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Days Sixteen to Eighteen: Runnin' on Empty

By Grant Fuller February 22, 2010

This 3-for-1 combo blog post is a good indication of how busy I’ve become. I only have two full days left in Haiti, so I’ve been trying to make the most of my time. At the risk of sounding like a whiny privileged foreigner, I’ll say that I’m tired. All the driving around, all the collapsed buildings, all the sad stories, all the nonstop work has started to take its toll. But then again, I obviously have nothing to complain about. So I’ll just shut up now, you’re welcome.

The past two nights have been full of excitement, but not the good kind. Aftershocks in the middle of the night sent me scrambling into the hotel courtyard in my underwear, half asleep and heart pounding. An earthquake is infinitely more terrifying after you’ve seen up close the damage it can do. As soon as my body feels the bed rattle and my ears hear the city rumble, survival instincts automatically take over. I dart to safety and don’t look back. Last night’s quake was followed, 12 minutes later, by a sharp jolt that made all of us jump to our feet and wonder where to go. The power of the earth is something to behold.

The combination of everything (aftershocks being the last straw) has me thinking I’m ready to leave Haiti. I know I won’t feel that way when the plane finally takes off, but right now I’m done. And meanwhile, Haitians continue on with their daily lives, shrugging off the aftershocks and cleaning up the mess. If the earth doesn’t shake tonight, maybe tomorrow I’ll wake up with that kind of attitude, too.