Top 5 Smells in Haiti

For me smells are always strongly associated with memory. The minute I stepped out of the Port au Prince airport I was overwhelmed by smells I did not realized I remembered. Since that moment in the parking lot I have been thinking a lot about the smells, so I complied a list: Top 5 Most Common Smells in Haiti. (This list is 100% subjective) 

Top 5 Most Common Smells in Haiti 

1) BURNY SMELL.

To explain this smell I need to make the point that Haiti has no legitimate trash removal system. Garbage lines the sides of the roads and the rivers, and we find it while we are digging several feet deep in the garden. Without the infrastructure in place, Haitians are left to deal with their trash on their own. And no, this does not mean they have to drive it to the dump themselves. This means they literally have to make their trash “disappear”, to avoid eventually being buried in it.  So they burn it. They burn plastics wrappers and paper and old blankets and broken scraps of anything that can never be reused. So the smell of burning is not like campfire smoke; it’s toxic and sends bits of plastic and paper up into the air we breath. That is burney smell.

2) HAITIAN PERFUME

This delectable smell wafts from the thousands of volunteers, NGO worker, Missionaries etc. who come down to Haiti, a.k.a. the Republic of NGOs. It’s a mix of bug spray and sunscreen. More specifically, it’s a mix of SPF 75 and 99%deet. It’s a mix of chemicals that many of us would eschew at home in favor of the Burt’s Bees all natural alternatives.

3) THE OPEN TOILETTE SMELL

I believe this one is self-explanatory. To be fair, I had not really experienced it until this week when 100+ children invaded our compound for summer camp. Children who have not yet mastered the art of getting their pants down in time. Its tricky business.

4) FRIED SMELL

This is not specific to Haiti for most people, but I hardly ever eat fried food anywhere else so for me it’s symbolic. Fried plantains, fried fish, and something that just looks fried. I asked what was in it. There was a pause and then: ”well, not much of anything.”

5) THE LAVENDAR GILS

This is the smell we aspire to when we wash our clothes in the back yard, using my bottle of lavender Dr. Bronner’s.(Best soap/shampoo/laundry detergent ever. Talk about packing light) Essentially the lavender makes our clothes SMELL clean, even if we are poor substitutes for washing machines.

There are many more smells, involving livestock and poultry and the sweaty soccer games we play in the dirt. But that’s all for now! Everyone who can take a nice deep breath of non-burny air for me. Thanks!