Tarantulas, Coffee, and Hospitality

Nate Boyer first traveled to Haiti as a young teenager, at just 12 years old. Jeff VanderMolen, one of Haiti H2O’s founders, has been the Boyers’ neighbor for many years, so Nate had grown up hearing about Haiti H2O’s mission.  When reflecting on his preparation to go, Nate remembered the training through his congregation, Friendship Community Presbyterian Church. Another member on the trip, Laureen Hurt, was fluent in Haitian Creole and helped the team prepare for the language challenges, while Jeff, a seasoned traveler to Haiti, set expectations for the team. They traveled to Bassin Caiman for this trip. The church there was “our sister church,” Nate explained. “It felt like more of a partnership.” 

Nate traveled with both his mom and then his dad (on two different trips) to work on different projects in Bassin Caiman. “My experience is definitely melded together,” Nate admits. Nate had traveled to Niagara before with his grandparents, but the trip to Haiti was his first international flight.  “Right out of the airport, there were tons of people—taxis, or tap-taps as they are called in Haiti, tons of people offering rides, like in any major city. I remember it being pretty chaotic.”

The roads in Port-au-Prince were equally exciting; cars weaved between large trucks, and their first night was at Jules’ house, one of our Haiti H2O staff members.

“Everything was new and super exciting for me, didn’t really matter what happened!”

While at Jules’ house, Nate enjoyed his first cup of Haitian coffee. “I had way too much coffee—super sweet, lots of milk and sugar…I was convinced I loved coffee. I remember having a lot on that trip and, as an energetic teenage boy, [I] did not need as much coffee as I was consuming!”

The trip into Bassin Caiman took over five hours, traveling the main highway for the first three hours and then turning off onto more rustic roads. They drove over riverbeds and down dirt roads, until eventually reaching the village where they would be building a composting toilet for the next week.

The team went to Haiti in the summer, when sleeping in Haiti’s tropical environment can be challenging for Americans used to air conditioning. Nate distinctly remembers a night of cold rain towards the end of their trip: “That was the best night of sleep all of us had.” In spite of the heat, Nate fondly remembered his time with not only his church family, but with the special experience of staying directly with Haitian families. Rooms were small and beds were limited, but the experience of being together was an incredible one.

“I remember one night going tarantula-hunting with four kids from [Bassin Caiman]…they were on the walls, and we’d throw rocks at them. We were joking around and one went up my friend’s leg! That was so fun, with the kids.” 

Nate also remembered the constant presence of music in the community, waking up to the sounds of the vibrant village coming to life, and eating together at the end of the day.

Another feature of this trip for the younger participants was soccer. “I remember there were three little girls the first time [we visited] and a kid named Sedenyai. We played a lot of soccer together. He was probably the best kid at soccer. I didn’t see him on the second trip because he was going to school about a 40- or 50-minute walk from Bassin Caiman. But I remember one night, it was late at night, he came up walking…totally remembered me from [the previous trip], and we caught up with my limited Creole.”

Nate played soccer all through high school and college, and thanks to his experiences in Haiti, his interest in international travel grew. “That was the best experience for me — it set off my traveling,” Nate said. 

Although younger trip participants digest their experiences in Haiti differently than someone older might, Nate did remember how much he loved the Haitian way of living.

“A lot of people’s experiences [after returning to the U.S.] are feeling grateful for all the material things we have,” Nate reflected, but he saw the benefits and beauty in a simpler life, “seeing how rich in spirit all the community is down there.”