Haiti was a trip unlike anything I have ever experienced. I had my presumptions about the country based off the overflowing amount of news and media attention they have gotten the past year. I truly wish I could’ve seen the country before the earthquake, however I don’t think it would be unwise for me to think it was in unstable condition. My first sense of how the trip was going to unfold took place right after we landed. The remote control gate that swings out to your door to let you walk off the plane had been disabled. At this announcement I laughed to myself. You ever have so much go wrong you just start laughing about it? I had been on an 8 hour flight which 4 hours were spent sitting on the runway, then I missed my Miami flight to Haiti by 5 minutes. I literally watched the plane leave the gate. So with the news over the com, I just smiled to myself thinking…travel shenanigans! We were brought out stairs to walk down onto the runway, oh well simple enough. I do that flying out of Burbank. We then got onto the shuttle and headed to immigration. As we were driving, I looked out and we were passing their original airport, pre-quake. It was still destroyed. Massive vine like cracks spider-ed the walls. A year later and their main “airport” terminal hadn’t been touched. We were then shuffled into the old baggage handling building that was now immigration and the baggage claim. The small room could barely handle one plane load of people. I got up to immigration and then remembered, “Crap! I don’t have an address to where I am going, I can’t get into the country!” See Jeremy, Katie, and I were supposed to be on the same flight and go through immigration together, so it wouldn’t have been a problem. It took me about an hour to get a hold of Jeremy and get everything squared with immigration. Finally I was in Haiti and we were on our way to Cadiac!
147 votesvote as favoritePano of Cadiac, Haiti. The building in the middle is a school. The building to the left is where we stayed.
The first thing I noticed is how social the country is. It seems like every single person is outside doing something. Street shops and vendors took up every square inch of sidewalk for blocks and blocks. I would love to see a bird’s eye view of Port-au-Prince. Seeing the hustle and bustle of the streets. We ended up staying in PaP that night at a contact of Jeremy’s, Frederic Dupoux. Our destination was Cadiac but we were told it was unsafe to travel over night. The next morning around 5am we loaded up and headed to our destination where we’d spend the next two days. The drive out there was a rocky 4 hours. You remember the movie “Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls?” For some reason this always came to mind while driving…I am weird I know. Remember when Jim Carrey is driving to the consulate at the beginning and he is bouncing his head and shaking it like he is on the bumpiest road ever? Well that is exactly what the streets were like in Haiti. If you closed your eyes you would feel as though you were driving on a road made of boulders. A couple times I actually felt sick. Along the way we’d notice vehicle after vehicle that was broken down or flipped and totally abandoned. I witnessed wheel fly off a moving car from the heavy bumps. Immediately after arriving in Cadiac I was reminded of places I had visited in Padang and Siberut, Indonesia. Bright lush green fields contrasted with ocean blue skies and puffy white cumulus clouds. One of the most beautiful contrasts of colors I have seen. A lot of the homes we visited were tucked away in giant fields, hills, and thick banana groves. They were much more infrequent to visitors then PaP.
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147 votesvote as favoriteAt the local markets.
143 votesvote as favoriteIn a truck bed with 14 people and a goat. Remember that time in Haiti when....
Jeremy and I were in Haiti with a group called HOPE International. They are an organization the specializes in micro finance loans. They have over 200,000 clients worldwide and have given over 1,000,000 loans! The brilliant thing is that they have weekly classes and business meetings ran by locals! They learn business and learn to save. It was so inspiring hearing what some of the people have done with such little money. They have turned their lives around and are heading in positive directions. Hope is helping people have a positive future. I am very thankful for what they do around the world and very thankful for being included in this trip.
The people we met were incredible and, ohhhh my gosh, the kids were so beautiful! Their contagious smiles would somehow infiltrate my cheeks and rip them back to my ears for the duration of our time together. They were effulgent, curious, and so energetic. Jeremy and I approached a soccer game going on in a more remote part of Cadiac. Kids playing barefoot on a concrete slab, with a tennis ball as the soccer ball. Our arrival temporarily interrupted the heated match but soon after we were all playing and laughing as if we entered the worlds biggest jungle gym. (See what I did there?) They wanted entertainment so I just let loose. I started showing them tricks I had learned from pitching and playing baseball. Popping the ball with my arms and juggling. Jeremy was teaching them how to pop and lock it! I then showed them how to pitch and hit a ball. After that I started a sword fight with a kid…..big mistake. I soon fell in defeat to 10+ rambunctious children stabbing me with sticks. I don’t think I have ever had a better time acting like I was 10 years old. Leaving the kids was probably the hardest thing in Cadiac. They had eyes as shiny as mirrors. Their dark eyes reflected every bit of the vibrant landscape. Their smiles were as bright as the sun. I’ll never forget them!
