So I have been here almost a month now, so I guess I should probably tell you all a little bit about where I'm living ... Port au Prince.
I should confess that I purposely waited to write about Port au Prince because earlier I would not have had very many good things to say. This city is intimidating and scary ... I guess like most cities are at first ... except at a whole other extreme.
Port au Prince is packed with people and cars. The cars may just be the scariest part of the city, the drivers drive fast, park on sidewalks and really could care less about pedestrians. There have been a couple of times when I was walking that I could have sworn the car was trying to hit me.
Monday through Saturday there are people everywhere. The population of Port au Prince is estimated at about 2.5-3million people packed into a relatively small area. Its hard not to be a little intimidated walking on a street filled with people speaking a language you do not understand, and its clear you stick out, and are probably the topic of conversation. It also doesn't help when people are shouting "Blanc, Blanc, Blanc" at you, Which means white person or foreigner.
Admittedly, it's easy to be distrusting of some of the people on the street and for the first couple weeks I found myself gripping my bag tighter and tighter, not smiling, or responding to greetings. Now, I am happy to say, I've gotten more used to being on the street, realizing that it is more important to walk with confidence than to tightly grip my bag and that being friendly to Those that I regularly see on the street is a good thing.
Probably another difficulty is the poverty. I only need to walk out my apartment and onto the street and you can see the poverty on the street. From an old women sitting on the ground saying she is hungry, to a young boy in tattered clothes following you for a couple blocks asking for money. I know that this is not unique to Haiti but it is still hard to debate whether you should, or not, and to say no, because in all honesty if I gave some to one person I would be surrounded by others asking ... so I am going to try to find ways to help without giving money directly.
In spite of these and other challenges of the city, I am starting to see some of the good parts of this place more clearly. For example, it is hard not to admire the atmosphere of chaos that somehow seems to work. I really do think Port au Prince could give New York City's title of the City the Never Sleeps a run for its money ... just ask the three year old in my building who seems to be up playing outside at 4:30 am and is somehow still up playing at midnight.
Also there is brilliant artwork that is full of color that can bring dull, dirty areas to life with color. There are streets that are filled with people selling art. For blocks it feels like you are walking in an art gallery but it is even cooler because you are surrounded by the sites sounds of the city. And there are of course the taptap Which are nozzles that are painted with all different colors and themes. A lot of them have religious meanings and reference bible verses or simply say I love Jesus. I wish I had a picture of one now but I will try to get one soon.
There are also some really great people here that look after me. For example there is this man who runs my local supermarket. He always comes and says hello to me while I'm paying as he slips free gum or candy into my bag. I recently had a birthday and when he found out he told me I had to come back the next day for my present. He gave me a box of chocolates ... wrapped and everything!
I live close to the Champ de Mars which is kind of this huge public square with statues and museums and is really close to the Palais National, which is supposed to be where the president lives. It's a cool area and there seem to be a lot of concerts and what not there so it will be exciting to spend some more time exploring there.
I should confess that I purposely waited to write about Port au Prince because earlier I would not have had very many good things to say. This city is intimidating and scary ... I guess like most cities are at first ... except at a whole other extreme.
Port au Prince is packed with people and cars. The cars may just be the scariest part of the city, the drivers drive fast, park on sidewalks and really could care less about pedestrians. There have been a couple of times when I was walking that I could have sworn the car was trying to hit me.
Monday through Saturday there are people everywhere. The population of Port au Prince is estimated at about 2.5-3million people packed into a relatively small area. Its hard not to be a little intimidated walking on a street filled with people speaking a language you do not understand, and its clear you stick out, and are probably the topic of conversation. It also doesn't help when people are shouting "Blanc, Blanc, Blanc" at you, Which means white person or foreigner.
Admittedly, it's easy to be distrusting of some of the people on the street and for the first couple weeks I found myself gripping my bag tighter and tighter, not smiling, or responding to greetings. Now, I am happy to say, I've gotten more used to being on the street, realizing that it is more important to walk with confidence than to tightly grip my bag and that being friendly to Those that I regularly see on the street is a good thing.
Probably another difficulty is the poverty. I only need to walk out my apartment and onto the street and you can see the poverty on the street. From an old women sitting on the ground saying she is hungry, to a young boy in tattered clothes following you for a couple blocks asking for money. I know that this is not unique to Haiti but it is still hard to debate whether you should, or not, and to say no, because in all honesty if I gave some to one person I would be surrounded by others asking ... so I am going to try to find ways to help without giving money directly.
In spite of these and other challenges of the city, I am starting to see some of the good parts of this place more clearly. For example, it is hard not to admire the atmosphere of chaos that somehow seems to work. I really do think Port au Prince could give New York City's title of the City the Never Sleeps a run for its money ... just ask the three year old in my building who seems to be up playing outside at 4:30 am and is somehow still up playing at midnight.
Also there is brilliant artwork that is full of color that can bring dull, dirty areas to life with color. There are streets that are filled with people selling art. For blocks it feels like you are walking in an art gallery but it is even cooler because you are surrounded by the sites sounds of the city. And there are of course the taptap Which are nozzles that are painted with all different colors and themes. A lot of them have religious meanings and reference bible verses or simply say I love Jesus. I wish I had a picture of one now but I will try to get one soon.
There are also some really great people here that look after me. For example there is this man who runs my local supermarket. He always comes and says hello to me while I'm paying as he slips free gum or candy into my bag. I recently had a birthday and when he found out he told me I had to come back the next day for my present. He gave me a box of chocolates ... wrapped and everything!
I live close to the Champ de Mars which is kind of this huge public square with statues and museums and is really close to the Palais National, which is supposed to be where the president lives. It's a cool area and there seem to be a lot of concerts and what not there so it will be exciting to spend some more time exploring there.
The Palais National
Well I guess that's all I wanted to say about Port au Prince for now ... I will probably write more later as I continue to experience this city. I will also try to get more pictures. Gradually I am working up confidence to pulling out my camera on the streets, and right now I am only doing it on Sundays when the city is not as busy. But I promise more later.
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