My First Week in Haiti

If it’s one thing you can count on in Haiti: It’s always an adventure!

So, I have been here for a week now…people keep asking me if I miss L.A. yet (?). I’m starting to feel bad because I’m thinking, “Should I be missing L.A.?” but I don’t…at least, not now. Of course, I miss the people I left behind there, but I will see them again. And I especially don’t miss it after the fiasco at LAX. I really don’t want to get into details because it’ll piss me off all over again and I don’t feel like getting pissed off anymore. Let’s just say I now have to get creative and make chic outfits out of the variety of tank tops and sandals that did make the flight. No worries. The rest of my stuff is being shipped and it’ll be Christmas in June for me soon.

Anywho, since I’ve been here, I have met with old friends and family whom I haven’t seen in over a decade. Everyone looks as fabulous and as chic as ever. They still have their old businesses or have opened new ones and are trucking along. Haitians work hard but play harder…I love that, why do you think I’m here?!?! And everywhere you go you run into or pass by someone you know. It’s funny because I’m not a fan of that at all back in California but it doesn’t faze me one bit here. So far, I am enjoying everyone’s reaction to seeing me back after all this time. I’ll ride that wave for a while.

The weather: Has been toasty warm at a constant 90 degrees. Toss in 150% humidity and you have yourself a sauna in Paradise! I love it though (I think I’m one of a handful of people who does). My skin is nice and moisturized and my hair has curled up even more! Today is the first day we have had rain…it’s now even stickier but I don’t feel it as hot. My dad thinks I’m weird.

State of the Country: OK, so you’re probably dying to know the state of this crazy place called Haiti. It’s the question of the day, right? Well, it has changed some as people had warned me. But as I think about it, what place, city, landscape, village, town doesn’t change after a decade? Houses go up, buildings come down, the population shifts, and there’s always more traffic. That’s pretty much all I can see so far although I haven't ventured outside of Port-Au-Prince just yet. At the Liautaud compound, you can see the squatters' homes up the hill that are creeping onto the property. Once an all green, all forested mountainside is now freckled with cinder-block shanty “huts” (for lack of a better term as they're not really houses). Petion-Ville, which is the place to shop, see and be seen, is now pretty congested. And for those who have never driven here, much less travelled here, just imagine the Bumper Car ride at the County Fair. It mimics Haiti’s roads perfectly. All you have to do is throw in a ton of potholes the size of your car (fall in one and you’ll never get out!). The roads are in BAD shape. Just don’t eat before going out and, ladies, wear a sports bra.
I haven’t quite made it downtown yet, but I hear you can’t make it downtown anyways. I saw a picture in the local newspaper showing one of “Centre Ville’s” major thoroughfares and it is now impossible to get a car through there due to all the marchands (merchants). Anyone who had a shop downtown has been forced to board up their doors & windows and move shop…to Petion-Ville; Hence, the gridlock that exists there now. But there are many more shops and there’s almost nothing you can’t get here now. There's a couple of uber high-end departments stores selling the "basics" like Chopard, Cartier, Lalique, Christofle, etc. I'll be spending more time in those places...drooling. I have visited a couple building supply showrooms (I can't help it!) that sell everything from Delta and Moen fixtures to Bissaza’s FABULOUS mosaic tile. It’s like a candy store for me. One of the managers of a showroom (who is the boyfriend of a close friend) greeted me and Dad with “Ti Kafe”: Espresso served in the traditional demitasse cup and saucer…what hospitality!!! Who does that in the States?!?! Anyways, he stated that Haiti is in major need of Interior Designers. There are people who have a lot of money to spend here…who don’t necessarily have taste or style. I plan on doin’ some covert self promotions in the very near future.

The Food: Yum, Yum, Yummmmmm…(infinity) I can’t say enough about the food here. I have not had one single meal that didn’t send me into a tizzy. The day we arrived, my dad took me (because I demanded some Haitian food NOW!) and a couple of my dad’s friends to a restaurant called La Coquille (The Shell). It’s all you-can-eat buffet style and has a Ti-Shoppe in the courtyard that sells hand crafted Haitian goodies and homemade eats. For 4 people, all you can eat, 6 drinks (mostly alcoholic of course), and dessert, plus tip it totalled about $50 US. Nice. I’ll be going back to that place soon. At Chez Liautaud, we are upholding my Grandmother’s tradition of having lunch as the big, main meal of the day and soup for dinner. Nothing Carlene (the Jack Of All Trades at Chez Liautaud) has cooked up has disappointed me…she makes the BEST homemade soups! It has almost inspired me to want to learn how to cook…but I think I’d rather keep Carlene employed instead.

Technology & Everyday Tidbits: Is freakin’ me out. EVERYONE has cell phones now. And I mean everyone. I was passing through the kitchen the other day and Carlene’s cell phone went off. It startled me!...why is her butt ringing?!?! And then this morning, I was putting on my make-up out on the gallery while Carlene was mopping and she was talking to her kids on the phone! Don’t get me wrong…I don’t mind it one bit. I’m sooooo glad Haitians are starting to enjoy the little things the rest of us have taken for granted. I just have to get used to the site! As far as electricity goes, Haiti has been notorious for having spotty power. But thanks to Inverters and Generators, we now have power all the time…usually…sometimes. The water pumps still don’t work well when there’s little or no power, so, unfortunately, showers and, yes, toilets don’t function as they should. Be careful of your timing!

Here are a couple things I have experienced for the very first time here: an elevator ride. I had my first Haitian elevator ride when I went to Sacre Coeur Hospital for an X-ray on my foot (a whole other story…hit me up if you want the 411) and I must admit I was a bit skittish as a result if the electricity thing. But, alas, my dad and I made it to the 2nd floor without incident. And, remember being a kid and playing 3 Flags Up in the streets when all of a sudden you hear “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” as the ice cream man creeps down the road selling his plethora of sugar coma inducing sweets? Ok, so my dad and I were enjoying lunch out on the gallery the other day when all of a sudden I faintly hear the theme song to the 1997 blockbuster, Titanic, playing in the distance. What the heck is that all about?... It’s the water truck delivering drinkable water to La Grotte (The Grotto) next to our property...it's their ice cream truck! Ummmm…is the Titanic theme song the best choice for these people??? Just a thought.

There are a couple of laws that make me chuckle: When parallel parking your car on the street, you must have two tires on the sidewalk and two on the street. Imagine doing that in Beverly Hills…The po-po will haul your nutty ass to jail and impound your car! Also, paternity tests are illegal in Haiti. Yes, I said that right… illegal. As in not legal; not allowed; no can do. Whoever created this law obviously needed to save his own be-hind. I bet this law makes many Haitian men verrrrrrry happy.

Aaaaahhhh…I love this place! So, here I am on a sticky Thursday afternoon, sitting at the window in the dining room on an antique Chinese chest I probably shouldn’t be sitting on, enjoying the view of Port-au-Prince listening to…uuuuhhh…it was Lionel Ritchie, now it’s Tina Turner’s Private Dancer (not my radio station selection… I’m blaming it on Dad), blogging. I feel as at-home as one of the bright green lizard on the palm tree in the yard. I have a cousin coming to visit tomorrow, a wedding on Saturday night and a trip to the mountains to visit another cousin on Sunday. I’m a busy bug! But I’ve also never been sooo relaxed. It’s aaaaall good. La Vie En Douce (The Sweet Life).
A Bientot!!!
Madame V.