Woke up today and found out we had one volunteer go down to food poisoning, she was up all night with it. This is when you are happy to be with a group of homeopaths, because we have plenty of remedies to help with Montezuma’s Revenge. She is better today but is being awfully careful about what she eats. Again, a lesson in susceptibility, as we have all eaten the same things and only one of us has gotten ill. I had my turn on the first trip, and hope I have the immunity now to whatever exists in the water here, and we have not seen any sign of the cholera epidemic.
Shoes for sale on the street near the Hotel
This morning we went again to the nursing school, Notre Dame, L’Ecole Des Sciences Infirmieres and taught a Homeopathic First Aid Course. This is the beginning of a certificate course we hope to offer over the next several months.
Our translator for the day - Gina
The day went very well, the students (all women) are as enthusiastic as the first group I taught in September. We will be back in January to teach the next part of the course. I will also be fundraising a bit to cover the tuition costs for the nurses, more on that later…
Several of the nurses came up to us at the end and wanted to know if we had a remedy for this or that,
We gave out packets of Arnica to all the students
so we offered to come back on Thursday and run a small clinic for them. They were thrilled, so that is the plan for Thursday, Wednesday we are back at St. Vincent’s.
Lunch was at the Hotel Oluffson which I had gone to on the last trip. There was an art display of voo-doo art by Edmond Ronald. You may see for yourself what that type of art is like!
Artwork in the garden of Hotel Oluffson
We had a great lunch on the verandah of rice and beans and goat cheese salad, a real Haitian treat!
Joseph, our driver’s car broke down, so we had a new driver Joseph hired for us to ferry us around who drove much more slowly and conservatively than Joseph (which was fine with me!) Driving in PAP is such an experience, there is so little adherence to any rules or logic, it is the bravest driver with the loudest horn who rules the intersection.
We just went up on the verandah to view the sunset from the third floor of the hotel, and were reminded once again of how we all share the same planet, sky, sun, disappointment, and joy. For me, being here is such a blessing, I feel very fortunate to be able to do this work and be a small part of Haiti’s future.
Wall of a makeshift home...