Haiti 2012 Adventure Blog #5

Today was an awesome day. We woke up at the usual hour before the sun. As I opened my eyes about to think how tired I am, I remembered it was game day. Well, sort of. We had a scrimmage set up with what I thought was going to be against a little boys team. Let me tell you, these boys were not little. We played a U-14 boys team. If you know anything about this age boy, you know they come in all shapes and sizes (and funny smells).  There were boys from Tiny Tim to Goliath himself out there and all supposedly only “14” years old. We won. It was fun to play a game. It was fun to see the girls having a good time.

Afterwards, we got some time off. I got to go and see some of Port-au-Prince. What I saw was simple.  This country is full of life. I was so excited to be in the city. People everywhere buying and selling, laughing and joking. Along with the fast paced culture, I also saw so many buildings still in pieces from the earthquake. It was the first time I wasn’t seeing it from the news’ skewed view of the country or from a newspaper only showing me the worst of the worst. I was seeing people who lived it everyday. And I’ve never been so proud to be Haitian. I’m proud that regardless of how thick the walls of the homes are, they rebuilt them from the strength that’s within the people. So when I say that people were full of life, I mean it. If you looked around, the results of the tragedy that occurred are everywhere. There’s no escaping it, not for tourists coming, and especially not for families who lost someone in it. So, again, I’m proud to be Haitian. I’m proud I’m a part of a culture who keeps on keeping on. I’m proud to be a part of a people who are still standing when so many of their homes and businesses fell.

When I came back, I had a blast with my team. It’s a simple life we are living right now, but if done correctly, if we truly want to, we can bring a huge smile to Haiti’s face by qualifying! So that’s exactly what we intend to do.

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