Posts Tagged ‘Peace Corps Haiti’

I can’t help but feel a little sorry for my dad who is serving in the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan currently.

When I served in the Peace Corps, only 8 years ago, I didn’t have access to a telephone, electricity, running water or sanitation systems. While having many of those things wouldn’t have changed my experience much, they are what make my experience unique. While visiting my father in Azerbaijan last year, I realized that cell phones would have changed my experience drastically, negatively.

During our visit (my wife went as well), my father was perpetually calling or texting other PCVs or Azeri friends. He was always in the process of contacting someone or being contacted. From my perspective, the ease of communication kept him too close to other PCVs in his area. It did help him stay contacted with his Azeri friends but I’m sure they would have found him without a phone.

Dad always complains about other PCVs missing text-scheduled rendezvous. Makes sense, you disconnect yourself from others through text. It’s not as if you stood face to face with someone and made plans to get together. While I was in Haiti, we made plans in person months in advance. We made sure we arrived at the occasion unless some Haiti-esque problem struck us down. Often, we would arrive and sit and wait around for hours at the rendezvous point. We would sit and talk with whoever was around, usually Haitian friends of your friend. We did this contently because, after all, we had only set a date for the rendezvous, not a date and an hour.

I can’t help but feel some of the PC experience has been lost by handing out phones to volunteers. Don’t get me started on allowing them to have televisions and DVD players. It’s my understanding that PCVs in Azerbaijan watched DVDs until all hours of the night and woke up every afternoon. In my humble opinion, if you’re going to do that, stay home in the U.S. and waste your own money on worthless movies. I regress.

I think I would recommend to volunteers going into the Peace Corps now to ditch the cell phones except in emergency situations or during working hours. Outside of that, spend your time getting to know the people and try living like they do. That is what Peace Corps is about.

That’s right. You may not know but travel in the U.S. has no soul – at least not the travel that most of you know.

Maybe because I’m older now, travel doesn’t hold the wonder it once did. I remember traveling with my parents or grandparents or both when I was a kid. There was something magical about the trips. We traveled almost exclusively by undesirable vehicle (car) but something was different. We didn’t have nice cars when I was a kid. The first car my father had that I remember was a square-back VW Beetle. It was the only car we had at the time. In the winter, my sister and I sat on the floor of the front seat – that was the only place that was reasonably warm – and it wasn’t warm. Then we had a couple of second-hand Oldsmobiles. One of them was nicknamed Snicker, because it was brown and my father’s favorite candy bar. We had to physically rock it when we came to hills because it would almost come to a stop. We didn’t have an air conditioned car until we bought a four-cylinder Dodge Caravan in 1986. It had power windshield wipers and that was it. It was even a manual transmission. There was something to traveling in crummy vehicles.

During our trips in our crummy vehicles we did many of the things the Griswald family did when they were on their trip out west. We played cards, looked outside, counted the blue cars, read books. Whatever we did, it was different than what we normally did and we were at least mildly in touch with our surroundings.

Travel now with high-def stereos, I-pods, personal DVD players is virtually void of experience. Passengers are shielded from their environment by sound, vision, attention, doors and windows and a temperature-controlled climate. Passengers only passively look out the window once and a while and get out at and stretch their legs at the interstate McDonald’s which looks exactly like the one in their own town, and thus, are only distantly aware of the passing terrain. The things people do while traveling now are basically the same things they do in their living room at home. No indelible memories are created. It’s easy. It’s convenient. It’s comfortable. It’s fast. It’s travel without a soul.

