You guys, I'm going to Haiti!
I'm not going with an NGO or a church. (Anyway, I'm not religious.) I'm not going as a journalist or a visiting creative. No speeches, no signings, no volunteering, no portfolio reviews.
I'm going as a tourist. Straight-up shameless sightseer. Not even a backpacker. I only have a week, so I'll just have to suck it up and pay what people pay for hotels there instead of seeking out the cheapest place in town.
I read somewhere about art colonies there, confederations of artists creating installations and pieces out of steel drums, paper mache, paintings. That's what I want to see. I know I won't get through much in a week, so I'm going to Cap Haitien, Jacmel, and PAP/Petion-ville.
One of my comics colleagues has in the past been active in teaching filmmaking in Jacmel, but I'm not even hitting her up for contacts, because I'm going to be too busy gawking at stuff and looking for cool art.
I bought the single English-language guidebook out there, plus the Haiti chapter from the Lonely Planet Caribbean book, and these weren't really enough, so I bought the Petit Fute too, and then I had to figure out how to crack the code to be able to copy-paste the French into Google Translate. I've read all kinds of tips on TripAdvisor and the Thorntree, scored my frequent flyer tickets for around Thanksgiving (anyone know what I should do with a five-hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale on Thanksgiving day?), and the one thing I'm puzzled by is how the hell to get any artwork I buy back to Los Angeles. Or at least to Jersey City. (Remember my smashed reverse-glass painting from Tunisia?)
Here are some useful things I've found through all this reading so far:
Guesthouse in Cap-Haitien.
Tours in PAP.
Hotel in Jacmel.
I've been reading up on the pervasive smell of charcoal and moto-taxis. That reminds me of Kampala, but I'm sure it'll be quite different. I'm pretty excited. I know I already went to Tunisia this year, but I need to balance out my day job routine with a bit of excitement once in a while.
I'm not going with an NGO or a church. (Anyway, I'm not religious.) I'm not going as a journalist or a visiting creative. No speeches, no signings, no volunteering, no portfolio reviews.
I'm going as a tourist. Straight-up shameless sightseer. Not even a backpacker. I only have a week, so I'll just have to suck it up and pay what people pay for hotels there instead of seeking out the cheapest place in town.
I read somewhere about art colonies there, confederations of artists creating installations and pieces out of steel drums, paper mache, paintings. That's what I want to see. I know I won't get through much in a week, so I'm going to Cap Haitien, Jacmel, and PAP/Petion-ville.
One of my comics colleagues has in the past been active in teaching filmmaking in Jacmel, but I'm not even hitting her up for contacts, because I'm going to be too busy gawking at stuff and looking for cool art.
I bought the single English-language guidebook out there, plus the Haiti chapter from the Lonely Planet Caribbean book, and these weren't really enough, so I bought the Petit Fute too, and then I had to figure out how to crack the code to be able to copy-paste the French into Google Translate. I've read all kinds of tips on TripAdvisor and the Thorntree, scored my frequent flyer tickets for around Thanksgiving (anyone know what I should do with a five-hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale on Thanksgiving day?), and the one thing I'm puzzled by is how the hell to get any artwork I buy back to Los Angeles. Or at least to Jersey City. (Remember my smashed reverse-glass painting from Tunisia?)
Here are some useful things I've found through all this reading so far:
Guesthouse in Cap-Haitien.
Tours in PAP.
Hotel in Jacmel.
I've been reading up on the pervasive smell of charcoal and moto-taxis. That reminds me of Kampala, but I'm sure it'll be quite different. I'm pretty excited. I know I already went to Tunisia this year, but I need to balance out my day job routine with a bit of excitement once in a while.
1 comment:
Enjoy the trip.
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