An interesting post by a man who travelled to Haiti...
I saw this on the Couchsurfing.com site.Permalink is at: http://www.couchsurfing.com/group_read.html?gid=464&post=2176671
copied below as is.
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Adventures and Travelogues >> Adventurous
Escaping America
Ever come back to your home after being in another country and just see things differently?
I came back from a missions trip in Haiti to America last year and things have never been the same for me. I love America. I really do. It's been a privilege to be raised here, but I can't stand it, anymore.
In a normal life, Americans only care about themselves (with the exception of the select minority). America gives away free nights at five star hotels for late departures at the airport. Free food for any inconveniences. This place is full of abundance and self.
My heart still longs to reach out and hold the Haitian orphans again, to smell the poverty, and to break my back to do whatever I can.
I was raised to think about myself and look out for number one, but I know there is more to life than that. I need to escape! I don't care where to as long as it is away from the McDonald's, Burger Kings, and all you can eat buffets. The beauty parlors, the malls, the high school drama queens, and the desk job 9-5s.
This is my plea for help. If anyone can help me get away from this place even for a little while, please let me know. Especially if there is work to be done and people to be helped.
I came back from a missions trip in Haiti to America last year and things have never been the same for me. I love America. I really do. It's been a privilege to be raised here, but I can't stand it, anymore.
In a normal life, Americans only care about themselves (with the exception of the select minority). America gives away free nights at five star hotels for late departures at the airport. Free food for any inconveniences. This place is full of abundance and self.
My heart still longs to reach out and hold the Haitian orphans again, to smell the poverty, and to break my back to do whatever I can.
I was raised to think about myself and look out for number one, but I know there is more to life than that. I need to escape! I don't care where to as long as it is away from the McDonald's, Burger Kings, and all you can eat buffets. The beauty parlors, the malls, the high school drama queens, and the desk job 9-5s.
This is my plea for help. If anyone can help me get away from this place even for a little while, please let me know. Especially if there is work to be done and people to be helped.
Hi Rob,
Your post contains some passionate passion for the welfare of the poor and the needy! I am glad to have met someone like you in a world where many people are possessed of exaggerated ideas of their own importance without attaching any interest to the welfare of others.
Having said this, I was wondering as to whether you would like to come to Ghana. There are many opportunities here for you to serve and help others, since that is your passion. Let me know what your thoughts are.
And, in the mean time, Cheers!
- Benjamin
Your post contains some passionate passion for the welfare of the poor and the needy! I am glad to have met someone like you in a world where many people are possessed of exaggerated ideas of their own importance without attaching any interest to the welfare of others.
Having said this, I was wondering as to whether you would like to come to Ghana. There are many opportunities here for you to serve and help others, since that is your passion. Let me know what your thoughts are.
And, in the mean time, Cheers!
- Benjamin
I could talk about Haiti for days. Haha. It has been without a doubt the most important experience I have had up to this point. Even though that trip only lasted two weeks, they were the happiest (and the saddest) two weeks of my life.
There were nine people in my group. We built over 70 bio-sand water filtration systems which are ecological filters using local sand to turn even the most polluted water into drinkable water (98% pure). Arguably cleaner than most of the bottled water in Haiti.
We also delivered food and school supplies to children in schools throughout Port-au-Prince and into smaller villages. We spent a lot of time in orphanages. In the Haitian culture, it's uncommon for the men to spend time with children. With little to no love, most kids grow up misguided or worse.
I was blessed to be in Haiti. I miss it with my whole heart. More than any other mission I've been on. I've been on relief trips for victims of Hurricane Katrina and others, soup kitchens for the homeless, outreaches for troubled children, and other trips.
One of my goals right now is to get out to Uganda this summer to help a Pastor with an orphanage and water system. Time to fundraise. Haha. If you're interested in anything like that, Michaela, ask me anything you'd like. And if you have your own experiences, let me know! I love hearing about things outside of the U.S.
There were nine people in my group. We built over 70 bio-sand water filtration systems which are ecological filters using local sand to turn even the most polluted water into drinkable water (98% pure). Arguably cleaner than most of the bottled water in Haiti.
We also delivered food and school supplies to children in schools throughout Port-au-Prince and into smaller villages. We spent a lot of time in orphanages. In the Haitian culture, it's uncommon for the men to spend time with children. With little to no love, most kids grow up misguided or worse.
I was blessed to be in Haiti. I miss it with my whole heart. More than any other mission I've been on. I've been on relief trips for victims of Hurricane Katrina and others, soup kitchens for the homeless, outreaches for troubled children, and other trips.
One of my goals right now is to get out to Uganda this summer to help a Pastor with an orphanage and water system. Time to fundraise. Haha. If you're interested in anything like that, Michaela, ask me anything you'd like. And if you have your own experiences, let me know! I love hearing about things outside of the U.S.
There is nothing in the world like your heart being touched by the unexpected. Reading your post was as if I wrote it myself, it happened to me after I returned from my first trip to Cuba. I came back confused and nothing made sense anymore. Everything that I have ever been told about Cuba was a lie, from the news and what our govt has put out there. I remember landing at the Miami airport, with my girlfriend of ten years picking me up. I thought it was just culture shock at first, all the neon lights, signs and traffic. I just wanted to get back on the plane and fly back to Cuba. The next few months were very hard. I went through a huge depression and was walking around like being in a dream state, I cried a lot and didn't know why. it was hard, it was like I was living a lie being back in the US. I didn't want to be a part of this country or the delusional people that lived here anymore.
That was ten years ago and yes I dumped that girl when she started bitching about things that really didn't matter and were of no consequence of whats real. Couldn't understand how a person that has everything could be so unhappy when I was at a place that everyone was happy and had nothing more that the simplest of things. That's a big part of what is going on in your head, and for you now, it's hard to listen to everything that's going on around you, when it has nothing to do with life. I remember being somewhere in line when everyone around was taking about the ending of some sit-com like it was the most important thing on earth. I was a fish out of water. All I can tell you is, what you now feel in your heart and know in your mind is a glimpse of whats REAL, and it will not change or go away. It's not that you saw poor people, homeless people or even starving people, it's you saw that in the hardest of times, from people without anything, an unexplained energy came from their eyes and smile, a sense of purity and innocence of what is real. There is not a day that goes by that my mind doesn't drift back in time to that trip. It chance everything!
and there is not a day that goes by that I'm not dreaming of leaving the states, but for now I live in Key West and it is a close as I can get to being here and not being here, tioti
That was ten years ago and yes I dumped that girl when she started bitching about things that really didn't matter and were of no consequence of whats real. Couldn't understand how a person that has everything could be so unhappy when I was at a place that everyone was happy and had nothing more that the simplest of things. That's a big part of what is going on in your head, and for you now, it's hard to listen to everything that's going on around you, when it has nothing to do with life. I remember being somewhere in line when everyone around was taking about the ending of some sit-com like it was the most important thing on earth. I was a fish out of water. All I can tell you is, what you now feel in your heart and know in your mind is a glimpse of whats REAL, and it will not change or go away. It's not that you saw poor people, homeless people or even starving people, it's you saw that in the hardest of times, from people without anything, an unexplained energy came from their eyes and smile, a sense of purity and innocence of what is real. There is not a day that goes by that my mind doesn't drift back in time to that trip. It chance everything!
and there is not a day that goes by that I'm not dreaming of leaving the states, but for now I live in Key West and it is a close as I can get to being here and not being here, tioti
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