Those of you who know me probably know that while I generally prefer doing things with other people to doing things by myself, I'm usually pretty capable of accomplishing basic tasks like feeding myself and finding my way around new places on my own. In Haiti, the exact opposite is true.
Yesterday I walked out of my hotel to do some shopping all by myself for the very first time since I arrived here four weeks ago. It was so refreshing to actually be able to go somewhere all by myself. Before this weekend, I was always shuttled around Port au Prince by a private Oxfam driver. I would just tell them what kind of food I want for dinner, or what kind of errand I need to run, and they would figure out where I need to go and take me there. And they would wait for however long it takes before they have to take me wherever I need to go next. While it makes me feel kind of fancy to have a chauffeur at my beck and call, it's a little stifling.
Traveling in Haiti isn't like traveling anywhere else I've been. There are no international tourists here, except for Haitians living abroad who come back to visit. While not particularly surprising (have you ever considered vacationing in Haiti?), it makes for an unusual traveling experience. Everything is crazy expensive. It's really hard to find food in a lot of places. For two nights I stayed in a town with no restaurants, so the chauffeur took us to a convenience store where we bought cookies and peanut butter for dinner. In Port au Prince I buy single-serving yogurts for more than $4 because the only yogurt you can get is imported from the US. (Food prices are high for lots of complicated reasons - but that deserves its own post). Getting around and doing anything on your own is kind of hard because foreigners just don't do it. I did take public transportation when I went to the beach a couple of weekends ago, but people thought it was kind of weird.
I'll sign off now because my chauffeur is coming early in the morning to pick me up to go back to the field!
Yesterday I walked out of my hotel to do some shopping all by myself for the very first time since I arrived here four weeks ago. It was so refreshing to actually be able to go somewhere all by myself. Before this weekend, I was always shuttled around Port au Prince by a private Oxfam driver. I would just tell them what kind of food I want for dinner, or what kind of errand I need to run, and they would figure out where I need to go and take me there. And they would wait for however long it takes before they have to take me wherever I need to go next. While it makes me feel kind of fancy to have a chauffeur at my beck and call, it's a little stifling.
Traveling in Haiti isn't like traveling anywhere else I've been. There are no international tourists here, except for Haitians living abroad who come back to visit. While not particularly surprising (have you ever considered vacationing in Haiti?), it makes for an unusual traveling experience. Everything is crazy expensive. It's really hard to find food in a lot of places. For two nights I stayed in a town with no restaurants, so the chauffeur took us to a convenience store where we bought cookies and peanut butter for dinner. In Port au Prince I buy single-serving yogurts for more than $4 because the only yogurt you can get is imported from the US. (Food prices are high for lots of complicated reasons - but that deserves its own post). Getting around and doing anything on your own is kind of hard because foreigners just don't do it. I did take public transportation when I went to the beach a couple of weekends ago, but people thought it was kind of weird.
I'll sign off now because my chauffeur is coming early in the morning to pick me up to go back to the field!
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