Last Monday-Thursday, I went on a site visit to a city along the northern coast of Haiti named Port-de-Paix. As I mentioned in my last entry, I went alone rather than with my boss as in previous trips. Because the drive to Port-de-Paix from P-au-P can take anywhere from 6 hours to 8 hours or more depending on the conditions of the roads, I flew on a regional airline. It took the propeller plane (really wasn’t as scary as it seems, just loud) about 35 minutes to make the trip. The more interesting part of my journey is how the credit agent (Business Development’s people in charge of interacting with clients) and I visited clients.

Although several credit agents use public transportation (trucks and buses) to visit their clients, the majority of the agents are given motorcycles. Over the rocky roads common in Haiti (see picture below), often a motorcycle can get you to your destination twice as quickly as a truck.Although you are almost always going slower than 15 mph, trucks often are left behind crawling along at 5-10 mph.

I had ridden on a motorcycle a few times before for short journeys, but not for as long as I did on this trip. In addition to Port-de-Paix, we had to visit clients in Jean Rabel, a hour and a half motorcycle ride, and Gros Morne, a two and a half hour motorcycle ride. It did not help that the agent’s motorcycle was more of a dirt bike, and therefore was not as comfortable as other bikes I’ve ridden on.

The northern coast of the country was very green compared to the rest of the country, and grows lots of mangos and plantains. There are also many rivers, which complicate travel in the rainy season. The first river we crossed, the agent paid a couple guys a dollar to push his motorcycle through the river (about 3 feet deep but 150 feet wide) and had another couple guys give us piggy back rides across. At another shallower river, the agent drove his motorcycle through the river (I’m sure this is horrible for the engine) and had me ride with a more experienced driver in motorcycle river-crossing. The driver had me put my legs under his armpits and on the handlebars so that I did not get wet. I will only spare you all with one more example. On the second day in Port-de-Paix, we had to cross a river about 300 feet wide by boat. The agent paid a group of guys a couple dollars to put his motorcycle on the back of a boat and then push us across the river in the boat (see picture below). This brought to mind playing Oregon Trail as a kid and having to ford rivers. The river crossings were a welcoming respite to long and painful rides.Returning to the hotel each night aching made me appreciate the credit agent’s job.

The hotel I stayed at was a step up from what I’ve been used to here. My room had a fully bed, a television, a refrigerator, air conditioning, hot water, wireless internet, and a fan. I realize these sound normal for a American hotel, but in a city of 50,000 people in rural Haiti, it was pretty nice to have for a few nights. Although I was not able to understand everything the clients said, with the help of the agent, I surprised myself and was able to interview all of the clients about how the earthquake affected their businesses. As I have mentioned before, many businesses buy their stock in P-au-P and lost both their stock as well as kids in school, family members, etc. It is sad to hear many of these stories, but encouraging hearing from the clients whose businesses are starting to return. This next week, I will be continuing to interview clients in the central part of the country. Thankfully, transportation will be via car and not motorcycle.

I am now settled at my new place. It is a house close to Champ de Mars (the big public park in the center of P-au-P and is a 10 minute walk from work. It is not the nicest place I have ever stayed in (still showering by buckets), but the owner has internet and television (when we have electricity) so it has been nice getting the chance to listen to the Blackhawks games on internet radio. I no longer have people to cook for me but there are many places (gas station, restaurants, street vendors) to buy food from nearby. Since my stomach does not always handle Haitian food very well, I have been eating a lot of sub sandwiches, pizza, and spaghetti.

I tried to come into the trip with few expectations, but so far this trip has been a lot different than I thought. I realize one cannot know how such experiences will be like without trying them. I have enjoyed touring parts of the country and learning about Haitian culture, but I feel like something is missing. Everyday I walk by thousands of tents on my way to work, but I can’t say that I really know their stories or what they’re going through. It’s often hard to tell how sick a person is by seeing them. Sure, I hear through other people about their struggles or read about them on the internet, but I almost feel like I’m desensitized to what these people are going through, still living in damp tents almost 5 months after the earthquake. I realize I am working to help Haitians develop the country through growing small businesses, but I can’t say I’m getting a strong sense of satisfaction out of this. I can see that I’m contributing to Fonkoze, but it is more difficult to detect if I am helping Fonkoze clients. I wonder if I could be of better use here. I am not certain if this is just me never settling and always wanting more, a sign that this isn’t for me, or something else. I think that this experience has a lot to still teach me about who I am and what I want from life.