My November Haiti Trip by Taylor

Monday November 2,2009

Today has felt like it was never ending. We had to be at the church house at 1:30 A.M.,but we didn't leave until 2:00 A.M. We had a long car ride to Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin Rudd drove. At first Mark Zimmerman rode in the passengers seat next to Kevin. Kayla Zimmerman and I sat on the first bench. On the second bench it was my dad,Paige Leslie, and Traci Warwick. Leah Stout and Carol Stout sat on the third and last row. After the second stop my dad sat next to Kevin. Mark sat in between Kayla and I. He held my pillow on his lap for Kayla and I to sleep on. Fortunately Kayla and I both slept a little. The car ride was restless. The good thing was that there were only nine people on the trip, so there was more car space for everyone. Once we got to Atlanta we had to get all of the bags out of the trailer. Once we got that done we went to get our boarding passes. Next, we all went to put the bags of stuff to take like water buckets,extra food snacks, and medicine through security. Then we had to go through security. I thought it kinda strange that you had to take off your shoes and put them in the tray/bucket. If you've ever flown before you'll know what I mean. I got a little nervous on take off. I held my daddy's hand. I sat in between Daddy and Carol. I thought it was fun being able to chew gum and not get in trouble for chomping it. I didn't get in trouble for it, because if you didn't chew gum your ears could pop. They would pop because you are so high up from the ground. Once we were about to land you could see all the buildings in Miami,Florida almost. Once we landed I was so happy that there was only a few more hours untilI would get to see my sister for the first time. I was hungry, too since I hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before. It was about 9:00 A.M. when we landed in Miami. We got off the plane, went to the restroom, went through security, and got on another plane to go to Port-Au-Prince. I sat next to daddy and Kayla. We got snacks. I didn't like the cheese on the crackers, but I loved the chocolate. I had water on the way to Miami. I had Sprite on the way to P.-A.-P. Kayla and I watched the Hannah Montana Movie on my I-pod.

When we got off the plane I felt like I was already sweating. Since they don't have the tunnels that you walk out of the plane on, you step straight outside into the very humid heat of the sun in Haiti. Next, we had to go to immigration. It felt very good in the air-conditioning. We had to wait in line at immigration. After that we all went to the bathroom. When you washed your hands you had to hold down a button to keep the water running. Leah held it down for me. The truck was a whole new experience for me. Kayla and I took lots of pictures. We were the only people that had never gone before. After a while I gave Daddy the camera. It stunk in the city!!! Good thing Traci had this vaseline that was for you to smell. It blocked out the smell. It didn't smell bad in the mountains. This drive is about three to four hours long. When we first saw the orphanage the girls saw us and rushed to get everyone to the front porch step so they could sing to us there. They sang the "Welcome" song to us. once they were done singing Odette came running up to me. She knew where I was because during the song she wasn't really singing she was looking for me, because she knew I was coming. She got my hand and didn't let go. She immediately took me upstairs and showed me her room. Then she told me to sit on her bed. She started fixing my hair. Then we got up and played for a long time. When we got to Kamatin we got all of our suitcases and choose our rooms. My room was Daddy,Odette, and I in a bed. In the same room it was Mark,Valencia, and Kayla. Also in the same room was Kevin and Benita. Odette and I made our bed. We didn't have comforters, because it is to hot to sleep under comforters. Then it was time to have dinner. I wasn't that hungry so all I had was rice and beans. After dinner we played for a little. At Kamatin when you walk out on the balcony you are on the lower roof so we played out there for a while. After that we took our baths. Odette, Benita, Valancia, Kayla, and I all took a bath together. The water is very cold!!!! Benita likes to throw the cold water all over Kayla and I to make us squeal. They all thought it was very funny. When I was washing my hair Odette said no. Then she took over. She also washed my back for me. When we got out Odette brushed my hair for me. It was the end of the best day of my life!!