Personal Narrative: My Return To Haiti

Haiti “Take time to be thankful for everything that you have. You can always have more, but you could also have less.” -Anonymous. My family and I have gone to Haiti for the past three years. Haiti is a third world country in the Caribbean about 1836 miles from Chicago. We go there to help others and to receive the gift of giving instead of presents for Christmas. At the end of December 2015 we got on a plane and flew to Haiti. As we arrived we got on the Tap-Tap (taxi) and got driven to the orphanage. The drive was about an hour and a half long on roads that are not paved and had huge potholes. The only scent in the air was not what you would expect- it’s not a tropical flower smell, it’s burning garbage. While trying to talk to my family all we could hear was chaos and mass commotion. “ I’m excited but so nervous at the same time!” I screeched. All of our jaws dropped in wonder. We had all been waiting for that day since the past year when we were in Haiti.
Once we got to the Orphanage we met all the girls and played/danced with them. This orphanage is not an ordinary orphanage. Only four of the girls were real orphans, everyone else had guardians that did
We arrived back in Elburn, Illinois to our home where the air conditioning was on and our beds were soft. The water was just coming right out of the fridge and not a filter on top of a well. This country sounded so peaceful that my jaw dropped at the sight of how easy our lives were. I told my mom, “ It’s hard to believe what we just did, but I cannot wait to go back next year!” From this experience I have learned to be grateful for all that I have and to realize how amazing our lives are compared to others. Because of this event, I have seen how other people have it and how less fortunate they are. Now I see the World in a different view and I love everything I