Never A Dull Day

So, on Monday Chris and I headed to Port-au-Prince with a load of filters. We left at 5:30 am because we wanted to beat some of the traffic in Port. However, we got a couple miles down the road and found out that one of our six tires was flat. Ok, no big deal. Flat tires are pretty common here. We get the spare loose and, of course, notice that it is also flat. When we had pulled off to the side of the road, someone who used to help out at Clean Water for Haiti was riding his bike by and offered to help us. He got his electric compressor so we could pump up one tire enough to make it to the next town where we could get the tube fixed....most car and truck tires here have tubes. After getting enough air in the tire to make it drivable, we headed to the tire repair guy.

The Flat Tire

We got both tires fixed and noticed we had low pressure in a third tire also. We had them pull the tube and look for leaks, but it checked out alright....after the hour and a half delay, we were back on the road and heading for town.

We met up with two other missionaries who are coordinating filter installations at some of the local prisons. We unloaded 10 filters at a women's shelter and then headed for a prison just outside of Port. I was told traffic wasn't too bad, but I thought it was still pretty crazy. After dropping off the filters and separating from the other missionaries, Chris and I set out to run some errands.

Our first stop was a hardware store to get interior doors for the dorm building, door knobs, hinges, and some other things we couldn't end up finding. The shopping system at this particular store is quite interesting though. When you walk in, you are basically assigned a guide and you tell them what you want as you walk around the store. Then he writes up a list and you take it to the cashier. After you pay for everything, they go back and collect everything on the receipt. Not a very efficient system, but their reason for doing it is to eliminate stealing.

After that, we went to another hardware store to get some other odds and ends and then went to get groceries. Our last stop of the day was a electrical supply company, called Elmeco.....which took us a while to find. Background: Chris has had to climb the telephone pole out by the street quite a few times to fix the power that comes from the city. People will cut the wires, run some to their home, and will mess something up that ends up ruining our connection. If it is not completely disconnected, then it can still cause fluctuating current. To combat this, Chris and a neighbor have decided to put a transformer between their properties so that no one can climb up it and tap into the power. So, we went to Elmeco to get the telephone pole, transformer, and other miscellaneous parts for the installation. I'll let the next few picture speak for themselves:

Loading The Transformer

Chris Anticipating The Fun Drive Home

Is This Thing Long Enough?

We loaded the 550 lb transformer into the bed and then found plenty of room available for the 40 ft, 800 lb telephone pole. This was the only way to get it home, and in Haiti, no one really cares. We passed plenty of police and they just waved as we drove down the street.

I wanted to get some pictures of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area since I haven't shown any yet. However, since my camera is decently sized, it can be a pain to carry everywhere. Also, you have to be very careful about taking pictures in the city because some people get upset. Chris and Leslie said one of their family members took a quick photo out of the truck and a couple seconds later a rock was hurled through the window. So, I borrowed a camera from Chris and Leslie because they have a small digital camera that I can carry around in my pocket. I tried to discretely take some photos while we were driving around. The following are some of the pictures that turned out during our trip.

UN Troops

The City

A Water Source

Housing