I had a chance between breakfast and the morning sessions to get out and go for a quick hike. It was great to be outside the conference meeting walls for even a few minutes. This place is quite beautiful as I hope you'll agree

.

There is a lot of information to absorb in a very short period of time at this conference. I'm thankful that I have at least some basic idea of what is going on so I am not completely blown out of the water, but people are using these tools, on a much higher level than I can cope with at the moment. But is is exciting to see the amount of enthusiasm and innovation that is going on. Almost too much innovation. How am I supposed to choose among so many options?

Now I'm at this conference, which was a bit of an adventure to get to. My flight was late, so the car rental company I had a reservation with had closed, and I had to get a car on the spot from another company that was still, lucky for me, open. Then I had to drive up through the San Bernardino National Park at 1 in the morning. I realized at some point that this trip is actually stretching my comfort zone more than the Haiti trip. When I go to Haiti, I know who I'm meeting, and how I relate, where I will sleep, what the meal and bathroom protocol is, etc. The conference situation is totally new. Getting here itself was a stretch. One might even argue that the 'language' is unfamiliar, since there are numerous technical terms which I don't know or am just learning. This irony is underscored all the more by the fact that I just got back from Haiti the night before last, and then immediately turned around and came up here. In a few minutes I should go and register for this thing.

I wanted to run to the Hyatt here in the airport in Dallas Fort Worth as soon as I got here and just rent a room and lie on a comfortable bed for a few hours. I almost wish I hadn't done it that one time because now it will become a huge temptation.

This current trip, just so you know, is to a conference on GIS in conservation. GIS stands for Geographical Information Systems which is, well, a group of technologies which help to represent information spatially. I'm just learning about it myself, and so going to this conference in order to learn. The greatest thing about it for me is that it means making maps, and if you know me you know I love maps. So getting to make maps is like a dream come true.

Here's a post-trip selection of photos from Haiti:

Metal drums flattened out to be used in the making of metal craftwork. This 'Fe Forje' is very beautiful and a famous Haitian artform, used for wall hangings, frames, signs, wall dividers, and numerous other things. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the actual craftwork, which would have made the point much more nicely, but there is an entire village where in house after house metal worker artists are practicing their trade. Definitely worth seeing if you get to Haiti, and worth purchasing--I have none myself yet, but am always keeping my eye out for the right one.

Early morning coming down out of Gran Goave commune heading to the airport. The peak you see on the right is Pic de la Sel, the highest point in Haiti.

One of the newest hotels in Port au Prince, the Caribbean Lodge, which in the few months since it has opened has become an aid worker hangout. Building is constructed out of shipping containers which appear to have been modified especially for that purpose. Pricey at 125USD per night, a bit out of my range, but free and ubiquitous wifi, free breakfast and dinner, and more A/C than you could possibly handle. The concept itself is quite clever.

This hotel bed was so comfortable, I didn't much want to get out of it this morning. I did have to get up, get breakfast, so some computer work, etc, and I started wondering what it would be like to actually live in the airport. If that were even possible. It would sure be convenient for me--no more rushing to the airport, and begging people for rides, or paying for expensive shuttles. My room get cleaned whenever I want, and I can have food delivered to my door at any time of day or night. Plus the room is really not a whole lot smaller than my apartment. I'm pretty sure I could make that work. Right now I'm going to head out of the lobby, and go print my tickets.

Heard an interesting comment from someone today while talking about zombies (in Haiti). The comment was "I don't believe it, but I know they exist".

Let you think about that one...

Meanwhile, I'm back in Toronto, with a layover squashed between trips, trying to catch a few hours sleep in the airport hotel. After I log off here that is.

Some photos of the new high school in the community where our office is located. Nice rooms with lots of space, ventilation, and supposedly earthquake resistant.

Today was a day of mostly translating. "Interpreting" actually, as I learned recently, the difference being that translation is for the written word and interpretation for spoken word. I actually quite like interpretation. It's like you shut down entirely a major part of the brain and switch on another major part. I kind of wish I was a real, official interpreter. The challenge is to try and best represent the thoughts of the person balancing between a precise representation of their words and a true representation of the core thought. All the while on the fly with no time to look anything up. I just find it really fun and by the end of the day, feel like my brain has physically worked out. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I can actually feel my brain at times like this. If that makes any sense at all. Hard to describe if you've never experienced it yourself.

So I may as well keep blogging while I can because who knows when I can again. Seems to have something to do with the rain or something. I saw houses like this scattered around both in the city and the country side. Apparently earthquake and hurricane resistance, and provided by some agency or other. I heard a rumour that in order to receive a house like this you had to sign some document promising not to try to emigrate to another country, but I have absolutely no idea if that is true. Seems like something that wouldn't be true, but one never knows. Regardless, besides the house building I have schools reconstructed in a couple of rural communities now, as well as some debris removal work on the National Palace. It's nice to see that some reconstruction is finally happening. I suppose the biggest sign that reconstruction is happening is that Haiti is totally out of the news now. Seems as if the press only likes to report when things are going badly here.

Internet connection is a bit sketchy here in our office so I apologize for the failure to communicate. This week my main function is translator since we have a consultant here who is giving a training on a particular savings and loan system designed for people in poor communities. Since we've arrived it has pretty much rained every afternoon, and most farmers are out preparing land, planting beans etc. The following is one of those tropical afternoons when the sun is still shining down, but there's a dark cloud coming behind. After I took this photo it started to pour about 15 minutes later.

And so begins a summer of journeys. I was describing to a friend recently how many trips I had coming up this summer, and his comment was, "Oh good, so there should be lots of grumpy entries from airports on your blog". I don't know, I'm just always happy to hear that someone is reading my blog at all, regardless.

Actually the journeying started a couple of weeks ago when I went out to the Kingston area to help friends of mine who are building a house this summer. They have designed it themselves and are doing most of the work as well. I've been describing it as my-friends-who-have-been-so-generous-over-the-years-and-now-they're-calling-in-their-favours-to-build-their-house. Which is not really true. They're building it themselves because they want to and are the creative types, and their friends are helping them because they want to, and quite frankly I learned a tonne about house-building in the couple days I was there. I hope to get out there again if I can, somewhere between grouchy blog entries (this entry is being made from an airport, by the way).

Here is a photo of my friend looking out the window of his house's first wall for the first time.