Questions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10....

Sorry, Kayaker, I just saw your questions. I'll answer some of them below - the ones I'm not too lazy to think about on a Sunday morning.

Take your pick:

What direction do your windows face? Can you see the sunrise? Sunset?

My bedroom/office window faces south. I miss the sunrise and sunset, but I can see all the action in the yard. That's not always a good thing.I also have a window that faces west, but the view is blocked by palm, mango, almond, lime, and banana trees. And chickens. And sometimes frogs.

Based on pre-earthquake and post-earthquake Haiti, what would you say has improved? I'm thinking not about just since the earthquake, but wondering about something that might have improved because of the quake.

The availability of medicines and healthcare has improved. We are well stocked and can refer patients to the foreign run hospitals in Port au Prince for free care right now. We can call for helicopter transport at this time too. No one knows how long this is going to last, but for now people have access to care like they have never had before.

What do you eat? What's something you like to eat? What's something that you don't really like but eat because it's available? Do you go hungry at times? Do you miss dulce? Is there anything like dulce in Haiti?

I usually eat a heavy bread made from unenriched white flour for breakfast. Lunch is very often rice or rice and beans with a fried meat of some kind - either pork, goat, beef or chicken. Supper is usually a cold repeat of lunch modified to make it more interesting, or we make sandwiches or pasta. I am very tired of the food but there's not a lot of options.

Surprisingly, we don't get a lot of fresh fruit, but some seasons are worse than others. Most of the time the fruit that is available is made into juice with too much sugar. Right now we are waiting for mango season to start. I love mangoes and that's a good thing because there are TONNES of them within on our property.

I don't usually go hungry unless we are on the road. I gain a few pounds when I go home, and they come off again after a month or so back in Haiti. I initially lost about 10 pounds when I first came and it hasn't changed any since. Too bad.

I like dulce but I don't miss it much. I haven't seen anything like it here.

How are your long-term patients doing?

They are doing great. They have struggles because their lives have changed so much, but they are happy to be somewhere where they are receiving good care and support. The support we have received from other organizations in response to our new patient population has been nothing short of extraordinary.

They have formed their own little hospital community here. They have a lot of fun together and the community has embraced them.

Is the coffee better than at home?

Undeniably.

Does the roof leak during the rainy season?

I have a concrete roof on the residence where I live. Means it doesn't leak, but it also is a risk in earthquake zones. I try not to think about it. We get more leaking through windows and doors when it is really windy. We don't have glass windows or shutters, but have louvres we can shut.

Read any good books lately? Where do you read?

I recently read Cold Mountain because I loved the movie and it was the only interesting thing on the shelf. I don't do a lot of reading because I can't seem to stay awake long and the only chance I really have to do it is at night.

Are you seeing any tourists? Did you see any before?

Not a lot of tourists here. Most people seem to have a reason to be here and then take side trips to see places like Ile a Vache, Jacmel (before the EQ), and Port Salut.