Turbulence

                I had just landed in Miami Airport a little over four hours ago, and it felt like mere minutes.  The few winks of sleep I was able to get were quickly disrupted by janitors, PA announcements, or even other anxious travelers.  I was boarding the last leg of my most recent return trip to Haiti – the 90 minute flight from Miami to Port-au-Prince.  I found my seat square in between two patrons who did not share a primary language with me.  The safety demonstration whizzed by.  I found myself drifting asleep to the soothing tunes of my hangover cure playlist. 

                I was so tired that I’m not so sure that I was ever actually asleep.  Eyes closed?  Check.  Slowed respirations?  Check.  Rapid eye movements?  Probably.  Brain in shutdown mode?  Nope.  Not sure what was going on.  The track playing was Chromeo’s “Don’t Turn the Lights On.”  Pretty sure that it’s a pretty obscure song.  That’s right.  I’m a hipster.  And my brain started noticing that it seemed like the airplane was being jolted to the rhythm of the song.  It was nuts.  The chorus kicked in and all of a sudden my plain was bouncing up and down.  Each down stroke matched with a drop in altitude.  The high hat with a bump to the right or left.  It almost seemed too perfect to be true, and it only lasted for two eight counts, but I swear it happened.

                The turbulence kinda reminded me of what can happen when a totally new group of people get pushed together in a small setting like we are in.  I’m currently in Les Anglais, Haiti.  If you look at Haiti as a giant ‘C’ facing the opposite direction then we would be at the tip of the bottom tail.  Gorgeous views of the coastline along the whole drive.  Beautiful surroundings notwithstanding I have to say that I’m not worried about turbulence with this group.  We are small in number, only 13, but we are an experienced lot.  I think efficiency will be our strength.  This is shaping up to be a new experience for me.  Brand new location and I can finally spend some time learning about organizing a clinic.  I think Dr. Abby will be a great mentor as I look to start organizing our trip to La Fite.  I hope to be able to continue to have inspiration to blog about, but if not then that probably means that we’re kicking ass in the clinic and I’m just too tired!