"When in Haiti"

It's a phrase we find ourselves using over and over again.  Sometimes in jest, sometimes to remind ourselves of the context of our work, sometimes in anger.

Over the course of my time here, I've started to become comfortable with being in Haiti, and I've started to figure out the important traits I need to have to be successful here.

Patience.  Miscommunications happen even when everyone has cell phones and speaks the same language.  Here, you can expect a touch of "hurry up and wait" every day.  Learn to be comfortable with waiting.

Adaptability.  That one piece of equipment you want isn't here.  Or it is here, and it doesn't work.  The patient with knee pain doesn't just have patellar tendonitis, he's got a scarred-down mass from a botched surgery.

Resilience.  It's easy to plan on rolling with the punches, not letting things get to you, keeping a stiff upper lip; the reality is there's no avoiding frustration.  The best thing - the only thing - I've found that works is to be quick to rebound.  Allow yourself to feel the frustration, and then return to balance.  There's a debrief every night, there are new viewpoints to be had, and there is so much good going on that sometimes if you let the bad sit on the back burner for a while, it just evaporates.

When in Haiti.