Haiti Relief Trip

Some photos from Victoria Ho

2010-02-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

Chris' coworker Victoria posted a bunch of photos on Facebook so I thought I would share a few of them here for those not on Facebook.

Article in Gilroy Dispatch

2010-02-05T10:20:00.001-08:00

Our local newspaper, the Gilroy Dispatch, had an article today that referenced my trip to Haiti as well as another Gilroy resident who was over there. Follow the link to read the story - Click Here

Soooo good to be home!

2010-02-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Oh how we take for granted the feel of a soft, warm bed, a hot shower and a full belly. I hope and pray (yes, Chris!) for the future of Haiti and hope somehow we made a difference even if for a small few.

Team is on the ground in San Jose

2010-02-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Enough said....

What happens next for postings?

2010-02-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Crystal had asked about a debriefing of sorts from the team and I've been thinking about what comes next on the blog. I'll talk with Chris about it, to find out what is most comfortable. Ideally she can start posting some recaps of her trip in this blog and if others want to as well, we can work out a way for them to post onto the blog, it's pretty easy to do.

There is also a Facebook fan page that many are following, unfortunately not everyone is on Facebook so it may be difficult for some to follow the stories.

So the invitation is open to all on the team if they want to start posting to this blog once they return, this includes their photos. I'll get that passed around and find out who is interested.

They will ALL be home @ 11:30 AM

2010-02-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Chris, ChrisP and Victoria made it to DFW and they ran into the rest of the original team! The other folks got on a plane yesterday, made it to Miami and are now @ DFW.

The whole original team that left San Jose a week ago are on their way back on American Airlines flight 1347 scheduled to arrive in San Jose @ 11:30 AM.

Welcome Home!

Coming home tomorrow morning....

2010-02-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

Flights out of Atlanta early tomorrow morning, connect in Dallas, then arrive in San Jose @ 11:30 AM.

They have made it to Atlanta

2010-02-02T19:21:00.001-08:00

They have landed in Atlanta! I guess they had a stop in San Juan, refuel, hang out for a while, and that's why it took so long. So they are getting a hotel and we'll be working to figure out flights for tomorrow once she calls from the hotel.

Where's Waldo...I mean Chris...

2010-02-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

6 PM - Still waiting for a call back from Chris. She thought she was going to Atlanta, but who knows, maybe she is ending up somewhere else. I will post something as soon as I hear, I know people are waiting for news like I am. Hopefully we hear something soon. Based on the time it is right now, I don't believe the will be making it back to San Jose tonight...

Scholastic Kid Report interviewing Harry Smith from CBS News

2010-02-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

My brother Bill put this in a blog comment and it's worth making sure everyone has the option to see this.

First, the kid that interviews him is great, really good questions and very articulate. But what is really important is hearing Harry Smith describe what he went through over there and how he is dealing with this after his trip over there. For someone that has seen so much, it is amazing how much this trip impacted him. Post Traumatic Stress is going to be a problem I think for not only the victims, but those that went over to help. Worthy viewing.

They are on a plane to Atlanta

2010-02-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

I did not get much in the way of details, they were running to get on the plane as we spoke. I believe it may be a commercial Delta flight, but I don't know for sure and I don't know when it will be arriving. They will call me when they get there and we'll figure out if we can get them home from Atlanta today or tomorrow.

Apparently they were just sitting on the tarmac, waiting for flight options, there is no terminal, everything is outdoors.

Video from Alden Ho at one of the clinics being run today

2010-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a video that Alden Ho posted on Facebook showing one of the clinics in operation today.

Chris at Port au Prince Airport

2010-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Chris called this morning around 6 AM PST to let me know they made it to the airport and are now trying to figure out how to get out. They are waiting for military transports that have seats available (if you carry a US Passport you can get on one of these). There are some commercial flights going out but they come at a cost of $600 p/seat. So they will wait and she will call once she hears more information.

Part of the team coming home Tuesday!

2010-02-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

I spoke with Chris this evening. As time goes on over there it sounds like things are becoming more and more political unfortunately. Getting supplies out is becoming a real challenge, the reports are that there are a lot of supplies at the airport but getting them out is becoming political and problematic.

