Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Port au Prince (PaP), the capital of Haiti, is a huge city right on the water, bursting with color that pops off buildings, clothing, and plant life. Everyone and everything just radiates so so much color! It was hot and humid and at times I felt that my face would melt right off onto the dusty ground. It was crowded and filled with traffic. But it was also peaceful, with a breeze at night, and sometimes a soothing rainstorm.

But most of all, it was fascinating. If you haven't read the brief history/intro I did on Haiti, you can start with that here. I was by and large surprised that PaP (and really all of Haiti) had so little tourist infrastructure. You know how most big cities will have an area where you can walk around, do some shopping, see the old town center? Not really so in PaP. There are certainly things to see and do, but not a main drag where people congregate. Most of the things to see in PaP are rather spread out, so it required some driving (which was just as interesting taking in daily life while cruising through the city!)

Can I just say Haitians carry stuff on their head like a BOSS! Like truly... women, children, men...old and young, just put whatever they need to carry on their head. I was amazed (which is why you'll see so many pics of people carrying things on their head!). My last day there I literally saw an old woman walking around with her purse on her head! I couldn't stop giggling #forgetthestraps

People also sell stuff wherever they can hang stuff! If there was a wall, there were clothes, blankets, shoes...whatever man! If you can hang it, you can sell it! People did what they could to eek out a life for themselves, to make ends meat for their family, to put food on the table. Same as anywhere else. I certainly was impressed with the creativity!

Katharine was an incredible tour guide and took me to some iconic Port au Prince landmarks: The Oloffson Hotel, a view of the whole city from the top of Boutelliers, the Apparent Project workshop, Champ de Mars boulevard (where the statue of the Le Negre Marron is located), and their favorite restaurant called Quarter Latin where we spent a dreamy night eating under the glow of a lantern. (I will share more about each of these places in another post!)

I'm well aware that I did not sample all parts of Port au Prince. There are many neighborhoods where the poverty is unbelievable, and the crime rampant. My friends have worked in these neighborhoods (such as Cite Cité Soleil) and spent evenings sharing about the heart wrenching disparity they experienced. I'm sure many of you who have been on mission trips to PaP could share similar stories. So most of my pictures are taken of daily life in and around the neighborhoods of PaP, along with specific venues we went to!

Most of my time was spent just being present with my dear friends as they shared their life with me in the city. They took me to their workplace with the Mennonite Central Committee, where they do public policy and advocacy work and I was able to meet their co-workers. Most nights we made dinner, sat on their rooftop as the sun set and talked the night away (swatting mosquitos and drinking cold beverages), enjoying the presence of one another, as old friends do. It truly was a wonderful time. Enjoy the pictures!

{This is a breadfruit, which Ted and Katharine have growing in their yard! Ted picked a bunch and fried them up for us...they were delicious! A cross between a french fry and a plantain chip! noms!}


{Quartin Latin, a very vintage and imaginative restaurant with delicious food!} 

{The houses above and below were built in the iconic "Gingerbread" style, popular in Haiti in the late 1800's and early 1900's! Many of them survived the earthquake and give way to PaP's past!} 

This statue represents the slaves that banded together to break free from their oppressors!

{The Hotel Oloffson, below, also built in the Gingerbread style}







Happy Weekend Friends!! Next week i'll be sharing more Haiti pictures (and a give-away!!) so stay tuned!! My sister comes to visit this weekend, so i'm a happy camper!! xoxo 

A little Haitian History

Before I post more of my pictures, I thought it important to share a brief history of Haiti with you. I gotta admit, I knew next to nothing about Haiti as I sat on the plane and descended onto the island. Good thing my best friend majored in history in college and welcomed me to Haiti with open arms and a lot of useful Haitian historical trivia:) As Katharine warned me, the history of Haiti can get depressing fast, but it is equally fascinating and I think you'll find it will give you better context into the stories and pictures I share!! Ready for Haiti history 101? Let's go...

If you just suck at geography, Haiti is in the Caribbean and shares an island with the Dominican Republic. Are you visualizing where we are now? Ok, great...

