I haven't put anything up in a while... I know...
It's just that after the dream week I spend in Paris with CQFD (did you see the pics?), it was... difficult to write again and to get back into the spring of things...
So I left Paris on the wings of British Airways at 7AM on a sunday, to fly to Miami where I would stay one night before I hooked on an the early monday morning flight to Port-au-Prince (PAP for friends).
When I got to Haiti, I made straight for the office where my 4 teammates were waiting for me to start the audit. It was nice to see C. again, a gentleman I worked with in Guinea and who (coincidentally) was my neighbour way back when in Burkina Faso in the early 80's when I was a toddler and he was a little kid...
Getting to Haiti means a lot of hard work, but it also means loads of fun: my team is young, dynamic, eager to go out and do things. I'm sure I won't have to many B.O.R.E.D. moments here.
PAP is a nice city, and slightly messy, but nothing quite as bad as Conakry in Guinea. I am amazed that they have public lighting here.
Our first week here was also the week of the legislative elections in Haiti. Thankfully, it was a peaceful political event and the planned hunker-down week-end turned out to be a weekend of visiting the nearby mountain village of Fermathe, where we had the opportunity of buying and tasting local cakes, of visiting an old fort.
This is just an example of the beauty of Haiti....
Later in the night last saturday, 2 of my teammates and I went to a "concert" with a fellow co-worker who had free tickets from one of her friends. Amazingly, it turned out to be...
STARMANIA (TYCOON) .... an all haitian cast of singers, actors and dancers, on the original text and music of the Plamondon/Berger duet, with bouts in Creole.
I'm very optimistic about my stay in Haiti.
Tonight, our local counterpart is taking us out to play pool, and tomorrow to the Beach. Also,
Haitian art is very colorful and lively. I look forward to digging more on that.
More pics to come !
Cheers !
The Beaver
It's just that after the dream week I spend in Paris with CQFD (did you see the pics?), it was... difficult to write again and to get back into the spring of things...
So I left Paris on the wings of British Airways at 7AM on a sunday, to fly to Miami where I would stay one night before I hooked on an the early monday morning flight to Port-au-Prince (PAP for friends).
When I got to Haiti, I made straight for the office where my 4 teammates were waiting for me to start the audit. It was nice to see C. again, a gentleman I worked with in Guinea and who (coincidentally) was my neighbour way back when in Burkina Faso in the early 80's when I was a toddler and he was a little kid...
Getting to Haiti means a lot of hard work, but it also means loads of fun: my team is young, dynamic, eager to go out and do things. I'm sure I won't have to many B.O.R.E.D. moments here.
PAP is a nice city, and slightly messy, but nothing quite as bad as Conakry in Guinea. I am amazed that they have public lighting here.
Our first week here was also the week of the legislative elections in Haiti. Thankfully, it was a peaceful political event and the planned hunker-down week-end turned out to be a weekend of visiting the nearby mountain village of Fermathe, where we had the opportunity of buying and tasting local cakes, of visiting an old fort.
This is just an example of the beauty of Haiti....
Later in the night last saturday, 2 of my teammates and I went to a "concert" with a fellow co-worker who had free tickets from one of her friends. Amazingly, it turned out to be...
STARMANIA (TYCOON) .... an all haitian cast of singers, actors and dancers, on the original text and music of the Plamondon/Berger duet, with bouts in Creole.
I'm very optimistic about my stay in Haiti.
Tonight, our local counterpart is taking us out to play pool, and tomorrow to the Beach. Also,
Haitian art is very colorful and lively. I look forward to digging more on that.
More pics to come !
Cheers !
The Beaver
Thanks, Cindy and Son's in Southern Utah for posting on my guestmap !
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !
13 comments:
Glad to know you're alive. The caribbean is a beautiful place. You make me want to go back to Jamaica. :)
Have Fun!!
Glad you enjoyed (the other half of) my island. Yeah, I'm from the D.R...did you get a chance to go over there? No offence to any Haitians out there but, it's more beautiful (my opinion, and yes I have been on both sides). But I guess you shouldn't take my word since it is a little biased
here i am stuck in the cold of denmark as you cruise the world. was reading some of your background, and interesting enough i had a very similar experience growing up.
arrived in africa (Afrique francophone dans la plupart des cas) at the age of 6 and left when i was 19 to go to uni in England.
my best friend in cameroon was from Haiti!! :)
and to top it all off, i have auditors like you breathing down my neck once in a while - i work as project/programme coordinator for an NGO.
a couple of years ago i was coordinating a project for UNHCR in Guinea-Bissau - and trust me it is far worse than Conakry! :-)
enjoy it all au PAP!
okay okay, we saw the pics. We all saw the shining gal out on the balcony. strudel
Juliana, I'm glad you enjoyed the post. The Caribbean is a beautiful sea and its Islanders are wonderful, warm people!
Marco, I don't know about DR yet. My team-mates and I were hoping to steal away a weekend in the DR but it looks like work may interfere. Haiti is beautiful though, so if DR is more beautiful, then it must be stunning ! Thanks for dropping by!
Any insight both of you can provide about the area will be more then welcome !
Coffee addict,it's amazing to meet people who also have an atypical background :o) Do you still travel? I'm sure you wouldn't feel hassled if I audited you. Since i'm an internal auditor, the process is much more collaborative and much less threatening for the auditees ;o)
Giovanni, glad to see you're still keeping an eye out. I also noticed that Benin was not included in the chronicle. You didn't like it? I try to also show positive aspects of the countries I visit...
Cheers,
Beav'
Thanks Beav, my favorite picture is of you looking over the majesty of the island and the sea. What a great view. It reminds me of a time in New hampshire when I saw bright white clouds in a vibrant blue sky held up by overwhelming green grass. It made me say to my friends life will never be better. Hope Haiti is as fun as it is pretty. Thanks Oh Great One.
oh my god, how I could skip Benin !
Benin posted at once... pant puff
-Strudel
Great Pictures Beav'ster!
You know what? Your life sounds like one big vacation to ME! And you're getting PAID for it!!! Arrgh! Where did I go wrong???
K-Girl,
Indeed, Haiti is both messed up and fascinating. It's enraging to see what the people are going through, as 90% of the riches is actually in the hands of 10% of the population... (rough figures)
Salt Water,
So far, Haiti is both fun and pretty . Moments of cheer beauty should be treasured, and no-one does that better than you do! (And in another line of thought, thanks for the compliment!)
Giovanni,
no prob. your efficiency amazes me. Breathe dude, breathe...
Thanks, 007 in Africa!
Saur♥Kraut, I appreciate your perspective, but... like I said, it is a lot of hard work. However, my work in itself being nothing fascinating to write about.... I prefer to entertain you with my leisure time :o)
I do have some site visits planned for the next 2 weeks, and that should make for more interesting professionnally oriented material.
Cheers all! Thanks for sticking around !
Nice to read your good news girl!
Enjoy your stay in Haiti as much as possible :)
Cuídate, besines!
you have been tagged! for more details see my latest post :)
Glad to hear you're doing well. Though I've never been to Haiti, I must say the DR is a wonderful place. I stayed in Santiago most of the time while attending PCUMM. Puerto Plata and Jarabacoa were nice. I think the most beautiful place I saw was Souza Beach.
The artwork in the DR from Haiti was very beautiful and rather cheap. I bought my mother a beautiful piece that hangs over her closet for less than $10 USD.
Anyway, keep us updated on your adventures. I'm worried about you!!
Much Love,
FAU alumni Cricket
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