conflicted

Week one has been busy, a slog in fact.  I have met so many people in the few days I have been here so far and trying to keep up with their names and roles has been tiring, let alone understanding their challenges and where I fit in.  And the language of course.  I have spent quite a lot of time teaching myself Creole but even watching youtube videos did not prepare me for the speed of speech and the accent (youtube is full of ex-pats living in Florida; the reality here is a more rural diction).

Sabbath was made for man they say; no work shall be done.  So the team organised a trip to the beach.  Not just any beach though.  We headed into Cap-Haitien (through the poverty and chaos), out the other side and over the mountain (great views) and when we got to the coast, we chartered a water taxi.  They took us to beach “Paradis” and it was as picture post-card as the name suggests.  You could only get there by boat.  It had about a hundred yards of golden sandy beach.  The water was crystal clear, and warm of course.  Just after we waded ashore the coconut seller appeared, then minutes later the coconuts arrived.  It felt like they had just been harvested; the tops had been sliced off, but so very carefully, you still had to poke a finger through the thin membrane closing off the eye to get to water.  After a few slurps (and so room inside) out came a bottle of rum, so we all had a cocktail, straight from the fruit (or is it a nut?).

Lunch was ridiculous, we had Fruits de Mer, but like nothing I have ever seen.  Three whole lobsters, four crabs and three large fish all BBQ’d in a spicy paste.  Then there was a side dish of eel, squid, octopus and clams.  Oh and deep fried plantain with pickliz on the side.  How could this be?  In a country so broken, with so much poverty and need, how to justify such extravagance?  

I guess it’s down-time after the 6-day week.  A chance to recharge after the intensity and emotions of the work, and maybe even reflect on the issues and problems addressed and consider those yet to be faced.  A chance to remember why we are here and those we are here for.  The theory goes that if we are well rested and refreshed, we will be better able to discharge the privilege that it is to serve this community.   And I suppose it’s putting money into the local economy.

The team have fun splashing in the surf, basking in the sun and enjoying a feast.  I glory in a little personal space and take the opportunity to be alone for a while to reflect and reminisce.  No longer conflicted.