Bondye ki gen bon kè (God is good)

Since I never got around to mentioning yesterdays events, I will try to cram the last two days together in this post as best as I can, though it would be impossible to talk about everything that has and is happening.

Yesterday morning we all woke up at 5:30Am to head down to the school that we have been working on. Because the sun rises much earlier here then in Michigan, it didn't seem very early at all! Anyways, I began by cutting re-bar for the windows, which are crosshatched instead of having brittle glass windows. After that I had the pleasure to talk to a very educated Haitian man by the name of Emery. He could speak 4 languages fairly fluently, which obviously includes English. He definitely impressed me with his knowledge of America, and American politics. He asked me questions such as what my thoughts were on President Obama, the War in Iraq, and why I agreed or disagreed with things happening in the government. We also spoke of racism, american rap music, soccer (or football), and the earthquake. He told me that he doesn't like to talk about the earthquake because it is something he will never forget, since he lost many friends. But he told me that he was in a school hallway when it struck, and that he was lucky that his parents survived.

After our long day of work we came back to relax. I spent some time and went out on the streets nearby where I am staying. I was able to take lots of pictures!

Today I woke at the same time, so we could go back and work another day at the school. I cut some more re-bar, and helped arc-weld the windows together. Also, a truckload of bricks arrived today to continue constructing the walls. I hauled them from the truck to where they were being stacked until I could no longer even grip the bricks. The heat today didn't seem as bad as yesterday (which was over 100)because there was a little breeze today.

It was also very strange, today while we were working, the city seemed overall quiet... But Suddenly, literally the entire town around us began to ROAR as people ran out from their tents. And I am certainly not embellishing when I say people were dancing down the roads. People cheered and yelled from everywhere around us. It sounded like a whooping cheer of a mighty army! I have never ever, ever, ever heard anything like it... Come to find out that it was because Argentina lost a game vs Germany in the world cup.. There is a great rivalry in Haiti. About 70 percent of the people here are MAJOR Brazil fans, while 30 percent are Argentina fans..

After we quit work around Noon today we came back here, and then headed out for a little sightseeing trip around Port Au Prince. I took almost 150 pictures.. So here are just a few of them...


This was the Presidential palace here in Port Au Prince



This was the biggest, and most beautiful cathedral in the city. It fell, but the cross still stands..



They were selling clothes, which they stacked in piles on the sidewalk.



This picture just doesn't do justice to how terrible the slums are here. The streets are lined with trash and feces. The people have constructed whole cities out of tin sheets and sticks and tarp.




One of the thousands of buildings in Haiti that still remain in rubble..




We drove to the top of the mountain overlooking Port Au Prince.. Amazing view! In the top left corner you can see the Caribbean sea.




Here is most of the team, minus Larry, with a few female soldiers from Nepal.. All standing in front of the amazing view of the city.