Crazy & Happy
‘Crazy & Happy’ is the first of several stories from Jon Rose – currently roaming Haiti as part of a new U.N. initiative to bring clean-water systems to the faraway and overlooked corners of the country.
“Being in Haiti has always been, and continues to be, both humbling and enlightening. But, for the most part, the context has been about the relentless work at hand. Over the course of a half dozen trips here since the January 12 earthquake, I have experienced spiritual epiphanies, physical breakthroughs, and emotional growth. And though this circumstance drives me and demands my full attention, I have always tried to soak up the culture around me, especially when I’m in the field.
There may be some antiquated models of humanitarianism that say you can’t have fun while you help people (i.e. they’re suffering, so we should too). But, I say, Screw that! Go to the places where you can exercise your passions, live fully, and at the same time, provide some relief & refuge with solutions that help to restore the natural balance we are ALL entitled to. This is the core of what I founded W4W on – go out into the world, do what you love to do, experience new things, get out of your comfort zone, have fun, and help people in the process.
I have well-established networks all over Haiti now. Each one is lead by amazing individuals that have become dear friends. They are kind and generous with me – and it’s because of them I have been fortunate to gain access to the REAL culture on this island. I have always been thankful for this, and just a couple nights ago I had an extraordinary and life altering experience. I am indebted to my friend & guide, Fritz Pierre-Louis, for bringing me to the magical place and exposing me to the source.
He took me to a remote location in the hills above Port-au-Prince called Saut d’eau*(pronounced – Sodoh). It is a little village that hosts a Voodoo festival/pilgrimage attended by 20,000 people each year. People come from all over to visit the church, pray to the Virgin of Miracle, and bathe in a giant waterfall that is considered to be holy.
Just to enter the church, Fritz had to block for me as we jumped into a mosh pit of about 1000 people trying to squeeze through the front door. Once in the pit, there’s no way out. You just have to hope that the cluster you’re trapped in spirals towards the door and spits you into the church. It was similar to what I’ve read about in Brazil when a stampede breaks out at a soccer match.
Overwhelmingly intense – without Fritz I would have perished. After the church we set out to bathe in the waterfall, riding in the back of his pickup through little congested streets that smelled like earth and fried plantains. There were marching/dancing bands (similar to traditional ones you see in New Orleans) overflowing tiny roads – people drinking rum, selling local foods, and laughing. At one point the road locked up in both directions with cars and people clogging it like a fat filled artery. We turned the engine off and sat there in the middle of the chaos for two hours until a little window opened up for us to escape. It was awesome!
Finally, we arrived and, with the stars as our guide, we stood under the force of a 50 ft waterfall like brother iron crosses.
Afterward, we found ourselves back in town celebrating, enjoying, and flowing like the very rum we drank. Little houses, scattered throughout the village, hosted individual Voodoo ceremonies, each with their own drum beat, dance, and current. We stopped at nearly every one and watched as each priest tried to summon their own principal spirit.
I get the chills, even now, as I recall the details of this amazing time and place – and could write an entire book on those 20 hours.
The whole experience was surreal. Kinetic. Alive. Historic. It was the primal power that makes up our life force, exposed like a nerve-ending, sensitive, pure and strong. Undiluted passionate connectivity with none of the fluff. I’m still buzzing.
I’ll sign off with a quote from Fritz’s friend, Jackson. While sitting in the back of the truck driving through the congested streets,
I yelled to him,”This is crazy!”and he answered, “The crazy, to the world go!”
What else can I say…
Crazy & happy, – Jon Rose
