Second Post Jitters?

As expected, I failed on a second post but now is a better time than ever to give it a second shot...(yes, note my frustration)

I'm pretty dissatisfied with my firs

t post; somewhere between trying too hard and not wanting anyone to know that, I think I sound pretty dull. Thus, I have spent last the past few days contemplating giving up on this all together, but I'll push through (a sigh of relief, right?).  AT LEAST I will continue until after Haiti because my main purpose is to share my trip and I couldn't think of a better way to do it. 

Monday morning I am off at 6:30am to West Palm Beach Int'l Airport where I will meet one other member of our mission team (she has been there before, which has been a MAJOR help to me...) Tuesday morning we fly out of Ft. Pierce (in a little non-commercial airplane) and head to Haiti (not without a little 'pitstop' in the Bahamas first--maybe I'll just have them get me there on the return leg of the trip?!?) 

So in my anxiety/excitement/pure nervousness, I really have been doing my Haiti-homework. To briefly catch you up to speed (if you aren't a Haitian-expert), in 1804 they gained their independence from France, and were the first country to abolish slavery (fun fact). The main languages of the country are French and Creole (neither of which do I speak--Mags did not offer Creole and my foreign language skills ended the moment my Spanish requirements were filled... something I am now regretting). Haiti is the most underdeveloped/poverty stricken country in the western hemisphere (ranking 3rd in the world). 80% of the population lives under the poverty line, living on less than $1 a day [In my time home, I found myself trying to discuss these conditions with my siblings, apparently 9 year olds don't have a long attention span for my comparisons. Who knew.] 

Anyways, what will I be doing in Haiti? Honestly, I won't really have a full grasp on the specifics until I get down there--*Flexibility* is key to a smooth mission trip--but in a blanket statement from RWM (my mission group), the majority of our efforts are "to provide medical and laboratory supplies, laboratory training, on-site and email consultation, and free mass screening of patients associated with Bethesda Medical Center, a Christian operated clinic located in Vaudreuil, Haiti just outside Cap-Haiten" (north coast on the map). I will spend my first week at the Bethesda Medical Center and my second week I am going to the travel clinic in Limbe (a little south of Cap Haiten). Travel to this clinic involves a 2-3 hour drive until the road ends where we then walk 2-3miles over a mountain with the supplies to reach our destination (travel assistance provided by donkeys <--cool!) 

The conditions in Haiti are a slightly different than anything we could ever be used to. Anytime I leave where we are staying, I must be in a knee length skirt and short sleeve blouse. Shorts are not acceptable at all, and 'slacks' are not acceptable for women. There is no electricity at night so I will be left to the power of my flashlight and battery operated fan (my overactive sweat glands are going to LOVE Haiti), I bet you are excited for the pictures now! Regardless, this is going to be the experience of a lifetime, something I have wanted to do for a while now and I hope it is the first of many trips along these lines. We truly are so privileged and its our responsibility to not take that for granted when we have the chance. Okay, I'll get off my soap-box now. 

See you on July 3rd. ;)