Today’s post comes from Haiti where Brian Leftwich, a staff person at HandsOn Network, is currently volunteering.

I went house hunting in Haiti yesterday with my new colleague Junior.

We began our quest around 9:00 to find a potential house to run a volunteer center out of.

My company, HandsOn Network, has been gracious enough to pay for me to stay an additional 10 days, and I am stoked on networking with all the people making a difference here.

One hour later, we picked up our “real estate” agent on a corner in the market.

He had a killer 8 bedroom for rent and wanted to take us to see it.

We made it back to his office to find out it was no longer available.

Thirty minutes later we met a Canadian Haitian at the office, who had a house for rent.

His car broke down at the office so he hopped in with us.

The starting price for an 8 bedroom, 3 bath, unfinished house on a hill was $9,000 a month.

In my search I have found out that Haitians love to put bathrooms under the stairs.

The door starts at 6’, but the toilet is around the 4’ mark with a sloping ceiling.

A bathroom for hobbits I suppose.

I looked at four other homes that day, with two additional agents in various parts of town and in various conditions.

The agents never left the car, we would just put them in back of our two door Tracker.

Junior, my translator, had diarrhea the whole time, so every house went to, he “checked” the functionality of the toilets.

Our last house was unscheduled as we were flagged down by a guy on the corner who said he had a house for rent.

It was perfect, if you are into pit bulls, stolen aid gear, 6 shirtless dudes pumping iron, some weed, 2 BMW’s and a Foosball table.

I guess protection would not be an issue.

The day ended well with a meeting at US AID.

I realized quickly that things move slower in Haiti and it comes down to who you know.

Junior, my guide and translator, had actually grown up with the man we were meeting.

“It’s a small island after all, it’s a small, small island…”

They were working with street youth and teaching them trades.

One of their inventions was a 20 oz soda bottle LED flashlight/desk lamp. Solar rechargeable and unbreakable.

They were also recycling paper into biscuits that would heat stoves.

PVC pipe, paper, and a floor jack was all they needed.

Haitians are some of the most innovative people I have ever met.

ReCycle/ReUse is a necessity, not a cliché saying on a grocery bag in Boulder.

We ended the day at Le Delicas, the local hamburger shack.

As Junior and I munched on fries and burgers, it seemed like a normal day in Haiti.

We could still here the UN trucks roll past, but in this brief moment, all was well in the world.

Haiti is home to wonderfully gracious people.

At times I feel awkward at how accommodating they are to me.

Meals, laundry, and such, as if my comfort was of the utmost importance to them.

It always seems those with the least, give the most.