So it was after 1am that I was lying in bed last night with two laptops: one was playing a DVD which I was sort of half-heartedly watching, and the other was tuned into Skype in the hopes that Georges would be able to come online and we could actually speak and see each other. I had a very rough day yesterday, where I had to go and get some routine lab work and an echocardiagram, and doing medical stuff in French is always stressful for me anyway, but it all went well. Still, by the end of the day I was wiped out and only had the energy to toss some frozen pizza in the oven for dinner.
All I could really do was think about Georges, and wonder what was happening in Haiti.
I knew he'd arrived safely. I knew that the auberge (small inn or guest house) was "bien" from his overnight email. Beyond that, I knew nothing about conditions there for him and his colleagues.
So being able to see him when he "popped up" on the screen was exactly what I needed, despite the late hour. He looked very well, if a bit tired from the jet lag and the day itself. Being able to speak with him about his day was not only a relief to me personally, but I think it helped him to talk about it.
The auberge: well, for him as an "outsider" (you can't really call him a tourist in this case), this auberge is a small miracle. It's not in the downtown area where all the damage is, it's up in some hills and in an area where there was little if any earthquake damage. They not only have electricity (their own generator) but AIR CONDITIONING. And running water, even hot water, plus bottled water for drinking. He had a good breakfast there in the morning and he was about to go and have dinner there as well; so he's getting some decent meals. It's quiet. And they have WiFi! He even had -- are you ready? -- a COLD beer (Dominican) waiting for him. While it may seem "wrong" that he has comparative luxury in the middle of all those people living on the streets in tents (or without them) as far as I'm concerned it's really just a blessing that, no matter how bad the days might be, no matter what difficult things he may experience or witness while he's there, at least he has a safe, clean, decent place to eat, to sleep and to recover some of his natural good energy. Because his colleagues need him to be at his best.
The colleagues: he hasn't seen all of them yet but there will be a big group meeting on Monday, when Georges can give out the first aid kits we made for them and give the children's books to the man who asked for them. The tents are expected today or tomorrow and hopefully Georges can help make sure they are able to pick them up without too much hassle.
I asked about the colleague he was traveling with, the one who is going to be installed there permanently. I had assumed he was from France, from Paris even, but it turns out he IS Haitian and even has family there. He was last in Haiti just a few weeks before the earthquake, for the holidays perhaps, so this was HIS first view of the destruction, and to say that he was shocked and overwhelmed would probably be a gross understatement. His mother's house is uninhabitable, but she is staying at the home of a brother, a home that is not really very safe either but they are making do. There is another brother living in a tent in the yard of that house. And so this colleague brought his own small tent and has pitched it in the yard alongside his brother, and THAT is where he is going to be living. No luxuries for him, but I'm sure he's glad to be with his family and now they can be together and help each other.
Georges got to visit several university sites where most of the major structures were destroyed, but in the past couple of weeks, classes have resumed outside. He said it was really amazing to see classes being taught out under the trees as "normally" as you could expect, just without walls and a roof. He also saw some of the tent "cities" and he said conditions are really, really awful and it was very hard to see it. As he put it, it's one thing to see such things on the news, but to see it with your own eyes is another thing entirely. Sanitary conditions are horrible; some tent cities have a line of port-a-johns but others have nothing. Wednesday they got some heavy rain which makes conditions even worse. And of course, I say "tent" cities but that doesn't mean they all have tents -- they don't. Tarps, sheets, and sometimes nothing at all above their heads to protect from the elements.
One thing he said, that seemed to cheer him, was the good attitude he observed in his colleagues and many other people he met so far. He said he knows in some ways it might be false cheerfulness, but they're TRYING to keep their spirits up. They are doing the best they can, and with a spirit that says "we won't quit". And what a wonderful thing that is.
So that's my report from Haiti for today. I felt so much better after hearing how things were and being assured that Georges himself is well. It might make the next 7 days just a little easier -- at least on me. I don't imagine for one moment that this is an easy trip for Georges.
