International Murder a Mosquito Day

I've decided that January 11th, 2010 is International Murder a Mosquito Day.

In memory of my elbows, I ask that you go out of your way to make a mosquito's life miserable today. There are a few ways of doing this:

1. Sit outside tonight and murder any mosquito that decides to cross paths with you. I realize this may be difficult for some western Washington readers as it is cold and snowy (see options 2 and 3).
2. Buy a can of bug repellent and spray randomly. It's not the healthiest for the environment but it's more of a ceremonial sign of your dislike for the flying pests.
3. Visit Nothing But Nets and buy a $10 net that will put the little monsters in their place - off of the skin of humans (it'll also save a child from malaria. A bonus).
4. Build a frog habitat in your back yard. Frog's will eat the mosquitoes. Problem solved.

I'm working on this as a yearly holiday. Let me know if you decided to support the memory of my elbows by doing any of the above.

And Down the Mountain We Went...

This morning... oh this morning hurt. Last night started out wonderfully - a picnic with some of the other volunteers overlooking the valley, beer bought from what I think was a bar/ barber shop/ abandoned quake wreckage, and a good conversation about ghosts and voodoo. But this turned into Rachel and I drinking WAY too much gin and juice with our new friend Eddie. Hence the painful morning. We did manage to get up at 5:30am and hiked up to the top of the mountian (all uphill and about 2.5 miles) which gave us a pretty surreal view. After heading down to the orphanage, we took a nap and then caught a truck back to Port-au-Prince. I got a video of the bumpy truck ride but as I've come to find out, computers and internet in third world countries are a bit on the technological slow side. So no videos or pics tonight.

Upon arrival to Port-au-Prince, we strolled over to the abandoned babies room at the hospital to have some tea with the little girls. My favorite, Jonackson, was sleepy so it gave me time to hangout with the other kids that were left there. I definately improved my baby skills by rocking an upset infant to sleep (yes ladies. I cook too. And I'm single).

On the walk back to our main residence, we happened across Johnnie, Molly Hightower's Haitian man-friend. He is super nice and took us around part of the rest of NPH that we hadn't gotten to visit yet. He introduced us to some of his friends who are going to take us out to city in the morning. Should be an adventure.

Overall, I know I'm happy to be back to the city. A bit too much relaxation up on the mountain had started to lead to some boredom and too much gin.

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Sidenote: yes, I'm still taking my malaria pills. No, I'm not feeling too sick anymore. Yes, I'm still having crazy dreams. I attribute that to the voodoo down here. Yes, I miss pizza.

Malaria Will be the End of Me

Arriving to the sunset in Miami, we took off a few hours later to arrive in Port-au-Prince, after a long battle with my malaria pills for the last three days. Always fun - taking pills to prevent you from being sick that make you sick. I don't get it. That is beside the point because we are here now. While I have yet to fully taste, see, and appreciate what this country has to offer, I am struck by just the extremes it has to offer. On one hand, I can promise I'll never seem more intense poverty the rest of my life. However, the beauty of the sunset and the ocean surroundings are just magnificent, pictures can't do them justice. The ride from the airport was intense. Like Paris, it boggles my mind that drivers in other countries can have so little regard for laws, pedestrians, or just general safety. I do marvel at their driving skills, which are far superior to any American's.

Rachel and I spent most of the day exploring the campus of NPH, playing with the abandoned children at the hospital. While I did get peed on, these kids are totally adorable and I kinda wanted to steal Jonackson Jean. I was in awe of my hands. And my Beanie Baby I brought him.

I was so jetlagged that I napped the rest of the day. I did mannage to wake up at 5, see a lizard run across the floor of the facility we're staying at, to which I just assumed I was hallucinating again from the malaria. I think the little guy was real though. I managed to get up in time to share a sunset and homemade Bailey's (made by a volunteering nun) with some of the other staff. I now look forward to a sweaty night, battling mosquitos and little lizards.