Night Falls Over Port au Prince

Night has settled upon Port au Prince. The air is still and warm. Our compound in Quisqueya is filled with American relief workers returned from a day of service in various corners of the city. Tonight in about an hour, tomorrow's assignments will be given out. I am tentatively scheduled to go out tomorrow with a Haitian American OB/GYN. I haven't met her yet, but I am eagerly looking forward to it. I'm glad to be partnered with someone who is fluent in the local language of Kreyol (Creole). Those returning from a day of work look exhausted, but are full of stories they eagerly share over our communal dinner of beans and rice and chicken in the open courtyard "dining room". I look forward to collecting stories of my own. I take deep breaths and try to be present for every moment. I am in Haiti. I want to soak in every detail. I want my entire focus on the here and now. That is how it must be, or one misses the experience even while in the midst of it.