So how was Haiti? Everyone’s immediate question for me right when my feet hit the ground. Some of the students that had been on the previous trips to Haiti had warned me this was no easy question to answer. How would I tell people about this life changing seven-day experience in the few minutes I had of people’s attention?
For absence of a better all-inclusive term, I have been settling for, “It was a great experience.”
But my trip to Haiti was more than a great experience. It was a week long escapade of learning what it truly means to have nothing and still be rich. From an American middle-class viewpoint, Haiti looked exactly how a third world country would be imagined. It was hard to get a sense of how the Haitian people thought of Haiti. If I had grown up with a different background, would I have had a different first impression of Haiti? I have found that my inability to truly judge my experiences on this trip has left me in a constant state of perplexity and frustration. I want to really explain to people what Haiti is like and what the country means to the Haitians living there.
I spent a week in a very unfamiliar place with some truly amazing people. We all shared this unforgettable experience together and formed a very undeviating bond through it. I miss the little access to technology and the true connections you make with everyone around. Haiti genuinely showed me that with so little you can still have so much. It’s hard to explain this ideal to people who have not experienced it before.
A famous Haitian proverb says, “Don’t forget the rain that grew your corn.” I will not forget the lessons that I have learned from this trip and the Haitian people. It has helped me change my perspective on life and will forever keep changing the way I view certain aspects of living.