Countdown

In 2 weeks tomorrow I will be heading off to the Dominican to catch my flight home. 2 weeks! It’s this week that’s been the turning point for me, I think, at least that’s what it seems. I guess it just hit me that the work here isn’t done, and that I didn’t finish everything that I came here to do. Part of this is due to not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, but the other part is just in general, I don’t feel like I’m finished here. I’m not ready to go. I’m finally beginning to get comfortable with the pace of life, the way people operate here, and I’m finally able to relax and take a seat on the side of the road to rest for awhile and just watch as people pass by. I’m excited to return to life at home, to see friends and family, but I’m not ready to leave and not know what the future holds with regards to my life here.

Being called blanco doesn’t bother me as much anymore and I’m able to make jokes with the children and the cat-calling guys to make light of the fact that yes I am indeed a foreigner, and yes, indeed I am white. People often state the obvious here: “you are sitting, you are eating, you are resting, you are sleeping, you are white.” I actually find it pretty amusing. It’s been a real struggle for me with the racism/reverse racism here, but lately it’s been easier to deal with. Once you get the language and can joke around with people, it seems they view you differently, and I them as well.

So, as I begin to wrap up my time here, I have been reflecting a lot on the larger issues of this country. On the economics and the whole entire system of this country. When we have young entrepreneurs actually taking action and starting a business and yet getting no where, it frustrates me. In Canada, it seems our job is to get an education, use it, and the system will do the rest. Here’s what I mean. I go to school for business. Thereafter I start a business in something that I see is demanded in the economy. I advertise, have good customer service, etc, etc, etc. But it is not MY job to ensure that people have money to purchase my goods. I can help them think they need my product, causing a demand for it. But when you really think of it, it’s not my job to ensure that the entire community or country has money in their pockets to purchase these things. Take Alin for example. He has his greenhouse, no one has money to buy any of his products. He is growing bamboo to help prevent soil erosion and is planting trees to help with the deforestation, but who will pay him for this? Who will pay for the workers to cut down the bamboo, for their lunch while they work, for the truck to haul the bamboo back, for the workers to then cut it and plant it? Who then will plant all the trees on the mountain and make sure they actually grow? The farmers on the mountain? The town? I think in North America, the government would help with this right? There are programs that are subsidized by the government to ensure we don’t end up with no trees in our forests from forest fires or logging or whatever!? There are so many people just sitting around, and yet so many attempting to find some sort of employment. It really is a huge problem.

Anyways, continue to pray as I head into the last couple weeks. The “asking” has gotten more frequent as people know I’ll be leaving soon. Pray that I will be patient and have a listening ear to the need here in Haiti.