Brazil, Twizzlers and AwkoTaco

June 28^th, 2014 – 8:16 pm

Hushed cheers and not-so-muffled clapping speckled the plane ride to Port Au Prince as we somehow got the Brazil vs. Chile FIFA game on the backs of the chairs in front of us. It was pretty cool how the entire plane (not just the group) was all cheering for the same team. Anyways, that’s all I really have to say about the plane rides… I hate planes. You can ask my sister – she dealt with my mini panic attacks and clammy hands for every ounce of turbulence, takeoff and landing.

Oh, wait. There is one other thing I can say about the plane ride to Haiti. I’m sorry, but you are reading the writings of a slightly crazed person. A person who was literally brought to tears this afternoon when Mike Emerson tried to walk down the aisle with a bag of Twizzlers. I’m not joking – I smelled them and got all excited. He shared with me. Made my day. Sorry, random… but awesome.

Any veteran mission trip-attender can tell you that this time around at the airport was much better than the last time. We got our luggage with relative ease, followed Ed to our driver, and there were many less men this time trying to ask to carry our luggage for us, which was nice. Let me tell you though, the ease and good feelings ended there. I can’t speak for everyone of course, but there were a lot of moody teenage girls who were not liking the heat and humidity that hit us like a wall when we walked out of the airport doors.

I was soaked through the back of my shirt by the time we got to Main Campus.

The actual driving was interesting. There’s no way to describe the heat, or the strange smells, but the views are incredible. I liked it anyways, but it seemed like it scared the newbies. Haha, no worries – they will be more comfortable than they could imagine in a few days.

I know everyone wants to know what was for dinner. I have to admit, it was not looking very appetizing. When we walked into the room with the food, there was some questionable looking lasagna and a pathetic salad… all covered in flies. But once they refreshed the options, the lettuce was straight from the garden, mixed with tomatoes and cucumbers, albeit rather limp. But the lasagna was absolutely delicious. I hope it wasn’t goat meat. There’s no way to tell though…

As for the “AwkoTaco” part of this blog’s title, that’s coming to you directly from Danni. Both the phrase and the reasoning. First, she swallowed a bug and almost threw up on my bag. Lovely. Really. Second, we jumped to a conclusion and assumed that some of the showers were like, coed. I just asked Tami. They’re not. But we thought they were. And it was distressing.

Anyways, not much is going on currently. People are bonding, playing weird games, and Ed read me my graduation present as if the little crowd that gathered were a group of kindergarteners. It was hilarious. He paused for dramatic affect and amplified his voice dramatically. It was precious. Really. You should’ve been there.

So, I promise, the blog entries will get more interesting. Today barely counts as a day if it weren’t for experiencing the heat and humidity. I promise to post as often as I can. I bought WiFi for the week, so we’re good on that end. I cannot promise however, that I will stay awake to finish the blogs every night. For all you readers who want to know how your family members are doing, keep reading. I’ll give updates throughout the week. And please, everyone, feel free to comment. I can actually relay messages to family members if you have no other way of getting in contact.

Love ya all! Pray for our safety, our message and our journey.

Katie Finally Coming to You from Haiti