crashing waves, clear blue water, palm trees and cliffs. People don't usually visualize this scene when they think of Haiti. It was probably the most picturesque view I've ever seen.
We took a bus over to a park where we met up with a bunch of Jacmellian children aged from 3-17. We took them through some drills and played a full sided game, with myself and J-Rod on one team and Chmiel and Jozy on the other. There was a short stoppage of play when the ball was deflected into an area where two goats were grazing on the actual field. You don't see that type of stoppage at Giants Stadium everyday.
I was amazed at how well behaved the children were and how well the older kids got along with the younger kids. In the U.S., we are used to groups of kids hanging out only with kids their same age, but here it didn't matter. Everyone was there to have fun.
In the evening, we met up with Danny, a native Floridian now living in Haiti with his wife and running an orphanage for 22 children. He organized a soccer match on the 16 acres of land he recently purchased for future development of his orphanage. We were met there by a group of about 100 children -- also from local orphanages -- and played soccer with them for about an hour.
I didn't really know what to expect when I found out we were going to be playing with children from an orphanage. Growing up in Haiti is hard enough without being abandoned by your parents at an early age, nevermind trying to get by on your own without any parental support. But, these kids were incredible, always smiling, always enthusiastic and very skilled.
When we left the field in Danny's pickup truck, we stopped at an intersection and were approached by a group of about 10 people. As is very customary in Haiti, the group asked if they could get a ride with us. Danny obliged and they all hopped in the back of the truck with us and rode with us all the way to the orphanage which was about 15 minutes away. They all jumped out with us with the hope of catching another ride to wherever their final destination was.
What surprised me most about the orphanage was that these children lived better than most of their surrounding neighbors, thanks to Danny. He provides a great standard of living for them. It felt more like a home and more like a huge family than our typical perception of an orphanage. After enduring so much through the early years of their lives, these kids have been given an opportunity to start fresh and take advantage of what Danny can provide.
The main event of the day was Wyclef Jean's concert, his first in Haiti since 1997 with the Fugees. I don't think anyone can understand how loved, admired and revered Wyclef is in Haiti unless you come here. He is their king, and that was very evident during the concert, which was performed on a beach in Jacmel.
Estimates on how many people attended varied from 30,000 up to 125,000. For argument's sake, let's call it 50,000. Regardless, it was a lot. And it would be impossible to get an actual count as the sea of people seemed to stretch forever and there weren't any tickets being sold.
The concert itself probably ranks in the top two shows I have ever seen live. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. I have never seen people so responsive to what a performer would do. Any time he would swing his hands, jump, etc. the crowd would go crazy. People kept running on the bridge that jetted out from the stage just to hug him. I would guess that this happened at least 40 times. They would latch on until they were pried off by "Beast," Wyclef's main security guard, who is just as intimidating as his name implies. Also of note is that the name was actually given to him by his mother.
The best part about it was that Wyclef was totally cool with it. He repeatedly told the security guards to let them be. Most would only be on stage for a few seconds and then would jump back into the crowd. Think about the last concert you went to and then think about what would happen if people ran on stage to hug the artist. They would be arrested. Here, not only were they embraced but in some cases they were serenaded, like one lucky female concert-goer who stormed the stage.
Another interesting part of 'Clef's show (what us in his crew call him), was that he brought on stage a number of young talented Haitian performers. One was a group of three rappers who couldn't have been over the age of 10. They ignited the crowd, unleashing a lyrical bombardment. I had no idea what they were saying because it was in Creole, but it really was awesome. There was also an 8-year old girl who played the part of Shakira in their song "Hips Don't Lie." She nailed it.
The entire show lasted over four hours until 3 a.m. What a day, but we have be up in a few hours for a 9 a.m. flight to Port-au-Prince. See you tomorrow.
Day 3
Our flight to Port-au-Prince that was scheduled for 9 a.m. quickly morphed into 1:30 p.m. And before you think that we just sauntered into the airport's President's Club or nearby terminal newsstand, let me paint a clearer picture.
This airport consisted of one small house surrounded by a dirt road, tall grass and a few random animals including a bull, dogs, goats and roosters. There were about 60 people waiting for a propeller plane that could hold 20 and since we are staying in Haiti until Tuesday, whereas everyone else needed to catch connections in Port-au-Prince, we got bumped to the 1:30 flight. Even then, three of our bags needed to be left behind because the prop plane was overweight. Luckily, mine was not one of them (Sorry, Chmiel, Tosi and Gwynne). Check back later to see if the group ever sees those again ...
From the airport, we went straight to L'Athletique -- Yele Haiti's training facility that hosts after-school soccer programs for selected Haitian youth from the slums of Port-au-Prince. We had 750 kids waiting for us there. We began by speaking in front of the entire group and told them about us and fielded questions. Jozy's part soon turned into an interrogation, with the young kids grilling him about his impending decision to play for the Haitian national team or the U.S. team. He deflected the question well, but I certainly did not envy him.
The fun part began after all the talking when we finally got to go out and play with the kids. We planned on playing in "two or three games," but it ended up being around seven. Not that this trip is about records or personal achievement on the soccer field, but I do want to note that the Stammler/Chmiel tandem beat the Altidore/Laventure duo five of the seven games, despite the Little One's (i.e. young Jozy) constant banter.
The setup at L'Athletique is quite impressive. They don't only stress soccer here, they mandate that all children that play there do well academically. They provide the children with food and water, two things that aren't guaranteed for most of these kids each day, and seemed to have created an environment where the children can really excel.
As has been constant throughout all of our interaction with the Haitian children, they smile all the time and are a pleasure to be around and play soccer with. We are coming back here on Monday to donate a whole bunch of gear that we collected over the season.
A quick pit-stop at a grocery store was made on the way from L'Athletique to our hotel and we were greeted by a guard armed with a shotgun. Because of the gang presence in Port-au-Prince, these guards are necessary at most retail stores to prevent robberies. When we proceeded through checkout, the cashier broke out the calculator to transfer the total from Haitian Gourdes to U.S. dollars and gave us an amount of $140. Something didn't seem right with that number because we only bought a few drinks, soap, a Coleman cooler and two six packs of raisins. However, when we checked the prices, we realized that the cooler cost $100 U.S. I've never seen an item returned to the shelf quicker in my life.
We checked into the Hotel Montana in the evening and rendezvoused by the pool for a quick refreshing swim and then met up for dinner. We were one short due to "flu-like symptoms." For his sake I won't name any names.
The accommodations at the Montana are very good. We have hot water in the shower, air conditioning in the rooms, some semblance of an internet connection, drinkable tap water and American television stations. Because of the TV stations, we saw UCLA beat USC, meaning my Buckeyes will have to wait until Sunday's BCS Selection Show to find out who Ted Ginn will shred in the national title game.
Also making the hotel better in my book is that we don't have a rooster waking us up at 6:30 a.m. each day like we had in Jacmel!
Tomorrow is election day in Haiti so we are keeping kind of a low profile: Soccer in the morning and then up to the mountains for a special lunch. Buckle your seatbelts.
