Mixed Feelings, but Very Excited

It is the night before we embark on our journey throughout haiti. I have various feelings about the upcoming trip. I just got off of the phone with my mother who is very nervous for me and I think she is part of the reason I am so nervous. She did a lot of research on haiti which I appreciate because it shows how much she cares. I am the first person in my family to travel to a developing country and staying outside of a resort so this is new to her. In addition to her making me somewhat nervous, I am also nervous about fitting into the American stereotype of development and knowledge tourism. Even though I am unable to directly communicate with the local people, I hope they understand we are not here to take pictures of them and tell them what to do and what they did wrong. I think I will be able to learn so much from this experience more so than I will have an impact on others there for the most part. Aside from my nerves I am extremely excited to explore and experience haiti. I have already learned so much from pre trip training sessions, my leaders, and required readings, it will be interesting to see the pressing issues and themes in real life. I have learned a lot about public health issues and development, but only through the standard classroom setting. I am eager to learn about public health and development issues in the field. Lastly, I am grateful for this amazing opportunity. I can't wait for tomorrow! 

Excited for Haiti

For the last few weeks, I have become super excited to travel to Haiti. It still hasn’t set in that by tomorrow, we’ll be in a completely different country. Another thing I’ve began to take notice of is the cost of healthcare. Growing up, I never really paid attention to it since not many kids think of the fee for doctor’s visits. Medicine never seemed to be a luxury, but rather a necessity. The older I get, the more I realize how financially stable I am and how blinding that can be.

            As a college student, I receive money from my parents every two weeks. These finances go towards food, travelling, etc. In the last day,  I have had to figure out how and where to get vaccinations. First, I went to the school center and got one shot done. That whole process cost $110. Then I went to Walgreens and got another shot, which cost $90. By the end of the day, I had $2.74 left in my bank account. Though it was daunting to me at the time, I know my parents will fill up my account again and my healthcare provider will reimburse me. I am fully aware of this and supported.

            Today, I thought to myself, what about students who can’t afford these lucrative shots? One shot costs twenty hours of work at minimum wage in the District of Columbia. But then I analyzed it even more… What about people in Haiti? A place where the public health system is completely different from the United States and not many have the same access that we do, such as to over the counter drugs. I think it’s one thing to read about this disparity, but it’s another to actually see it. I am excited to venture to Haiti, have my perceptions challenged, and to better understand how other people of the world are living and what needs to change.

Haiti or love it

With dry mouth and a headache, I snack on Karmen's easter colored M&M's. Around 4 pm I finished my last midterm of the week and finally entered Haiti mode. It then hit me that I needed to ride the metro to downtown to return some clothes, hop back on the metro to DuPont Circle to meet my uncle for dinner, go back to my neighborhood and hit up CVS, go home and start packing AND make it to AU intake to catch our ride at 2 am. Uh oh. Well I managed to get all of the above done with time to spare but now it's time to hit the road. The excitement hit me like a crashing wave as I got in the car to head the campus. I have no idea what to expect but I couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to touch down in the warm weather and finally be in the Caribbean. Haiti or love it, here we come.

Haiti - Excitement

In less than twenty four hours I will be two thousand miles away to a country where I don't know any creole. But I'm extremely happy to be going with a community of passionate, considerate, intelligent students, where we all in some way will grow. I am excited to see all our growth and knowledge expand in experiencing Haiti for the first time. Although, it is overwhelming in the preparation for the trip to Haiti, I am extremely excited to learn about Haiti. Through Haiti I want to look in depth at the public health infrastructure and micro-credit system. It's extremely exciting in that I will be able to learn through a first hand experience about Haiti.

Bye United States! See you in one week!

Expectations!!

The anticipation has been growing for 8 months now! The snowstorm yesterday made me slightly nervous; I still needed to grab a few items and also didn’t think we would be able to fly out of here!  I was definitely going to cry if we weren’t able to go after all the training and planning everyone has gone through in order to ensure a successful trip! I honestly can’t believe the trip is here. We’ve been preparing so long and finally get to go! I am confident that all our students will haves n awesome time (as will Jen & I) and also be able to bring in contextual knowledge from our pre-tip trainings to what they see and experience in Haiti. It seems as though everything is in our favor going to Haiti and I can rest easy and enjoy! I’m prepared for a successful trip full of engagement and knowledge sharing.