Haves and have nots

Many of the volunteers sleep in cots in large tents. The tents are from the Italian civil protection group and are big blue things that accommodate many. Others have small personal tents. And the lucky folk have a room with adjoining bathroom. In our room there are 3 beds with mosquito netting and we share the simple bathroom with the 3 next door. Those in tents have no designated bathing/toileting facility so rely on the kindness of those in the rooms to share openly. We seem to have an open door reputation so there are lots of folks coming through. Because we have the end room on the second of 2 floors, we get a breeze in the afternoon and some evenings. Our room is highly prized and folks congregate outside on the terrace in the evenings. There is a canteen just outside the gates where you can get Guiness or Colt 45 which they think is American beer. At the end of the day, if it is cold, it is almost good.
Meals are haphazard for everyone. Coffee is mostly instant, the microwave heats beverages and is in great demand. Sugar is scare- I saw someone put maple syrup in their coffee this am. Milk is in cartons- unrefrigerated. Jam is in a 6 KG container- I can't believe the size of it. Most people eat granola/power bars. Lunch is prepared by Haitian staff and tends towards beans, rice, bread, spicy stuff. Occasionally there is fruit. There is a bakery nearby where the Italians are teaching the locals to bake bread- part of the helping Haiti help itself programming that goes on all around us. At night the Italian bakers are in the kitchen sampling the bread and critiquing it. Dinner is what you make or you can wait until 9 pm when the Italians produce so sort of pasta. I made whole wheat couscous with veggie broth and added dried cranberries and nuts. It was tasty. Most of the guys kind of wander around and eat bread or bars. Great diet!
There was a small earthquake around 4am. Some of the Haitians left the hospital in fear and were outside wailing in the dawn. Many volunteers have to sleep in a tent but they are not the have nots in this story. I know I am a have.