder of our experiences, observations and photos as we had limited opportunity for internet access in Haiti. I will also provide you with updates as I receive them from my beloved Robert. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he continues his journey in Haiti.

Love and hugs,
Charlotte