We made it!- Day 1

So after a long travel day and some delays in Miami (a screw came loose on the plane), we finally made it into Port Au Prince. Kathryn, the OT professor, and I had met up in the Miami airport and got to fly together to Haiti. When we arrived, there was the usual madness of luggage being thrown everywhere and people trying to help you with your bags despite telling them no. We met up with our driver Johnson who drove us to the smaller airport to take a small flight to Jacmel. The plane we flew on looked like a remote control airplane it was so small. I tried not to think about it so I wouldn't freak out. It turned out to be quite amazing and was such a beautiful view. Here are some pictures from the air...

After we landed, we were taken to the Isaiah 61 house where we will be staying. I got to see Karen again and catch up with her and meet all the students I will be working with. The students have been here for a week already and are having a great time. At night, we met on the roof to hear a debrief about some different patients they have been seeing. The students have been having to perform evaluations and then make assessments and treatment plans up for these different patients. While they were presenting, the bats from the near by fruit trees kept swooping dangerously close to their heads. We tried to ignore them. The students are so eager to help and learn! Another lady came to speak with us from the organization Beyond Borders. Their mission is to help abused women and to change the mindset of these women and their partners that women have worth and abuse is not the answer. I found it so awesome that she was taking the approach of trying to educate the men on how to change their perception. She employs Haitians to teach the classes as they are more likely to listen and change if someone from their culture educates them rather than an American. So great! Tomorrow we will be working in a special needs school! I can't wait :)))