Smoke never rises without fire.
My name is Aaron but Haitians struggle with the vowels. In
country, I respond to everything from Alron and Arwen to Alan and Iran. I don’t
mind. Typically Haitian names are much easier to pronounce and phonetic (i.e.
Son-Son, Woh-Woh, Nu-nu, and Frank).
I have never spent more than two weeks in country at a time.
On this trip, my fourth trip, I fly out January 31st and return
August 9th. Before you start
counting fingers, that’s over 6 months.
Six months is a long time. Six months without hot water, air
conditioning, and reliable electricity is a longer time. However, the ample
sunlight and moisture of the rainy season will do wonders to promote the growth
of my facial hair (not that it needs much promotion).
Of course, this blog isn’t about facial hair. It isn’t even
about hair. Although I am sure you can find other blogs about hair if you want.
This relatively hairless blog is about striving to make a difference where it
matters most and attempting to serve the poorest country on this side of the
planet.
With that, please visit www.clemsonengineers.com if you are
interested in learning more about what Clemson, my fellow travelers, and I are
doing in Haiti.
I fly out tomorrow. Keep checking in. Things are about to
get real.
