Ayiti

It's that time of the week - injecting a little geographic exploration into an otherwise sedentary life.

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From one extreme to the other. A couple of weeks ago I was in a lush, chilly climate with abundant natural beauty and a bit too much food. Next week it's off to the polar opposite - a deforested, hot climate with not such pretty scenery and a severe food crisis. Off to Haiti. But not before a brief weekend in Vermont for a friend's wedding.

For my job I'm supporting the work of our team (and a few other countries, but info on those will come at a later date). I'll be honest, I had to sort of be coerced into taking on this country. I was the only person on our team who spoke French - and I'm far far far from fluent. But there it is, my asset turns out to be a fatal flaw.

I've spent the past few months reading up on the place and am now pretty excited about my adventure. In addition to the expediter who will get me through the airport upon my arrival, I'll be driven around in a LAM (lightly armored vehicle) and prohibited from going anywhere on my own. It's a weird sort of existence.

As much as I love the airport expediter (would love that here in the US!) the rest of it is a bit unsettling - a fancy new hotel, plentiful and tasty food, frigid air-conditioning. Strange situation to be in when food riots make the evening news at home.

Despite all the dire news, there are some real things to get excited about. For instance:

* the HIV prevalence rate has fallen in the past few years from 3.6% to 2.2% - all in the face of increasing poverty and social unrest. And even as high as that rate is (Europe is .3 and the US .6) that's a lot lower than other countries who are much more prosperous (Botswana, South Africa...)

Should be an interesting trip - I'll post more when I return

à bientôt!