The other challenge as well is getting out of there. To leave, they will need to go to the airport and wait for a transport flight they can get on, so total standby. ChrisP, Chris and Victoria are going to the airport on Tuesday morning with about 9 other folks from another team to see if they can get out of Haiti to Miami. We'll know more tomorrow, she said she would call when she makes it to the airport and learns more.

I was asked in the comments if any of them over there have seen Mateo, the answer is no. He came over earlier and was not with this organization, so they don't believe he was ever at that camp where they are at. Hopefully he has been heard from since the comment was posted. Was he due back into work and did not show up?

Chris, Tricia and Michelle on Monday

2010-02-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

Waiting for their assignments this morning....

Sunday call from Chris, frustration is setting in....

2010-01-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

Sunday call with Chris, looks like Wednesday is the target day for coming back still, so three more days. Frustration is setting in I can tell, they have no supplies and it feels to her like they are not doing anything, almost lieing to the patients.

They have drugs like Tums, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, some ointments, but not a lot of what they really need. They are being told to treat the well because the sick will likely not survive. Everyone seems to have lice, scabies, intestinal worms, or a combination of the three, all are very sick. The next waves of disaster will include thousands dieing from disease, malnutrition, dehydration, etc. Then after that, hurricane season, this will not be pretty.

She says the streets are full of makeshift tents (bed sheets) because all the buildings are collapsed, the street is the only place to set things up. They are doing what they can to stay positive and do everything they can to make people well, but they have little they can do. Hopefully this improves with future teams (more teams and hopefully supplies coming in this next week).

And during all of this, there are births occurring. I saw pictures from Alden of a baby being delivered just the other day, what a world to be born into.

There was an earthquake yesterday that they all felt, at this point though most everyone is outside and most buildings are already collapsed.

Chris is trying to get on a surgical team, she has been talking with an orthopedic surgeon and may be going to help them. She is hoping that she can get somewhere where she can actually provide some meaningful care as right now she is not feeling that way.

Apparently the French Military & Fire Personnel arrived as well, and it's a welcome site to many of the women over there! They are all fresh and still clean I guess, but apparently very handsome too!

Alden Ho Photos

2010-01-31T18:27:00.000-08:00

I've included some Alden Ho photos in the Flickr photo slide show I posted yesterday. There are some new ones today, I will add them to the slide show but I thought I would include some here as well so you can see them directly. All photos © Alden J. Ho Photography, aldenho.com and used with permission. You can find Alden on Facebook too and see all of his pictures, warning though, there are some graphic pictures of amputations there as well.

This is Michelle and Chris Gonzales getting prepped to head out for the day

Here are two of the three clinic teams in the back of a panel van getting ready to head out for the day

Clinics setup seeing patients, this is Tricia and a translator working with a patient. They saw over 300 patients per team in about 5 hours time.

Clinic setup, lines of people waiting to be seen

I think this is Nitti working with a boy. Lots of scabies and lice.

Here's my Chris with a patient

Jan 31 photos from Michelle Cabasaan

2010-01-31T08:35:00.000-08:00

I've added these photos to the Flickr slide show. Michelle posted these on Facebook this morning, showing them heading out to the clinic and some shots of the clinic itself.

BBC Map of Earthquake

2010-01-30T20:44:00.000-08:00

On the BBC website (click here to see the page) they had a pretty good map of the earthquake and the damage to a few of the towns based on percentage of destruction, seemed worthy of including. Chris and the team are near Carrefour.

As usual, click on the picture to see it larger, or you can use the web link above to see the article on the BBC website.

Nightly call from Chris

2010-01-30T19:15:00.000-08:00

Another day of working with patients, it is good to hear that they have a little bit of levity amongst the team going on (I heard rumblings of a messy, near food fight, spaghetti dinner) to help them get through all of this. Chris did say things are a little frustrating because there is not a lot they can do, they are really short on supplies and/or do not have the right supplies to treat what is going on. Lots of infections, scabies, rashes and things like that and all they can really do is hand out vitamins.

It sounds like they may be coming home on Wednesday instead of Thursday, just because of availability of trips out of there. She'll know more as they get closer.

I asked her about the reports I have seen where people can hear the Haitians singing at night, she said it's every night, all night long. There is pretty much no power anywhere, so the singing is probably what keeps them going and busy all night.

She also mentioned that she was impressed by the translators that are assigned to them. The one she had today was a lawyer, well educated, spoke four languages. They are in high demand so they get good treatment.

Chris felt this was the tip of the iceberg too, as far as the disaster is concerned. With the amount of disease going on, more will die. And they have good weather now, but she hears in 3-4 months it will be heavy rains, hurricane season, and nobody has any place to live. This story is far from over.

Photos on Flickr - Slide Show

2010-01-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

I've taken many of the images that I've posted on this blog and added some photos that Alden Ho has taken to a Flickr set and included a slide show below. Alden Ho is a photographer that is with the team, he said I could share these photos, most show some of the devastation around the area where they are located. Alden Ho has a website, AldenHo.com.

You can look at the slide show here, within the blog. There is a button you can press to make it full screen as well. In full screen mode you will be able to see any descriptions that are with the pictures, including who took the pictures.

A couple of reference web sites

2010-01-30T08:33:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of websites my brother Bill found that show information about the Adventist Hospital (pre-quake) and other facilities the organization runs.

This site (click here) is not in English, so the link will take you through the Yahoo Translation service. It is for the Adventist University which the hospital is part of.

This site (click here) is a blog, it only has pictures though. You will see the UNAH (Universite Adventist de'Haiti) on the lawn that is in one of the Google Satellite images I posted the other day.

Photos from Michelle Cabasaan

2010-01-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

Michelle posted more photos on Facebook today, I'm re-posting them here for everyone else to see. She mentioned that she is trying to minimize Internet usage from her phone because she learned how expensive it is, but she will post more. She volunteered for the Search and Recovery mission today with Union College. They have located 3 victims so far just by moving a little rubble.

You can click on the photos for a larger version.

Looks like they're getting ready to head out for the day. Chris on the left, with ChrisP next to him. Tricia is in the front and I apologize I forgot the name of the others. If someone can post in the comments their names I won't forget in the other photos, I met them quickly!

This is Michelle with Polly. They are trying to recover her family members. Michelle says that Polly will probably be on HBO and / or Oprah.

This was a six story apartment building

Apparently they have a computer with some Internet access at base camp

2010-01-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

Chris made a posting on Facebook a little while ago, apparently she can't sleep as it is late. She called again earlier tonight, she mentioned it was really muggy. She was actually able to take two "showers" today as they got running water and it helps with the muggy-ness. She mentioned they had a computer setup but there was a really long line and she didn't think she'd be getting on it, but apparently that was not the case. I asked her to post on here if she gets a chance again to say hello to everyone.

This is what she wrote on her Facebook page;

Hey all, snuck on computer at basecamp. AMAZING experience, found my calling! Words cannot describe the devastation we are seeing. We are practically treated like celebrities! I hope we are making at a small dent in helping these folks. Lots to share. Thank you Honey Bunny for your encouragement and love! Will give updates when I can!

Today's call from Chris, some questions answered....

2010-01-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with Chris, she sounded very excited and had a lot to say in a short period of time. In a Blog post last night I asked people to post comments if they have any questions and I received some from Caroline and have some answers to those plus more.

Today was their first day of seeing patients. The hospital they are at (Adventist) is known as Base Camp and that is where they head out from each day to treat patients. There are several teams of medical personnel working out of there and they organize in the morning into teams, get supplies and then head out to treat patients. Base Camp received power and running water today, so that is good news.

The headed out around 11:15 and came back after 4 PM. They want them all back by 5 PM, it is not safe for them all to be out after that time.

Chris said that everyone there is basically homeless at this point, everything is destroyed. It is as if she was dropped into the middle of a bombed out war zone. Yet she said everyone is very nice and friendly. She said she was walking with supplies and a little boy just came up and held her hand, smiled at her and walked with her to where she was going. She was very touched by that.

She said the team she was on today treated about 300 people. Infections, cuts, amputations, whatever comes they deal with it. Everyone is working like they are doctors, we didn't talk for a long time but it sounds like whatever someone is comfortable doing they just do. She seemed terrifically happy to be able to do what she did today, she said it felt like a calling.

