A Glimpse of the City

I look over Port au Prince from Musee d'art Nader. The Musee d'art Nader will be its own entry - I am still in awe and will be after each visit I make to this incredible Gallery that features more than 15,000 pieces of Haitan art.

From the hilltops there are trees. Big ones in fact. And then as you approach downtown they decrease, by time you reach the port there are none. The big white building is in fact the capital. The US was involved in the design so it definitely mimics the white house, however this is far from DC. Port au Prince is a confusion of design and development. As the passenger for a drive, the constants are driving upwards, downwards, in a spiral or loop... and then somehow you are at your destination, and

 it is always a different one. Port au Prince in one word - roller coaster. It has the sounds that go with that too. A harmony of French and Creole, lots of car horns beeping, Kompa music (mixture of african, latin), insects rubbing their wings together at high decibels. The smells - stale beer washing under the bridge, crushed cement (this comes from sidewalks being made!), the musty sent of jungle trees. It has not been my experience to smell fresh fruits and vegetables along the streets - they are mostly tightly wrapped in Ceran wrap and sold on styrofoam trays. Imported tidily from abroad. Even eggs from Iowa. Makes my head spin.