Day 3 – Back to Work!

By Adam Sarbin March 10th, 2014

Well, soon after lights out last night, the wildlife made itself known quite well. We heard the dogs protecting their territory, donkeys braying, roosters crowing….and yes, there were bears….bears, bears everywhere. Regardless‎, we all managed to drift off to sleep.

We also got quite cold at night and were looking for ‎something to cover up…definitely cooler at night in the countryside. Of course, shortly after the roosters began crowing in earnest around 5 AM, the dawn began breaking and the temp began warming. Soon the sun was beating down and it turned to a balmy day. 

It turned out to be a slow day in the clinic and all patients were seen and treated well before lunch…except of course for Sarah and her translator, our old friend Ancy. They worked in the eye clinic all morning with a break for lunch and then more patients after. Bravo to the hardest workers in Clinic Jolivert today. Once we finished our clinic work, we all joined Melisa in the “excitement” of medication sorting, bagging and labeling….definitely not the favorite chore of the trip but necessary for our remote clinics, which will begin tomorrow in Coton. This was the final bush clinic of last year and I look forward to seeing if there has been any change in their community center, where we will hold clinic. Another familiar face will join us as a translator…you will all remember Mildred from last year. We are lucky to have her helping us again this year along with her sister Widshelden and another new translator, Rodner ‎who spent much of clinic providing medical Creole lessons to Carey and Jenny.

After an attempt to find some cooling breezes and quiet behind our building,we were descended upon by a flock of very curious local children. The Project Starfish Choir entertained again as the ladies had there hair braided. We were all surrounded and interrogated at length until we embarked on our traditional trek up the hill as the sun began setting. The breeze was perfect and the view from the top was as breathtaking as ever.

When we returned from our trek we enjoyed the cool down as the sun was setting with Haiti’s finest cold beverage and snacks for dinner. Even better was the company and the conversation. It is shaping up to be a wonderful evening for sleep….and we all have earplugs in case the bears make another appearance tonight.

We are excited for the bush clinic tomorrow and look forward to sharing stories of our experiences tomorrow night.

Love to All,

Adam