She did mention that when they were organizing this morning they were looking for a nurse volunteer to go out with a search and rescue team because the other day someone was still pulled out alive. Victoria volunteered to do that and apparently it was grueling and sad. They were digging through rubble and all they recovered were 3 victims and it was hard to deal with.

They are providing them with one meal in the evening, she said she was very hungry after a long day of constant patient traffic. The rest of the day they are on their own for food, and of course she has 200 bars so she should be fine! I also sent her with a water chlorination and filtration kit so if they are not providing bottled water for them during the day she can make her own and keep it in a bottle for herself.

She did sleep very well last night after the long journey so she was well rested for the day. The base camp is secure and she feels relatively safe in the environment where they are. I reminded her to be vigilant on the mosquito protection, even though she is in a tent, hopefully she is.

Sounds like around 3:30 - 4:00 PM PST is when I'll hear from her through out the duration of her working in the clinics. If she's able to charge more frequently now that the base camp has power, we may talk more.

She said people are taking lots of pictures, so upon their return we'll try to get them up here or send links to them to share. As I come across them (like Michelle's from her cell phone) I will post them.

I'm going to try to give Michelle direct access to post photos to the blog as Chris from her phone, we'll see if that works.

And if there are more questions, please leave them in the comments and I'll do what I can to get answers.

Epicenter location

2010-01-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

I thought it was a little interesting to see where the epicenter of the big quake was as it relates to Port Au Prince and the hospital location where the team is at. The first picture from Google Earth below shows that distance for each location. The second picture is zoomed out a little more and shows the relative intensity of the shaking across the area.

You can click on each picture for a larger view.

Photos from Michelle Cabasaan

2010-01-29T12:14:00.000-08:00

Apparently Michelle's cell phone is working from over there and she has been posting pictures from today on Facebook, so I lifted some of those photos and am putting them up here. All photos were taken by Michelle with a cell phone camera, these are from today, the first day the team is actually working with patients.

I have not talked with Chris yet today, I think I probably won't hear from her until tonight.

You can click on these pictures individually to see slightly larger versions.

What do you want to know?

2010-01-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

I've been learning a lot and posting up information that I can find that is helpful for me. Over the next few days I'll be speaking with Chris, short phone calls, but I should be able to ask some questions about what is going on, what she and the team are experiencing, etc. What types of things would you like to know? Please post your comments with questions and I'll do my best to get them answered for you.

Hospital Adventist on Google Satellite

2010-01-28T22:49:00.000-08:00

In these three images (click on them to see larger versions) you can see how things have changed around the hospital since the earthquake struck. The first image is from August, well before the disaster, then you have two images post disaster. The second image is from January 13th (the day after) and the final image is from January 21st.

2009 Tax Year Deduction for Contributions to Haiti Relief Efforts

2010-01-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

Remember, on January 22nd a new law was put into place to allow write-offs on this years 2009 tax returns for contributions made to qualified charities after January 11th and before March 1st 2010.

This disaster is huge. Please help the cause, there are many legitimate organizations that can help, for some ideas, click here.

Another call from Chris - Where they are

2010-01-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

I received another call from Chris at about 4:45 PM PST, she was in her tent at this point, pretty exhausted, much clearer phone call this time.

With her help I think I located where they are at, I have some pictures below that I will describe shortly. I am trying to confirm that this is correct with the base camp and will advise when that is the case.

She reiterated the mass devastation, it is like a war zone, bodies everywhere, people everywhere, chaos. Things are very disorganized, which is not surprising at this point. She felt tomorrow, her first real day with patients, will be very eye opening.

I found on Google Earth the Hospital Adventist and described the shape, driveway and surrounding areas to Chris. The name is right and the description sounded right to her, so I believe this is where the team is located right now and will be based out of. The Google Earth pictures are post earthquake, taken just 7 days ago on January 21st (if you click on the pictures you can see them larger). You can see all of the tarp tents surrounding the hospital. Chris said she is across the street in a tent city, I marked this on the map (first picture) with an A.

The other map shows a wider view of Port au Prince as well as the airport that they came into, the straight line distance between the airport and the hospital is just under 7 miles. She said on the way there they drove by the capital buildings which were destroyed. This short drive I guess took most of the afternoon.

