Beyond mountains there are mountains

The title of my post is a Haitian proverb that I read in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains that I read in a previous post, and it could not be more true about Haiti. A country I once knew little about has opened to be a completely new world, I world filled with the most extreme of poverty but a land abundent in the richest of faith. And those words could not be more true. I got off the plane and was thrown into a culture vastly different than our own. Customs is dependent on their mood and they tore through the boxes of the group that traveled with us that day. We rode in the back of a rickey truck, no top, sitting on wooden planks that lined the sides. As we traveled down highway one, you quickly realize that the pavement is mostly gone and potholes threw our heads into the poles behind us. Mountains surround you in every direction and you can see the small communities lined with the mountainside, it was beautiful but as we drove through Cap-Haiten, I was truly overwhelmed. I am blessed to be staying on the OMS Compound and in my first 4 days here, I almost feel TOO blessed in this country. I am looking forward to Limbe this upcoming week and see the real Haiti, with my own eyes. The people that are here are absolutely wonderful, there are 7 girls my age that I am with daily. Emily, Carly, Anna (carly and anna are sisters), Christina, Beth (who I just met today, she was out on a travel clinic with Mary, another clinical lab technician with us), and Laura (wait that's 6) but there is also SunMin (he is a 2nd year med student at UC San Diego who wants to be a missionary doctor in the future and Laura is a medical student from Ireland--they are both here for 2 months). So I told you about the waking up early, good thing they have amazing coffee here, and when I say GOOD coffee, I mean AMAZING coffee. (come on, imagine all my love for coffee above and beyond fulfilled). At night, you almost think you have been woken up by monkeys, but no, that is the sound of crazy crows fighting in the tree or a gun shot, but that is the sound of a mango falling on the roof (takes some getting used to)--and I ate my first real mango this morning (did you know there are 12 kinds..?) and it was so good. I worked in the lab screening for Hepatitus B, C, and H.Pylori (the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers) for tuesday through this morning and this afternoon I spent a few hours working in the pharmacy counting and sorting medicines for the travel clinic next weekend. The need here is overwhelming and the simplicity of these medical conditions, the ease at which we can solve them at home, is startling at how damaging they are here. We just finished dinner and now I am ready for my nightly walk with the girls. I am still so happy to be here, this weekend will be nice to see more of Haiti and to relax after the first part of the trip. I will post again next week after my first day in Limbe, which is sure to be overwhelming. thank you always for listening, how is home? any big news in the US that I am missing? sending love and hugs your way!