145 votesvote as favoriteTheir eyes turn into big mirrors. I spy Jeremy, myself, a bicycle, another kid, palm trees, and clouds....I wish I had a macro!
153 votesvote as favoriteOne kid kept trying to put his hands and feet in the shots, making the other children laugh. He succeeded several times but the ones above actually turned out in my favor.
147 votesvote as favoriteLook at those smiles!
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Having some fun.
We left Cadiac and headed for PaP a night early, again due to possible violence the next morning. We went to Fredo’s house again. Jeremy and I decided to stay another full day in Haiti. We didn’t have any real plan, we just went out at 5am and came back after dark. We spent the entire time on the city streets of PaP. Unbelievable. I heard around only 5% of the rubble had only been cleaned up. There were so many building just waiting to come crashing down. Regardless how the city looked, I have only positive things to say about the people we met and interacted with. I can honestly say I have never in my life gotten so much attention than I did in Haiti. All because of my tattoos. It actually got to a point I was pretty uncomfortable. I don’t like drawing that kind of attention to myself, esp somewhere foreign to me. Fredo reassured me everything everyone was saying was positive, but still. At times I had groups around me asking about my tattoos. Supposedly tattoos in Haiti are worn by gangsters. Fredo said, “If you were Haitian, they would be scared of you.” However I am just a white kid so they knew I was harmless, hahaha! Most questions were if they were real and if it was my wife! At times I would have to pull out my Iphone to prove they were real. I would show them photos of me getting the tattoo. I met another guy with tattoos and the group he was with wanted to see mine. They kept telling me to take my shirt off, I looked to Jeremy and he was just laughing and smiling. So in the middle of PaP I took my shirt off and posed with a guy for some photos. I felt so incredibly awkward. I felt as though I might as well have been naked. We had a huge crowd watching, laughing, joking. I will say it was a very cool moment overall though.
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154 votesvote as favoriteOne of the most memorable/dumbest things we did was enter the main Cathedral. (Sorry Shannon, sorry Mom.) It looks like some old ancient ruins or something from centuries ago. It is breathtaking. Jeremy and I followed some spiral stairs up to the bell tower. We got to the top where we had to climb up a hole in the floor. As we climb up and step into the room, we both look up. There are two massive church bells just wedges into the building. These bells weigh hundreds of pounds. I felt as though you could hit it with a rock and they would both come crashing down and smash anything in its path. Jeremy and I both idiotically took turns standing directly underneath to get our content and then quickly stepped out. We walked over to the other bell tower where the bell had already fallen and rested quietly in the rubble. We learned that over 120 people were killed in that church they day of the quake. It was pretty powerful sense of emotion being in this building still standing tattered and broken. A place so many people once entered for hope and faith sent 100 people home when she fell.
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153 votesvote as favoriteThese massive bells are simply wedged. Only a matter of time before the crash down.
155 votesvote as favoriteOverall, I had an unforgettable time. What I will remember more is not the devastation, but the drive, the hope, and the passion of the beautiful Haitians. The country has a long long ways to go. The infrastructure, the sanitation, and widespread poverty is worse than anything I have ever seen. Over a million people living in tents with the population in tents rising. I straight watched kids drink from contaminated wells at a local school. The same well I watched animals go drink from. Please continue to support Haiti, whether it’s through good thoughts, prayer, money, or volunteering. They need our help.
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155 votesvote as favoriteContaminated water source for the village. It is on school grounds. Kids drink from it daily.
157 votesvote as favoritePig tied to a tree. Apparently it is the garbage disposal.
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153 votesvote as favoriteRubble and trash. Trash and rubble.
151 votesvote as favorite180 degree pan. People bathing using water straight from the sewer.
Thanks to Katie and everything HOPE International is doing. I am very thankful to have been a witness of the good being done. Jeremy Cowart, thanks for the recommendation and the inspiration. You are an incredible person possessing incredible talent. I am always happy to be around you and proud to call you a good friend. Fredo, thank you so much for rescuing us from a bind and welcoming us into your home. The hospitality you and your family showed us was nothing short of amazing. I hope to see you again soon.
FOR MORE CONTENT
- Several more photos will be launched on my website on my photo galleries as well as my facebook page and tummmmmblr.
- Jeremy fell in love with his Iphone4 on this trip. He did a huge series of photos with it and you’re really going to be shocked. A couple times I was dumbfounded at the results he was getting. Oh well, he is extremely talented so I’ve come to expect nothing less from him. Click HERE to see his Haiti Iphone4 Series.
- There will be some video at a later date. Just don’t know when.
- To learn about HOPE and see how they are involved. CLICK HERE.
Cale Glendening
