Our Departure for Haiti

Monday, started bright and early. Both Jayden and I were quite excited as we packed our final things into the suitcases and tried to close the lids. The truth is Jayden was trying to unpack, and I was scratching my head wondering how in the world all our stuff was going to fit, but we had fun! Natalie came over in the morning and showed me how to roll up all our clothes to save space and it really worked! I didn’t manage to take everything, that I had planned, but with some thoughtful consideration, I chose some of the items I thought we could do without. Once packed, each suitcase weighed around 50lbs so I was happy. We left Chilliwack at 3:30, and arrived at the Seattle airport in record time. There were no problems at the border for which I was very grateful! I had a huge package of paperwork which explained where we were going and what we were doing, but the friendly border crossing guy didn’t ask for any and after a few simple questions and then an incredulous, “wow”, he waved us through. Traffic on the way to the airport wasn’t bad either ! When we checked in at the Seattle airport they weighed each suitcase and one was 2 lbs overweight and another one was 6 lbs over weight. If I wanted to keep them that way I would have to pay a $100 fee. However Jayden and I were both eligible for a carry on as well. I had only packed one big backpack because I also had to carry Jayden’s car seat and stroller. However, I really didn’t want to pay $100 extra so I pulled out another bag filled it with 8 lbs worth of stuff and carried that as well. Since our flight didn’t leave till 9:30 I had plenty of time to get through airport security. When I arrived at the boarding area, I quickly spotted a friendly looking older couple and spent some time talking with them. The older man helped carry my stuff onto the plane which was a big help! Jayden did well on the flight and slept 3 out of the 5 hours. We arrived in Miami at 6:30 a.m.. From there I had a long walk all the way to the other side of the airport to where the international flight gates were. I looked pretty funny with all the stuff I was dragging, but the airport wasn’t busy and Jayden and I did enjoy ourselves. Although it was a little stressful traveling by myself with an active little monkey, we both stayed relaxed and had fun! Since the layover was 4 hours I weighted at the Port-au-Prince gate for a long time. It felt a little strange being the only white people , sitting there, but Jayden didn’t feel the same. He just walked up to people and “petted” their clothes. Gave his rubber ball or threw it at them and chattered and laughed, so very quickly we made friends. One lady gave us all her personal information, in case I ever wanted or needed to contact her. We did experience one funny incident. I was waiting in line and there was a lady in front of me, who previously had been holding a little boy, younger then Jayden. Anyway she wasn’t holding him anymore, he was no where to be found and instead she was pulling 2 suitcases. When the airport attendant asked for her boarding pass and passport she pulled it out of the front of her shirt! Much disturbed the man barely dared to touch it! Then a lady came up to her and said, “but ‘so and so’ where is your baby?” Her hand flew to her mouth and she went running off leaving her suitcases behind, blocking the aisle for anyone else to get past. Minutes later she came running back with her little boy, grabbed her suitcases and trotted on board.
(I hope to write another post tonight with my first impressions on Haiti and what we’ve been doing since we arrived)