Léogâne is a coastal town located about 20 miles outside of the capital city, Port-au-Prince. It is the center of an agricultural region with its mainstays of economy including fishery, growing sugarcane, fruit and other crops.
Léogâne was formerly known as Yaguana and is the birthplace of the Taíno queen Anacaona. The Tainos inhabited Haiti long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Anacoana ruled the province in which Léogâne was located and it was the last holdout during the Spanish conquest of the island of Hispanola. After France gained control of Haiti in 1697, they built up the city of Léogâne and it became the administrative center of the French colony, Saint-Domingue. Léogâne was later destroyed in 1770 by an earthquake and rebuilt. In 1803, during Haiti’s fight for independence, one of the Haitian rebels, Jean-Jacques Dessalines ordered the city be burned to prevent it from falling into French hands.
When asked why people like Léogâne, they say they like it because it is not so busy and crowded like Port-au-Prince. It is a safe place where people look out and help each other and there is a sense of community here. Other favorite things about Léogâne include that it is close to the beach and centrally located between Port-au-Prince and Jacmel (a city in the Southeast with beautiful beaches). Everyone agrees that it is a good place to raise a family (it is more like a suburb).
Another unique aspect of Léogâne is that it is the center for Rara - a music festival during the week of Easter. People parade through the streets, playing an assortment of instruments made of repurposed objects and metal. Today, a lot of brass instruments from konpa bands are incorporated. The bands march through the town, creating the tempo from the stomping of their feet. (To listen to some songs and for more information on rara - http://rara.wesleyan.edu/music/analysis.php)
This unique blend of history and culture has cultivated amazing people who are determined and innovative. It is the Haitian people that keep me inspired every day. Despite the struggles of daily life here, the people are kind, generous, patient and resourceful. It is the kind acts of people that have no reason to be helping me, that motivate me and keep me grounded in what I am doing here. Of course some people yell out to me “blan”, white person, tell me how hungry they are, and ask me to give them money, some of whom really need it and others who don’t. However, there are also plenty of other amazing people who go out of their way to help foreigners such as myself and ask for nothing in return. For example, I met a woman in the market who took me around to find each of the things I needed (and this is not an easy place to navigate) and when I offered to buy her something for helping me, she declined. I am fortunate to have so many people looking after me and trying to take care of me from my former colleagues at the UND Filariasis Program to my friend, Kara’s husband, Guesly and his friends. It is not the place, but the people here that make Léogâne so amazing.
Me with some of Guesly's family
As for what my life is like here, it consists of working…a lot. I find it difficult to live and work in the same house with everyone. While I love the people I work and live with, it is just hard to not have time to myself. I also have a hard time making myself stop working and relax which is exacerbated by the lack of separation between work and living. I spend most of my days inside behind a computer which is definitely not ideal, but if that is where I am needed, I am happy to do it.
One of my favorite parts of my day is going on a run. If I don’t go on a run, there are some days 
where I don’t leave the house. Running is my little piece of freedom, the time I get to go out and enjoy Léogâne. Now, I no longer hear so many “Hey you!” as I run past, but instead I hear “Britt-a-nee”. Three of my favorite little kids (Marjory, Lovna and Stephenson) will chant my name as soon as they see me coming. I always stop and give them a hug and talk with them. Just seeing them, makes my day and makes my frustrations disappear.
Lovna
The big events of the week include Tuesday and Saturday night pratique (Latin dancing night) at
Joe’s. From 7pm – 10pm, we go and practice dancing with everyone. This is usually quite an event that everyone gets dressed up for and is a special time to put everything else aside and just enjoy the music and dancing. Some of my friends have told me, that they don’t know how they could have gotten through life after the earthquake without dancing as an outlet.
On weekends, we try to get out of the house and go to the beach. It is nice to relax and enjoy the 
absolutely beautiful beaches that Haiti has. We are spoiled and have a cook during the week, but on weekends, we are on our own. As you all know, I love to cook! We improvise a lot to make things with what we can find here, but we eat everything for pizza to Indian food to enchiladas. The highlight of my time spent making food is using my Ice Cream/sorbet maker. So far we have made everything from chocolate sorbet to mango gelato to peanut butter ice cream with Reeses. I realize we are completely spoiled!
I do struggle with guilt knowing that I live in such a nice house, with electricity 24/7, and I have the pleasure of making food that I want to eat without worrying about how much it costs or when I will eat again. I also feel a bit isolated living here and disconnected from the community, so I am trying to find a homestay family to stay with. This way, I will be able to gain a better understanding of what their lives are like on a daily basis, be forced to practice Kreyol and gain a sense of connection here. I will keep you posted on when that works out. Léogâne truly is an amazing place and I know I am blessed to have the opportunity to be here and be surrounded by so many amazing individuals!
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