Basics

I know that at least a couple of you are curious about where I live, where I work, how I get from where I live to where I work, etc. So, here's a quick run-down.

MCC PaP (Port au Prince)
MCC's main office in Haiti is in PaP. There are a few North Americans in the office, and then several Haitians. The office is just off "Delmas," one of the main roads in PaP. The office doubles as the MCC PaP Guesthouse. That is, there are rooms & bathrooms where people can stay.

My House
I live with a woman named Bernadette. She is the mother of Guylene, one of the women who works in the MCC office. Bernadette has 6 children, all of whom are grown, married, and living in PaP. Guylene's son also lives with us. I'm guessing he's around 14. We share the upper floor of a 2-floor apartment. There are 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, dining room, and balcony.

Transportation
MCC has a motorcycle, a truck, and an SUV. We share the vehicles amongst everyone. Unfortunately for me, I do not yet know how to drive manual vehicles or motorcycles. So, I take "public" transportation. Tap-taps are pick-up trucks with benches in the back and a cover. They have set routes along the main roads. People cram inside & then tap on the back glass of the cabin to let the driver know when they need to get off. Tap-taps are privately owned, but they function as a form of "public transportation." To get from my house to the MCC office, I walk to the end of the road, take a tap-tap to "karefou aeropo," take another tap-tap up Delmas, then walk a block or two to the office.

Electricity
Comes and goes. It seems like we generally have electricity a couple hours every day, but the times during which we have it vary. Sometimes it comes on in the middle of the day. Sometimes it comes on at 3am. You never really know. Most people have inverters. When the electricity comes on, it recharges the inverter, and so people have power as long as the inverter has juice. Otherwise, there are generators. Unfortunately those are expensive and so few people have them. (fyi - right now I'm at the MCC office running off the inverter)

Water
Running water is readily available as long as there is power. That being the case, I take bucket showers and pour water from a bucket into the back of the toilet to flush. Drinking water is bought. It generally comes in large containers, but smaller containers can be purchased if you want it cold.

Those are some of the basics. I feel like that was probably the most boring thing I possibly could have written, but I hope it answered a few questions.

-L