Below the two pictures I have a link to the hospital with the web based Google Maps, so if you click on that you will be able to browse around the map to get a better idea as to where things are.

View Haiti - Hospital Adventist in a larger map

One word: Devastation

2010-01-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

Spoke with Chris just now and she says what you see in the media does not do justice for the amount of devastation there is in Haiti. Unfortunately the satellite phone quality is not great, we got dropped a couple times and she has heard from others that it is bad for everyone. But I did get a little information out of her.

She is not completely sure where she is, she said it is at an Adventist Hospital, I'll try to find out from base camp exactly where that is and post information. She said it took a long time to get there and everything is just destroyed all around, even where she is now. She has not seen a patient yet, sounds like that will take place starting tomorrow. Her understanding is that they will be starting at the hospital then venturing out to deal with folks outside of the hospital.

There is no sense of law and order, no police or law enforcement to be seen and it's a little scary from that respect as well as the sheer amount of devastation. She is upset that she did not bring some sort of video camera or better camera setup (our smaller point and shoot is broken, should have just bought a cheap one for her to take with her), all she has is a couple disposable cameras and she is already finished with one of them. Others on the team do have cameras though so I will try to get some stuff from them as well to post when they get back.

I probably will not hear from her until sometime tomorrow, but the news at this point is that they have arrived at the area where they will be working and will begin to try and help tomorrow.

Satellite phone works!

2010-01-28T08:33:00.001-08:00

She called, plane did land and they are on the tarmac just standing around for now waiting to find out what is next. She said United was AWESOME in the way they were treated and how the flight was handled. She'll try to check in later.

Flight has landed!

2010-01-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

Flight status shows it landed at 11:01 AM local time, we'll see how long it takes to hear from them....but they are on the ground

UA 9022 is in transit, next stop Haiti!

2010-01-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

Photo 1 - United Check-in @ ORD

Had a brief conversation with Chris late last night, the were headed to the airport after some R&R at the hotel. Flight departure information was still a little sketchy at that time. United Airlines flight 9022 is in the air now, headed for Haiti and can be tracked via Flight Tracker (click here for tracking), scheduled arrival is 11 AM EST. When Chris has a spare moment she will try the satellite phone and check in but I imagine she will be busy upon arrival! She will not be able to update this directly as she has been, so I will post updates for now as I get them.

More photos from Tricia!

Photo 2 - In the check-in line

Tricia has been great about sending photos via her iPhone and she took a few photos while they were checking in at Chicago (ORD) for this flight. United has an area setup for all the relief workers there and has a grand welcoming on all their displays (photo 1) for the relief workers and it looks they are making it easy for them to check-in. She also captured a couple of photos of the team in the check-in line as well as a crew of Water Filtration Specialists that are en-route with them on this flight it seems (photo 4).

Photo 3 - Checkin-in line

Photo 4 - Water Treatment Team

The final picture that Tricia sent before departure shows ChrisP and Chris (as my Chris is known by the crew, since Chris Gonzales started in the Kaiser Emergency Department before Chris did, he added the P for Pauley and now they call here "cripsy") getting ready for take-off in FIRST CLASS! Not sure how that happened but I'm guessing everyone was happy getting that treatment!

More to come as soon as I hear details.

Photo 5 - First Class!

Status update....

2010-01-27T23:11:00.001-08:00

1:16 am in chicago, had 4 hours fitfull sleep, on our way back to airport then on to Haiti.

United Airlines flight 9902

2010-01-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

An article printed on January 19th in the Chicago Tribune (Chicago is United's home base - click here for the article) discusses flight 9902 (a 757), which is a flight setup specifically for relief efforts. At the time they were planning 30 flights to deliver much needed aid to Haiti. This is the flight the team is heading out on. Since it is a special flight, I don't think it can be tracked in the normal ways. I'll get a call from Chris tonight before they board (or early morning, depends on when things go) and will try to post the details that they know. Looks to be about a 5 hour flight.

Last warm meal... Pizza

2010-01-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

Photo sent to me via email from Tricia. They had a hotel that was reserved in Chicago so they all went there and apparently are enjoying a warm meal as well as some last good showers for a while too (no pictures of that, thank you very much!).

