Don't worry, Pray.

#firstworldproblems

Tuesday July 15th at 3 am we depart for Haiti.

Leading up the trip members of our team were waking up in the middle of the night with (somewhat) irrational fears. I'm probably the worst offender, as I tend to get anxiety about random things before I travel. After the fears subside, all of our team members eventually come to the realization that, "God always makes it work." Pastor Widelson says, "Don't worry, pray." Good Advice.

So what was I worrying about? 

#firstworldproblems. (Get ready to laugh at/judge me... I am aware that I worry too much.)

***If you haven't heard of #firstworldproblems before, watch this one minute video. (My students showed it to me when we were discussing global income distribution in economics class. It is painfully true.)

The Mosquitoes- I'm not a fan of MN mosquitoes, but bugs in Haiti carry more diseases. I'm currently taking anti-Malaria medicine, but there are a few other viruses they are delivering to humans. On the news last month I heard about a Minnesota woman that contracted the chikungunya virus. Watch the video and you'll quickly see why I'm paranoid. At the packing party Darlene and Tracie showed us the deet spray for pre-treating clothing. They are not messing around!  At least, we also fortunate enough to afford DEET infused bug repellent. Yay, for bug spray. #betterthanadisease

The Airport- 10 white people with 21 huge suitcases and personal items... seriously- we're going to stick out. I keep thinking we're gonna get hassled or caught by customs and thrown in Haitian jail. Then I come back down to reality and think- we're bringing in musical instruments, not contraband. Will we get hassled? Yes. However Rob figured out that you should actually say YES to the porters and they get you through customs quickly.  I'll let you know how that goes... as long as I don't end up in jail.

The Food- I am allergic to wheat, and I don't want to get sick. I really don't want to get sick in front of my students! I also know that I go from hungry to H-Angry real quick. But- many people in Haiti go hungry and survive on much less than I do in a normal day. I (and most Americans) struggle to keep my weight down- talk about #firstworldproblems. I'll be fine- and bring my KIND bars.

The Water- I don't want to spend the trip in the bathroom- especially not surrounded by my students. I certainly want to avoid dehydration and hospitalization in Haiti. Gotta stay hydrated! I bought the two stage iodine tablets for purifying water, and Rob has a fancy water purifier. We'll be fine, right? The fact that I've never have to worry about clean drinking water...

The Heat- Haiti is a tropical island and it is July. Sharon was really good at reporting Haiti's temps at church- it was in the 100s regularly. My latest check on weatherchannel.com says it will be in the 90s with afternoon storms. High humidity. No air-conditioning. Its going to be HOT. We're going to be sweaty. But, the orphans never have air-conditioning and most people around the world live like this.

The Air- The smell of Port-au-Prince as been described as a blend of ,"diesel fumes, burning rubber, kerosene, sewage, smoke, rotting garbage and body odor." Jake said the air is thick with dust and odor and that was the first shock to his system. I live in rural Minnesota with fresh clean air everyday. Occasionally we are gifted with wafts of manure, but that is rare. In New York City we got wafts of garbage or sewer off and on throughout the day, but Jake insisted that was "nothing." Again- clean air is something we take for-granted in America.

The Language Barrier- The Haitians speak Haitian creole. This is blend of French, Spanish, Taino,West African and Portuguese according to Wikipedia.  I have a few years of Spanish from years ago, but Jake said it was nearly impossible to understand creole- even though he would recognize a word here or there. I spent six weeks in Europe with my minimal Spanish and did just fine- but most Europeans know English. Jake reassures me that Enelson and a few of the young adults know a decent amount of English. I feel guilty for going on a trip and expecting them to know my language...

The Internet- Electricity and internet are sporadic in Haiti. I will attempt to blog every evening after dinner, but I know the connections will be limited. How upset do we get when the power goes out for a day? How crabby do we get when the internet is slow? #firstworldproblems.

Lucky

OK-Some of those fears are legitimate. All of them make me realize how fortunate we are to live in America. This has been the essence I try to get across to my students. "Is our government perfect? No. But, you and I don't have to worry about the air we breathe, the safety of the food we eat or the water we drink daily." My garbage gets picked up weekly and we have a sewage infrastructure so good that we forget about it. Our country runs so smoothly that we take all of those things for-granted. However, hiccups in the system send us reeling. When flood waters overwhelm the sewage system, as they did in Mound this summer, everyone gets upset. What if that was your daily life?

A few people can't understand why the 10 of us are volunteering to go to Haiti for a week to endure these challenges. Speaking for myself, I want/need to experience this. Most of the world does not live the way we do. From everything I've heard, the people we are visiting in Haiti are some of the happiest, hopeful people, full of faith in Christ, that we will ever meet. They are hungry for education and are making real changes in their lives for the good. Yet, in America- land of abundance- depression runs rampant and we have a huge drop-out rate at schools. I'm not expecting to get all the answers, but I want to experience this myself.

My next fear- Will I struggle to adjust back to American life with all the #firstworldproblem whiners?