5 jours!

Only five more days! Mixed feelings, of course. It's beautiful here, I could do this work for another month easily, and people are so very nice...but it sure will be nice to see my pup, experience autumn, see friends, eat real ice cream, and not worry about dengue, malaria, or standing out as so so "Blan."

Our org's Haitian former program manager was apparently a very quirky man. On a plane trip across Haiti with the org's Executive Director, the domestic airline personnel were uncharacteristically anal about poring through the contents of all passengers' bags. The E.D. was carrying a small pair of scissors to trim his beard, and the airline personnel decided that he, as a foreigner, was not to be trusted with them on the flight. Instead, they entrusted his Haitian colleague with the scissors for the duration of their flight. When the E.D. laughingly said, about halfway through the flight, "Oh, while I'm thinking of it, may I have my scissors back?" his employee flat-out refused. This was his trusted boss, who he had worked with for years and had even come to visit in the States. "Remember," he said, "the men who flew into the Twin Towers were white men!"

The importance of relationship building has been underlined for me today. Last Monday, when I was complaining about not having any "productive" meetings, I had just gotten back from helping a doctor during her English lesson. The doctor, who had previously been shy and tight-lipped around me, has since proven to be my most valuable resource here. She gave me the richest and most candid interview I've had, arranged a focus group discussion for me, and then called to let me know of a wonderful opportunity she's arranged for me today. She will be bringing me to a neighboring city, because the hospital there is rumored to have the best blood bank in Northern Haiti. I'm very excited!

Last night's pineapples were pure melt-in-your-mouth fresh sweetness. I ordered an extra plate as my dessert. Extraordinary!