This is Haiti...

I have two stories to share that took place the last two days that made me stop and think, "this is Haiti!".
(this first story is gross so skip it if you love animals or get grossed out easily)
Yesterday, someone came running over to talk to me with a very concerned look on his face. With much animation he told me that a street dog in our neighbourhood had died and someone had dumped it on top of a large pile of garbage right outside of our gates.  He told me that the smell of the dead body was really unpleasant and then proceeded to ask if I would please burn it to get rid of the smell.  I told him that this was beyond my area of expertise and that I didn't feel comfortable doing that! I haven't ventured outside of the front gate since, in fear of catching a glimpse of the dog in the pile of garbage.  (it's not our garbage for the record, there are MANY piles of garbage all over PAP)
Today, as I was leaving a grocery store with my car full of groceries for the school, I realized that one of the tires of my car was a bit on the low side.  Because my car was loaded quite full I decided I should get some air for my tire on my way back to the school.  I stopped at a "shop" at the side of the road that offered this service.  I got out of the car and a young boy came up to me and asked how he could help me. I  explained what I needed and he proceeded to start the generator for the air pump. I was quite surpised that a kid so young knew how to do this.  He then proceeded to release all the air from my tire, leaving it completely flat.  When he realized that he had flattened my tire completely he politely told me that the machine was not working and therefore he could not refill the tire with air for me.  He then left me on the side of the road with a completely flat tire.  At this point I started to get animated, I yelled that he had to get the machine working and fix my tire NOW!  Of course, a white woman, flailing her arms yelling in Creole quickly gathers a small crowd.  Some of the other shop owners came over to defend the boy, saying that he didn't know the machine wasn't working and that I shouldn't be concerned because the owner of the shop had left earlier to buy a peice to fix the machine and would be back shortly.  They mentioned that perhaps I should just replace the flat tire with my spare tire.  I gave them a dirty look and explained that would require me to take ALL the food out of the back of my car in order to get to my spare.  They all nodded their heads and agreed that it would be better for me to wait for the owner instead.  After I finished ranting and raving about how unacceptable this was, I decided to try and relax and enjoy the moment of quiet, think of it as a short break from the usual business of the school.  I sat down on a cement brick and proceeded to get to know another 'shop' owner who was trying to calm me down.  He was an artist, he showed me some of his work and told me about his business.  We enjoyed a moment of friendly convernsation and shortly after the shop owner returned.  He fixed the machine, filled my tire and I was on my way once again.  (he still charged me for the air, after all that!)
All in a day....here in Haiti!