Various Thoughts From October 25 to November 6

I rode in to the office on the back of a moto taxi. My driver's name was Rolex. Yup, that pretty much covers it.
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Grid power, I miss you so...
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I love my friends, for many reasons, but this stands out today: "Rule #726-- never ride on a motorcycle driven by a dude named Rolex. "
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Halloween? Psh. We have zombies EVERY day.
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A coconut just fell from a tree, and I was around, and heard it. That's about as philosophical as I will get this evening.
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I love me, for a lot of reasons, but I just told someone "right now I'm drinking bugs, so ask me in another month." I left out the part about explosive diarrhea from either griyo, habanero piklis, or a gastrointestinal encounter of the third kind.
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Regarding apples and oranges...please don't compare them. If you do, I'll point out they both have interesting qualities, but are unrelated.
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The world lost a great teacher, friend, and mother this week. We love you Carol Field, and you will be missed. For the rest of us, please hug and kiss the ones you love while you can.
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Have you ever heard the sound of your eyes shutting? I have. I'm not sure how to feel about it.
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You know what I like? The fact that people I love have children at at least twice the rate as I lose people that I love. If that isn't a pro-sex ad, I don't know what is.
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As many bug-bites as I woke up with I'd be shocked if I DIDN'T have malaria.
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You probably think this post is about you. Oh jebus where are these bugs coming from? gah!
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I have a new girlfriend. Her name is Helen Back. Odd name, I know, but she sure is purty.
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So what do I do when I get home? Pretty sure I'll hug a few friends and have a beer. Oh, and enjoy some electricity and water. Those are a bit underrated. (Editor's note: Chris should be back in the USA before Thanksgiving in that country.)
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Things seen today...full length plate glass door on a motorcycle. A lady carrying what appeared to be a midget blow-up doll. U.N. soldiers shopping with rifles. Yup. It's Haiti.
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Today I think I amused more Haitians than they did me. That's a good day. Also, I got upgraded to "blanco." That's good...right?
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Cold air. I wonder how bad that will freak me out.
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Water. It will keep you alive, and destroy anything you know.

Left Behind

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Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. June, 2011. L to R are my friends Lauren Nelms, (me), Jon Orsborn, Thomas Human Microphone Hudson, and Zachary Allen Cerrato.

Backstory: They recruited me as a medical translator/assist for a 10 day trip, and I decided to stay for a few months.

When I See Helicopters...

So, I screamed like a little girl when a mouse surprised me today (so much for Ramguyver), I saw an ancient x-ray machine on an ox-cart pulled by humans, and saw a guy with a t-shirt that read "When I see helicopters, I shit my pants." Welcome to Haiti.

Breakin' the Law, Breakin' the Law

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Cancer and Bucket Baths

I have a friend going under the knife today for the removal of a cancerous tumor. Please say a prayer for her to the deity of your choice today or just send her good vibes. A donation to cancer research causes would just be icing on the cake.
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So, someone stole the wire from the electrical pole for grid power (which only worked 15-20% of the time at random intervals anyway) which means no water pump, which means back to bucket baths. Yay me.

First Day of Dry Season?

Today felt like the first day of what I remember as the dry season here. Think autumn, but still hot. And chronometers and thermometers are useless here...no one else uses them...you just feel.

Long Drive

Um...if you are from Paragould and are missing a truck, I might know where it is.

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I was standing outside the office having a smoke on National Rt. 1 and there it was. Excuse the photography, that is my mobile phone and probably had griyo grease on the lens. The guys shouted, hey we didn't give you permission to take a picture! I told them they shouldn't park the truck in public on a national highway then. All Haitians think you're going to make money by taking pictures. The only way that will happen here is if there is a reward back home for information on that truck.