I learned about soulful travel when I went to Haiti. There are several things that make travel in Haiti soulful. If you are going somewhere there are tens or hundreds of others that want to go there at the same time you do. So, you’re always packed in whatever vehicle you’re taking. Almost no vehicles have air conditioning so you’re right out in the open breathing the fresh, or not so fresh, air. Most people in Haiti don’t travel a lot so even a small trip can be an adventure. They are excited and want to talk and have fun. Travel in Haiti is also slow due to the condition of the roads. You have a chance to see things and look into the eyes of people along the road. The rocking of the vehicle is also excellent entertainment for kids. I’ve sat and watched 3 and 4 year olds sit quietly for hours – see if you can manage that on your next trip in the U.S. You’re never quite sure about the food but you can find almost every kind – and this ain’t fast food. From fried plantain and pork to something like peanut brittle, you can find it and it’s made in someone’s home kitchen. The vendors will even hop on the back of moving buses and sell the food with one hand and hold on for dear life with the other. Just another day’s work for them. It’s all part of what makes it travel with soul.

I thought about writing a paragraph here on how to make your travel meaningful. However, I’m sure not many people will read this and even fewer would do the things I would recommend to experience travel with soul so what’s the point. If you are interested, you may e-mail me at mason@biketofeel.com. I’ll be more than happy to help you. And, don’t be offended if I ask you to leave your car at home.

I will soon be adding journal entries and letters from my service in Peace Corps Haiti from 1999-2001. Some journal entries may be graphic so I advise caution in choosing to read them.

I recommend starting at the beginning and reading in chronological order. Click here to start at the beginning of my service. Read from the bottom of the page up.

Hello, one and all. Should by my final group e-mail assuming everything goes well.

Anyway, Ernante and I arrived in P-au-P this morning in the pouring rain – thanks to Michelle. Said goodbyes to everyone during the last three of four days. Had parties the last three nights. I think we’ll take a break tonight. Everyone cried a ton including my little brother Misses, he’s 23. I didn’t cry and Ernante only cried once. She is in much better spirits than I would have predicted. She’s joking and enjoying watching tv in the hotel now. I hope she’ll wash some clothes this afternoon too.

I’m at the office catching up with all of the staff. Going to try to get some money for my stay in P-au-P. Shouldn’t be a problem. I have plenty left from my service if they don’t give me any. We are going for Ernante’s visa interview on Thursday. I’m pretty nervous about the interview because if they don’t give her a visa I have no idea what we will do. I really don’t think we wil have a problem as I spoke to an interviewer in the consulate and he said whether or not it was him that will do the interview, we will be treated well. He also said that as long as the birth and marriage certificates apper to be legitimate, which they are, we won’t have a problem and will receive the visa the same day. We still can’t help but worry. Uncertainty is a killer.

So, I suppose if Ernante receives the visa this won’ be my last e-mail. Expect an e-mail on Friday. Until then, take care.

Mason

Well, only have 5 days until I go to P-au-P for the last as a PCV. I think it has passed the time when I needed to return to the States. I am thoroughly sick of this place. Although, I think it is good that I am leaving while I’m sick of it. That way I won’t feel like returning any time soon.

Anyway, on the 6th we will travel to P-au-P. On the 8th Ernante has her interview at the American consulate. Then we will just stay in P-au-P until the 16th, when we fly back to the States. We would come back if it wasn’t for me having to be in P-au-P on the 13th for three days of medical observations before I can COS. The long stay in P-au-P won’t be bad though. I think Kris will be coming in to visit with us and Mike and Wisline will be there too, since they are going back on the 16th too.

I just heard something that really ticked me off and provides evidence for a theory I hold about Haitian culture. Michelin was talking about Josh Bean’s (PCV) fiancé. She was saying how she and already passed the exam (the baccalaureate) at age 21. Well, supposedly, she (Fedya) composed with one of her cousins who told Michelin that Fedya wouldn’t let her copy off of her exam. So, Michelyne said Fedya was a selfish individual because she passed and didn’t let her cousin cheat of her so that she could pass too. The is a recurring idea throughout Haitian culture: “If you have something I don’t, then you should give me some so we can both have.” It’s like a system of unorganized communism. And it works only slightly worse than organized communism. I have never been more pro-capitalism than I am now.