Over the next few days, I will provide updates regarding the trip that Bruce Alexander (principal, Waterloo) and I are undertaking to/in Haiti.
My day began with a midnight call from American Airlines indicating that our 6:25 am flight from TO to JFK was delayed. The delayed time meant we would miss the one flight a day from New York to Port au Prince. I normally fly through Miami so was able to get us on at 6:30 flight to Miami. Good news! Unfortunately, we were delayed in Miami and missed our internal flight from Port au Prince to Cap-Haitien.
Almost every trip to Haiti has travel glitches; nothing new today on that note. What I was reminded of though today was the importance of friends here in Haiti. While in Miami, I was able to contact four different friends in Haiti (one by Skype and three by email) who helped with our alternative travel plans: one made a reservation for a hotel I have stayed in near the PAP airport (where I am on-line now), another helped make new reservations for our internal flight tomorrow, and a third helped with rescheduling hotel and meetings in Cap Haitien. What a blessing!
Another blessing was our arrival in PAP - no problems with getting our bags, clearing immigration, and getting a taxi for a reasonable fair. There is an increased UN presence at the airport, at least compared to my last few trips when they have been largely absent (from what I could tell) at the airport.
Rarely do plans here (or in Canada for that matter) go as anticipated. We shall now see what tomorrow holds!
About Me
- Steve Sider
- I have been an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Currently, I am a faculty member in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My M.Ed. and Ph.D. had a focus on the educational and linguistic experiences of children who moved from other countries to Canada.
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