Last night was a lovely night for sleeping. There was a cool breeze and the moon was almost full, it cast its light gently on the Mango trees and the lawn. The Big Dipper was visible but soon dawn obscured it.
I rose early to leave for Blanchard with Gale hoping to see the houses that were built by PID. However upon arrival at the clinic there were already a few patients waiting. I ended up starting clinic early. The dog Sebut came looking for food. He was scrawny and covered with skin sores. Susie and Jenn came around 9:30am and we saw patients all morning through the early afternoon and stopped around 2 pm. We worked without stopping and it cracked us up when a young boy who was not a patient came sauntering in as if he owned the place and walked right up to me and leaned against me and smiled. He had his picture taken and just as soon as we were done he nonchalantly walked away.
This afternoon, Gale, Kerline and Susie and I went to Port-du-Prince for the first time. We drove through Cite Soliel which we were told is a gangster town. In Port- du-Prince, everywhere we looked there were collapsed houses, rubbles and dust. Many streets remained impassable. At one point we were greeted with a strong stench. There were US soldiers guarding the streets. We visited the camp across from the National Palace. People went about their daily activities sleeping, cooking, bathing in these temporary shelters all in a very crowded condition. Some of them looked hot and miserable, I really can't imagine being in such hopeless situation.
