Bon jou! Now you know how to say hello in Creole. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dan Littlepage and I am a senior in the Information Management and Technology program at the iSchool. This is my first journey to Haiti and am excited to tell you about it. If you are interested, you can read a more in depth story at thenext6months.wordpress.com, a blog I created recounting this journey and many more as Haiti is the first stop on a long list of travel for me. Project Haiti was a pleasant surprise. Had you asked me a few weeks ago where I would be right now, my answer would be quite different. I knew that there was a trip planned because I work for Networking and Wiring Services but when they said “oh and by the way we’ll be taking students with us would you be interested?” I was convinced I had to go. My passions, interests, and current experiences had lead to this trip.

Not sure what to expect I wanted to come into with an open mind but of course you can’t help but be influenced by the media and what I found out to be many misconceptions about Haiti. I had over prepared myself for turmoil, delinquency, and terrible brokenness. Haitians are poor, but they are proud, hardworking, intelligent, willful people. I am embarrassed to say but I sense we are afraid to come here and be working along side Haitains because there are many unknowns. Even within our trip many things have not gone to plan and we have been flexible to work around them but even in the midst of that we have had a positive impact and I strongly believe with the right support Haitians can once again be the “Pearl of the Caribbean.” It took an earthquake for the world to care and when they struggled to help they gave up. Its been a year and a half since the earthquake and Haiti is still here and much progress has been made but its never time to stop caring and helping. That’s why I am proud of what the university has said they will do and in fact is doing.

It has been strange to stay in an elegant hotel (one of about two that are still in Port-Au-Prince) and see the poverty of the people but many unexpected and great things have come of it. Faculty have made connects with the President of Haiti and the group has met a famous celebrity, Won-G who shows interest in our project as he has been aiding Haiti since the quake. While visiting UEH’s campuses we have been able to make personal connections with students and ask them about their studies and describe our plans to provide them with Internet accessibility allowing better resources. It’s amazing to contrast their own campus from ours and the great things they have been able to do with the sparse materials they have.

Culturally, its exciting to see the lives and interactions of the Haitians, from the hustle and bustle of the interim street markets to the intricate work of Haitian artisans. The roads are quite the sight. It’s often a bumpy ride from here to there and there isn’t much concern for traffic laws but in the chaos that ensues somehow there is a very efficient system. Large multi-colored trucks, known as tap-taps brimming with people follow routes and when its time to get off “tap tap” the roof and you’re free. There is no capacity limit and its been asked how many people fit on tap-tap and the answer is always one more.

Today is an exciting day our equipment is finally out of customs which means all the site planning we have been doing the last two days while waiting for the equipment can now be acted upon and some physical evidence of our involvement will be in place.

That’s all for now. Babay.