Christopher Columbus actually landed in the north of Haiti in 1492, and the Spanish began settling the island of Hispaniola. In the next couple centuries,the western part of the island began to become inhabited by many French Pirates and buccaneers, who soon sent word to their French counterparts to move to the island and set up shop. Soon after tensions began to rise between Spain and France for the island's ownership as both countries had more or less settled on different parts of the island and wanted to dig into the natural resources. They evidently came to an agreement...Spain taking 2/3 of the Eastern half (what is now the Dominican Republic), and the French taking 1/3 of the western half (what is now Haiti).

The French began cultivating hundreds of sugar cane plantations, and bringing slaves from West Africa over by the boat load. Haiti's sugar cane plantations were among the most brutal, as one third of the African slaves brought over initially were dead in the first few years. The combination of efficient slave labor and natural resources made Haiti France's richest colony, and at one point, generated the most wealth of any colony in the world. Crazy, right?

In the late 1700s the slaves began to revolt and attack the plantation owners. France sent thousands of troops to Haiti, but by January of 1804, it was clear that the country belonged to the slaves who fought for independence. Pretty incredible to me that a group of slaves were able to band together and overthrow a colonial power, right?!? Yet sadly, in 1825 King Charles of France forced the President of Haiti to sign a treaty, insisting that Haiti pay them 150 million francs in exchange for their freedom. This severely crippled the island's economic situation.

Speaking of unfortunate events (like a debt of 150 million francs!), Haiti went from bad to worse when  "Papa Doc" and later his son "Baby Doc" came to power. Dr. François Duvalier ("Papa Doc") was elected President of Haiti in 1957 and remained president (aka: DICTATOR!!!) until his death in 1971. To make a long sad story short, neither was a very good leader or steward of their people or resources, stunting growth of the Haitian economy, and committing massive human rights abuses (they jailed, tortured, killed thousands of political opponents,etc).

As if things weren't already in a troubled state, 2010 was tragic year when the earthquake struck and killed over 230,000 and left over 1.5 million homeless, living in tents in any open area they could find. While my visit was 5 years after the earthquake and most noticeable signs of the quake were cleared up (rubble, etc), the traumatic emotional signs of the quake remain, as well as the economic set-backs of many crumbling buildings and economy. 

With a succession of bad leadership, poor foreign relations, and the devastating earthquake that shook the country in January of 2010, Haiti has had it's share of tragic challenges. Not to mention it's shocking levels of deforestation (Haiti currently has less than 3% tree cover where it used to have over 80%), which explains a lot of its environmental degradation today.

So that's the Haiti I visited. Yes, it is a very poor country, there's no way around that. The electricity was off most of the day, there was very little tourist infrastructure, and from what I heard the general population was quite disillusioned with the government (which, as a side note, is run by a president who used to be a pop singer named Sweet Mickey. Yep, Sweet Mickey).

However, what I found in Haiti is absolutely worth visiting. The rich culture, the people, and the sites are all worth exploring. The history really moved me, as it is a country that threw off it's oppressors in a way no other colony was able to do.  People were friendly, many hardworking. And the beauty of the island was such a hidden treasure. And this is what I hope to show in my pictures...that Haiti, for all it's unfortunate history, is still such a gem in the Caribbean, both it's people and landscape. I hope you'll enjoy Haiti through my lens!! 

Whew...thanks for hanging in there with me as I flew through that history! I hope you learned something new, and are set to track with me these next few weeks!! Coming up are ALL my pictures and stories from different places in Haiti. I hope you'll enjoy!  Happy Wednesday friends! xoxo 

I'm back from Haiti...a few pics!

I returned from Haiti late on Wednesday night. It was a very special trip for me, as I got to spend lots of quality uninterrupted time with my dear friend Katharine, as well as discover Haiti for the first time. Haiti is a fascinating country, and to be honest, i'm still processing my time there. It was both lighthearted and intense; exploring beaches and enjoying the island vibe, while at the same time learning of the tragic history and witnessing the result of dictators, earthquakes, and rampant unemployment.

These next few weeks I plan to share all of my pictures, and make a feeble attempt at sharing both the history and my reflections on the country. I also have 3 amazing give-aways set for you of treasures I found in Haiti, or that are related to Haiti...so stay tuned!!

Here's a few sneak peak pictures of what's to come!! Happy Monday dear friends...thank you again for being such sweet adventurers with me!! xoxo

ps- If you're interested in seeing more pictures of life in Haiti, check out Katharine's IG account @katharineoswald