Friday, April 30, 2010

Strange World

It is always strange to come back after traveling and returning home from Haiti is no exception. Our reality here in Duluth is made up of all sorts of comforts- running water, a plethora of food, our own autos, jobs that pay, families we love, and the beauty of Northern Minnesota. Sounds perfectly wonderful and it is
~but~
part of me is still in Haiti.
I am not feeling very comfortable in my comfort.
I am feeling pretty weird about it all, as a matter of fact.
So THIS is the acclamation time that all of the other "Haitianese medical workers" have warned me about.
Take it slow, they say, it will take time to work through this.
I don't WANT to work through it- I want to save all these feelings of love, guilt, anger, hope, helplessness, and wonder. I need these feelings to keep me working on helping in Haiti even though I am at home wearing a FREAKING down vest to walk my dog. My mind continues to filter, digest, and wonder.

My son is quite motivated to create a presentation with me about the trip, and he comes up with many angles and ideas to communicate the experience and educate his peers. How wonderful that he is safe and able to use his time to create, learn, play, listen.
What if he were born in Haiti 10 years ago instead of in Duluth?
What about that 10 year old boy that stood in traffic and knocked on my bus window begging for money~ does he have anyone to care for him? Is he ever safe enough to play? Did he have anything to eat yesterday?
This story repeats itself in my mind with many different scenarios and characters.
I don't want to stop questioning and wondering and learning and I hope to give part of this experience to as many people as I can in the hopes that we can get more help for the vulnerable people in Haiti.
WTIP inteviewed us yesterday and it was on last night and again this am sometime between 8am and 10am- you can stream it live on their website if you're interested.
Peace, Love, Haiti~ Julius

5 comments:

  1. Hello Ladies,

    I loved reading your blog, and I was so glad to come home and find out that you snuck your contact information in my suitcase! You guys were wonderful! I can identify with the coming home experience. Given that I traveled by myself,I didn't really have anyone to process with (at least not with anyone who had been there). The emotions sometimes pop up when I'm least expecting them. I felt very sad leaving Quisqueya, and the odd part was that I really couldn't explain the sadness that I felt. My first day home was the hardest. I had to continuously monitor my thoughts and conversations in order to avoid an overwhelming desire to cry (in public). My husband was wondering why I didn't sound excited when I talked to him on the phone for the first time in Miami (I think he understands now).
    This weekend I participated in a race called runamuck. After the race was over, there were huge piles of muddy clothes waiting to be thrown away. The piles of clothes made me think about the luxury that we have, that we can even consider throwing away massive amounts of sneakers and clothing just because we don't feel like washing them.
    On a brighter note, I'm glad to see that you are still writing! It was a pleasure to see your site. Hope the rest of your time in PAP went well.
    Melissa W (Baltimore)

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  2. Melissa what is your email? Send it to peacelovehaiti@gmail.com please oh please.......

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  3. Glad you finally made it home ladies! Things have been non-stop in San Francisco since my return. Immediately back to work, sick for what seemed like forever, crazy hours, and finally realizing it all-I'm sure you know. so, sorry for the delay in getting in touch, but wanted to say that I'm so glad we crossed paths, and got to share such a wonderful experience! Hope you are both doing well, and are adjusting to "normalcy". Our team is planning on a little get together in the next few weeks, so I'm sure your names will come up since we all thought so highly of you. I've got the Prestige lager chilling, and we'll be raising a toast to you both and "Ayite". Keep in touch and let us know if you ever got hold of Peter the kitty! Heidi-on behalf of Dr. Tin Do, Basil, Fiona, Glory, Dan the PT man, And Sam(Samantha) our latecomer- hvoellger@msn.com

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  5. Do you still collect medical supplies to take with you to Haiti? If so I have some things for you. merlinamomc@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete