Feb 24, Haiti

Hi everyone :)
I arrived in Haiti just fine and things seem calm and quiet here. It is carnival so everyone is dressed up in bright colors or jeans and t-shirts. My hotel is really luxurious, which doesn't much suit me, but during carnival in Haiti there aren't a lot of choices!
My first adventure was in the airport this morning. I dropped my money belt (with passport and ticket) onto a conveyor belt where I had just put my suitcase. It was all moving quickly toward a hole in the wall about 5 feet away, so I jumped onto the conveyor belt and rescued my passport... all the while some frenzied luggage handlers were shouting that I'm not allowed up there... but they laughed after I grabbed it and jumped down like a billy-goat with no scrapes or scratches :)
The Haitian fellow that sat next to me on the plane was fun to talk to. He said a couple things that tickled me - one was that the government shouldn't be allowed to handle money, and a little later in the flight, that if he was 'in charge' he would repaint all the roofs of the houses in Port-au-Prince so the country looked pretty as you flew in. A Haitian band, hired by the airport, greeted us at the airport entrance - they did that in Guyana too. I wonder if that's a Caribbean thing. Before arriving at customs I saw my name on a sign with an airport employee. He helped me find my bags and took me to the car awaiting outside. My chauffer and protector were friendly. I was flooded with emotion on the way through PaP. My heart always goes out to the street children who are at every corner asking for change. I wish I could house, feed and school them all. It does make me a little happier when I see them laughing and joking with eachother, they often come in bands of two or three.
My hotel has a pool and excercise center, a bunch of bars, one with fresh fruit smoothies. Tonight was barbecue night so I had some chicken skewers, and to my surprise, string beans! I have to wonder where those came from!!! I ate every one of them, knowing that green food is hard to come by here. I ordered room service for the food, and I was wearing my Obama t-shirt when the waiter got here - I feel like he warmed up to me quickly and I wonder if he saw the shirt.
I guess that's all for now. I'll try to do more of this :)