Modern Haiti

The sun set in Haiti around 6:30 p.m. Once that happened it was dark. Really dark. While there was a generator on the compound and we had lights in the evening for awhile, no one else did. We went out in the evening several times and people were everywhere wandering around in that blackness. No flashlights. No candles. No oil lamps. There were no electrical lines into Pignon or Bo Hoc where we were staying. But one thing that was there: cell phones! It was the most incongrous thing I've ever seen. (They haven't had lessons in cell phone ettiquete yet either) Here are these people with nothing but they all have cell phones. The picture above is of a solar cell phone charger. The guy who owns it charges a small fee and relies on the one constant that Haiti seems to have: plenty of sunshine! But when you think about it, owning a cell phone makes a bit of sense. It certainly saves time. You can check to see if someone has something you might need ahead of time and save yourself a long walk if they don't. Haitian time runs similar to other places where clocks don't abound. Things happen when you (or everyone) gets there. So having a cell phone comes in handy there too.
The one light that we could see at night came from the cell phone tower. Very odd.