Postponed

I should have woken up in Haiti this morning.
I should have woken up to the melodious sound of roosters crowing and dogs barking. I should have eaten breakfast spaghetti this morning. I should have been sweating from the extreme heat by 8:00 a.m.

But alas. It was not meant to be right now.

Justin and I were booked and ready to leave for another trip to Haiti. The trip was supposed to leave yesterday, June 30, and get back on July 7. Unfortunately, the trip got postponed due to political unrest in the country. Now, just to clarify, this would not have affected us or the orphanage. The riots were nowhere near the orphanage, and we would have been perfectly safe. However, the container we sent down in March (which has the bunk bed pieces we were to assemble on the trip) has been stuck at Customs due to the riots. Therefore, we wouldn't have anything to do until the container was released from Customs and unpacked at House of Hope. At this point, it looks like the trip will be postponed until some time in August.

When I told my work supervisor that there had been a change of plans in my vacation due to the situation in Haiti, the response I got was, "Well, I haven't heard about anything in the news." Sadly, that is too true. I did a Google news search for the situation in Haiti, and I only found two stories that even touched on the situation. One was about the death of a demonstrator at the funeral of Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, who was a supporter of former President Aristide. The other was about the democratic elections currently happening in Port-au-Prince. Neither really describes the turmoil happening in Haiti recently. Why is the world so oblivious? Why isn't this considered "newsworthy"?

I'm trying to look at this situation from a positive standpoint. Being at home this week means I get to enjoy a four-day week, three-day weekend. I get a reprieve from the sweltering heat that was in the area last week (which would have also existed in Haiti). I get to be in town for the 4th of July (though I hear the US Embassy puts on a pretty nice display near the orphanage). And now I can look forward to another trip a month or so away.