KTVU Channel 2 Video of Chris and team leaving for Haiti

2010-01-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

The video that was aired tonight has been posted on KTVU Channel 2's website. You can view the video by clicking here.

http://www.ktvu.com/video/22360785/

Yes, Ken is a geek...and their flight has arrived in Chicago!

2010-01-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

I'm usually the one flying, now I'm watching from the other end and using my geekness to keep track of progress. On flightstats.com you can track flights and see their progress over maps and you can look at airport traffic. Was able to catch their plan on approach amongst all the other ones....a few minutes after this I received an email from Chris that they are on the ground in Chicago...halfway there I guess...

Just heard the news on in the other room that the interview will be on shortly on Channel 2.

Made it to Chicago!

2010-01-27T17:28:00.001-08:00

Made it to chicago. Half way there!

A couple photos from the airport from Tricia

2010-01-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

Tricia emailed me a couple photos from her iPhone at the San Jose airport prior to their departure.

Chris Gonzales with Victoria Ho

And my Chris apparently in conversation and looking like the ativan's are taking effect!

At the Airport

2010-01-27T13:05:00.001-08:00

At the airport, 2 ativans on board already! Wish us luck!

The team at the airport!

2010-01-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

I finally picked up the satellite phone, I had to meet the driver! I
ran it up to the airport and met the whole crew before they went
through security so it was photo op time!

This is after they were interviewed by channel 2 news, should make the
5 PM news.

UPS LATE!!!!

2010-01-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

UPS was supposed to deliver the satellite phone by 10 AM. They show they attempted delivery at 9:59, impossible! We were standing there waiting....didn't see any truck. Have a call into them now, waiting for a call back so we can find the driver. Changed our plans, now Chris has to leave on her own so she can pick up a coworker and will park in short term parking while I wait for UPS to deliver. Then a neighbor will take me up to the airport and I'll pass it to Chris and see her off, then drive her car home. What a pain in the neck, it's already stressful enough....

All packed!

2010-01-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

I went on a shopping spree of supplies for Chris! We have things all packed as best we can, we'll see if she makes it on the plane with all this stuff! Flight to Chicago later today (Wednesday), leaves SJC at 1:35 PM.

At this point, it's a go....

2010-01-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

I went shopping this evening to try and get what Chris will need on this trip while she was working and trying to sort out the details of the trip. At this point, things are a go. No return flights are booked, but the group is committed to getting the team back on the 4th, even if that means they have to leave the Haiti area a little early to accomplish that. Her coworkers are all on board so the team is intact, which is good. In fact, I met her coworker Chris at REI tonight, we happened to be there at the same time.

So we'll know more about the return once she leaves, but the plan is to be back by the 4th. She is off to Chicago tomorrow at lunchtime, flight leaves for Haiti @ 7 AM on Thursday.

Will this trip get off the ground?

2010-01-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

OK, another issue is cropping up. The tough thing about these sorts of emergency response trips is that the logistics are a nightmare. From the beginning, when we first found out about this, getting everything arranged, covering shifts, etc., has been challenging and some times the trip was a go, other times it was off. After this mornings issues, it seemed like all was in order, the whole group had flights scheduled to Chicago, then in the morning there was a chartered United flight going to Haiti from Chicago. Heading back, it was a flight from Haiti to Miami, then Miami to Los Angeles and finally from there back home.

Well now it seems that the American Airlines flight from Haiti to Miami is canceled, and there is no service planned until the 19th at the earliest. So unless there is some news from the group leader in regards to a new way back home, the whole trip may unfortunately be off.

Will post more as we know more.

Getting started

2010-01-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

This is Ken making the first posting to make sure things are working. I've set Chris up with a satellite phone that is supposed to arrive Wednesday morning and has text messaging capability. This will allow Chris to send text messages to the blog so everyone can be updated on her efforts as well as her safety. Text messaging is a little cheaper than the per minute charges on the phone! Don't expect phone calls from her while she is there, please follow this blog for updates on her travels and experiences (and they probably won't be very detailed updates as I'm sure she will be very busy, once she returns she can maybe post a long update). I'll be following any comments and will talk to her from time to time, so if there are things you would like to know, please post a comment and I will update or she will with the information.