Unsettled....settling in

The first volunteer group that I will be helping coordinate arrived today.  So I figured I better get a post in tonight knowing that my next few days might be a little busy.

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my room....no, the AC does not work

I didn't like to admit it to myself, but my first day here was a mix of emotions.  Exciting.
Overwhelming.  Enjoyable.  Nervous.  Excited and eager for this amazing experience I
am about to have working in Haiti for a year.  Nervous for and overwhelmed by the start
of a new job, living in a new place, not knowing the language well enough.  While I have
been to Haiti many times before, it has always been to the same location.   I have stayed
in the same area.  Worked with the same people.  And developed strong relationships in
those areas.  But now I am in a new area, with a new organization, having to meet new
people, contribute to a new organization.  It seemed a little overwhelming to think of it
all at once.  I didn't want to admit it to myself, but at the end of the day I felt unsettled. 

But amid all of this worry, the comfort that I have become so familiar with has begun to
grow.  Eating the fried plantains I love so much.  Going for my morning runs.  Starting to
feel like "home" again.

However, there are many differences between Jacmel and Thomonde - the place where
I usually stay.

There is more development.  More people.  More infrastructure.  More foreigners.

One major difference is the beach.  In Thomonde, located in the mountains, you forget
that Haiti is even an island.  However, here in Jacmel, I am in a coastal city.

On Sunday night we were invited to eat at a beach-front restaurant that you most
certainly won't find in most areas in Haiti.  I had been told by many that Jacmel was
beautiful, but I don't think I was ready to experience it in this fashion.  I had mixed
emotions the beauty, the "voluntourists" and the luxury, all mixed in with the extreme
poverty.  Best I could, I reminded myself that part of my experience here is to show how
beautiful Haiti can be and is.  I just don't think I was quite ready to see it on day two.  

But after just a few days here, I feel like I am already beginning to thrive.  Starting to
build relationships with the staff.  Starting to feel like home.

I feel like my input is extremely valued by all fellow staff members of Community
Coalition for Haiti - I am truly grateful to have that.  While most of these first few days 
have been observing, learning, listening and asking questions, I am already doing things 
I didn't necessarily think I would be doing - reviewing blueprints, determining work-site 
activities for volunteer groups, etc.... but I love it.    

future home for local CCH employee