Carrie Petersen

Well folks, this is the last posting on my Democrat-Herald blog. The time has come for me to move on, and this is my final day in the newsroom.

Here are just a few pictures I took during our many hours on the road in Haiti.

The more time I spend in Haiti, the more I understand how difficult life is here, and the less I understand how some people make it through the day.

Some things in Haiti are different than back home. That’s clear just by some of the injuries we treat in the clinic. One of our first patients was a man who been struck in the face with a machete.

Well, I’m back in Haiti. For those who know me or who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that from time to time I make my way to Haiti, to volunteer with a medical team in a rural community here. Right now it’s 9:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. West Coast time) and we are about to turn in for the night. It’s been an adventure getting here.

It’s 5:30 a.m. in the newsroom and I’m the only one at work. I’d normally still be sleeping but I got this crazy idea to get up early and join the Oregon State Police for a ride-along. My photographer was crazy enough to go with me.

I don’t wish to be a teenager again. But around this time of year I do get a twinge of jealousy that students are on a three-month vacation and I am not.

My day started as disgusting. There’s no other way to describe it.

I was at the grocery story yesterday and had one of those top shelf experiences that only short people have.

I’ve seen the police in my neighborhood a few times this past week. It’s nice to know someone’s responding to problems. Then again, it’s not so great knowing there are problems to respond to. When I opened my door yesterday, I saw a patrol car parked in front of my home. Hmmm. Whatever they were doing, it certainly wasn’t covert.