As I watch CNN tonight and Hurricane Sandy hitting the east coast, I think about how the Haitians are doing in their recovery of yet another hurricane.  Sandy took 51 lives there and flooded Leogane, where I will be in a month to build homes.  See the article and some pictures at  Hurricane's death toll rises to 65 in Caribbean.  Volunteers of this year's Carter Work Project (CWP) are wondering (and asking on the CWP Facebook page) how the homes built last year by the CWP held up.  I don't know the answer yet.

After two wildfires in Los Alamos County over the past 12+ years, and having to evacuate once, and being ready to evacuate the second time, I can't imagine not being able to evacuate.  That is, not having the resources to move away temporarily and avoid the "storm".  The Haitians have to ride it out and then deal with the consequences.  When the smoke got bad in White Rock last summer, Jim and I evacuated.  In fact, we turned it into an evacation.

Let's hope this hurricane season comes to an end soon.

So I've tried my REI base camp pillow and it's not bad.  Definitely not as good as my pillows at home, but I'll survive with it for a week.

One thing that worries me a bit about this Carter Work Project in Haiti is the heat.  I've added Port-au-Prince to my weather app on my iPhone to be able to easily check the weather there.  While it seems that highs have decreased a bit (from high 90s to mid 90s), it's still hot.  By the end of November, average highs should be down to high 80s.  Of course, it will also be humid (everywhere is humid compared to northern NM).

Whereas, I usually dress for the weather (shorts and a t-shirt in hot weather), I'll be wearing pants every day there, for cultural and safety reasons.

I've already been warned that the Haitians will work circles around any foreigners.  So I don't have to worry about trying to keep up with them...

To truly become a part of this experience, I have to share my shopping trip to REI today.  Some of you know that I am NOT a shopper.  In fact, if I shop for too long, I start to get physically ill...or at least I think I become ill.  But my shopping trip today was too fun!

I started at the mosquito nets.  We are "strongly encouraged" to bring a mosquito net with a single point connection (something like the picture below).



So after researching them (yes, I have to research them first), I know just what I want.  Of course, it's one of the more expensive single point connection ones, which means that it's a bit roomier and mosquitoes can not bite you through it.  Of course, they (the Santa Fe REI) don't have it (neither does the Albuquerque or Denver REIs).  I'll have to order it on-line.  So then I start browsing.  Here are the treasures I found and bought.

*  REI base camp pillow - It had the best reviews on-line and even though it's not as compact as others, it seems evenly fluffy.  I'll give it a try tonight.
*  2 camping towels with hand carry cases - Wow, are these towels compact!  Perhaps I should try them before the trip also.
*  1 supposedly, unbreakable mirror - I'll find out if that's true.  Not on the list, but I thought I should have one.  Is that vain?
*  8.5 oz. of "Wilderness Wash" - Good for body wash and shampoo (as well as dishes and clothes, for which I won't have an opportunity to use it)
*  4 coreless and very compact rolls of toilet tissue - The list also recommends wet wipes.
Do you get the impression yet that we're roughing it?!
*  Insect repellent with permethrin - This is to spray my clothes (my mosquito net of choice is pre-sprayed) before going.  I got 24 ounces, which treats four complete outfits.
*  2 clearance light-weight long-sleeved shirts - which they recommend for the sun and the mosquitos
*  2 clearance pants with zip-off legs (for shorts) - I'll only use the shorts if I can not stand the heat (literally).

Did I mention that we're roughing it?
Tents - Cots and foam pads are provided.  I will bring a sheet set that I have from my South Pacific travels as a student and my new pillow.
Toilets - It sounds like outhouses or perhaps what I had on my Kenyan safari - a hole in the ground that we dug at each campsite.
Showers - I'm not sure what we'll have for showers or water, though they will be available 6-9pm every evening.

I plan on bringing a backpack (internal frame) that I used for my South Pacific travels.  The trick (as with any trip) will be to fit everything in it.

I realize that you may not know when the 2012 Carter Work Project happens.  All team members are to arrive in Atlanta by 5pm on Friday, November 23.  We have registration, orientation, and other activities that night and then fly on a charter flight to Haiti on Saturday, November 24.  We will begin working on the Santo work site on Sunday, November 25.  We return to Atlanta on Saturday, December 1 and then I have a later flight back to Albuquerque that day.

This arrangement gives me the perfect opportunity to arrive early and visit the Carter Center and Presidential Library.  Unfortunately, the Carter Center is closed on Thanksgiving day.  So I'll be traveling to Atlanta on Thanksgiving and visiting the Carter Center first thing on Friday, November 23 in order to be back to the hotel by 5pm.  I can't wait!

The biggest dilemna of my trip - which of Jimmy Carter's books to bring to get his autograph.

I'm excited to start this blog and share with you my experience with the 2012 Carter Work Project (CWP).  Please check out my Carter Work Project web page at  Laura McClellan for 2012 CWP Participants.  On that site, I share why I decided to apply for participation in the 2012 CWP.  I'll keep this post short (for testing purposes).

I've met so many wonderful people who have connections to Haiti since becoming involved with this project and my fundraising for it.  Take Zoe, whom I met at REI in Albuquerque a couple of weeks ago while shopping for a mosquito net (more about that later).  Zoe had visited Haiti and like others said that "the situation there will break your heart and the people are wonderful".  I asked Zoe if she went on some mission trip there and she said not really and that she really had not planned on going to Haiti, it just happened.  It then just happened that she started up a non-profit organization to help out the Haitians and it's now operating within Haiti.  She reminded me so much of Margaret Trost, whose book "On That Day Everybody Ate" I read recently.  I'm starting to wonder if this is a common story....a visit out of the blue to Haiti results in a tie to the people and a need to help their situation in a way that changes your life.  I guess I'll find out...