A day in Detroit

Yesterday, I spent the day in Detroit with Pimpa.  She called me the night before and asked me if I would drive with her to her doctor's appointment.  Her husband, who normally makes the monthly trip with her, was sick and she didn't want to make the trip alone.

Pimpa looked tired and stressed and in fact, this turned out to be the case because once she finally got in to see her doctor, she was told her blood pressure was dangerously high and there was talk about sending her to the hospital.  But a couple of hours later, after medicating her and writing her several prescriptions, she was allowed to leave.

Pimpa, looking tired and stressed

Once we left the doctor's office, we started on our "big" adventure.  The first stop was to a pawn shop where Pimpa had some jewelery she needed to get out of hock.  It had been sitting there for over a year and after working 14 hour days for days on end, she'd finally saved up enough to reclaim her items.

leaving the pawn shop

From there, we went to lunch at a little Vietnamese restaurant.  By now, it was 3:00 and about four hours past my lunch time!  I had become very narrow in my focus over the last couple of hours, not caring about Pimpa's jewelery or anything else in my desire to satisfy my growling stomach.  I can't remember a time I've ever been happier to arrive at a restaurant!

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This is the third time I've eaten in a restaurant with Pimpa.  She has a habit of ordering way more food than she intends to eat!  As she was ordering item after item on the menu, I found myself thinking, "Yes, I can eat that!"

making selections off the menu

But, once the food began arriving, I realized there was going to be trouble.  Big trouble!

I have this theory that the hungrier you are, the less you can eat.  I had barely begun eating when my stomach felt like it was about to burst!  By the time we were done eating, there was still enough food left on the table to feed a family of four!

what we couldn't eat

After leaving the restaurant, Pimpa took me to a Chinese BBQ where she ordered BBQ ducks to take back home.

Pimpa at the counter, placing her order

This was an interesting place and, to be quite honest, the ducks were probably the ONLY thing I would have eaten from this shop.  Everything else looked a bit, well............ scary!!

tripe

ummm.... not sure

a whole bunch of stuff I'm not sure about

The lady who cut up our duck was amazingly quick and accurate with her cleaver!!

From the Chinese BBQ shop, we went to the farmer's market to buy fruits and vegetables.  This was a cool place with aisle after aisle of fresh-looking, low-priced produce.

We also went to a couple of Asian markets where I was able to buy an entire case of Shin Ramyun spicy noodle soup.  This should make Lucas very happy!

By the time we pulled into my driveway, it was going on 11:30 ( a good three and a half hours past my normal bedtime.)  As I got out of the truck, Pimpa thanked me for going along with her and said, "Next month, we go spend night in hotel."

Next month??  Really?????

Another week goes by........

Well, it's been a rather brutal week for me.  (I'm going with the 4th line definition in the online dictionary for brutal, which is "taxing, demanding, or exhausting.")

 My trip out to Pierre Payen to visit Clean Water for Haiti went well.  Chris (the director) was not there, but it was a pleasure to meet his wife and daughter.  His wife, Lesley, was very knowledgeable about all things related to bio-sand water filters and explained the project and the filters in a way that was understandable to me.  I was very impressed with the work site and am excited about the possibility of bringing this project to Jeremie.

a mold used to make the bio-sand filters



a bio-sand filter can filter a 5-gallon bucket of water in 45 minutes

Although I was willing to take the risk of driving out to Pierre Payen without a spare tire, I was not going to take the same chance driving all the way to Les Cayes.  So, after returning to the city Tuesday evening, my friend Alix (who was loaning me his car) and I went to the tire shop and got a new tire put on the spare rim.

that's Alix in the orange shirt



putting the tire on the rim

 The trip out to Cayes was mercifully uneventful.  The main reason for making this trip was to meet a young girl who is looking for a family to adopt her.  I thought she lived right in Cayes, but turns out, she lives in the countryside in a small town called Maniche.  We drove out into the countryside over a very rough and bumpy road, asking pedestrians of all shapes and sizes if this was the road into Maniche.  Each one affirmed this, pointing vaguely in the direction ahead of us saying, "You've almost arrived."  We finally arrived at a sad looking, colorless little town.  I say colorless because it seemed to be made completely out of cement and stone; no grass to be seen anywhere, houses crumbling along both sides of the streets, a dusty film settled on everything in sight.



the road to Maniche



town of Maniche

town of Maniche

We pulled up in front of one of the crumbling houses and were greeted by Sandrine, her brother Bob, and their mother.  They were excited to have visitors and ushered us into the house, where I took pictures and asked Sandrine a few questions about her life and her interests.

main room of house where they sleep, eat, and generally just hang out



front room shot from a different angle

 
We stayed about 15 minutes, then climbed up into the vehicle to head back to Cayes.  But before leaving, I decided I'd better use the restroom.  I asked where I might be able to do this.  Sandrine took me to a small, dark, empty room off the main room of the house, pointed to a corner and suggested I squat and pee onto the dirt floor.  I couldn't bring myself to pee in their house this way so went out back instead and tried to hide behind a banana tree where I pulled down my jeans and worked as quickly as possible.

We spent two nights in Les Cayes and stayed with some friends of mine while there.  It was good to reconnect with Touloute and his wife as I hadn't seen them for almost four years.  Their son, Luvio, has turned into a carbon-copy of his father, something he seems to not be very happy about!

When it became known that we were in Cayes to meet with and take pictures of a young girl who needs a family, a mother brought her six-year-old daughter to me.  She explained that the little girl's father had died in the earthquake and she now was unable to raise and care for her child alone as she had no economic resources.  She dreams of a better life for her daughter and asked me if I could also try and find a family to adopt her.  What else could I do but take her picture and information and tell her I'd do my best.

Since returning to Port-au-Prince, I've pretty much been holed up in my room, watching the days crawl by while I wait to go home. 

Which I will be doing this afternoon!

P.S.  I almost made it through this entire trip without any stomach distress.  Until yesterday, when I ate a bowl of boullion made with goat's head that seems to be doing quite a number on me.  My stomach has been gurggling and bubbling all night long!