Little Differences

A while back I asked people for some blogging ideas. My good friend Renee requested that I do a blog about some of the little minor differences between Haiti and the US. I will tell you about the idea behind this blog post. One day, while I was still in the US, Renee and I were talking about Musicians, she started talking about Wycleaf, and I replied, "Oh, Jean Wycleaf" She burst into immediate laughter, you mean Wycleaf Jean. So case in point, the first difference, is Haitians say their surname first, followed by their given name.

One of my favorite things about Haitian church is special music time. I will admit sometimes I giggle under my breath a little, but I truly do love this time. What is different about special music, is you can come up to the worship leader during the offering time and tell him you have music you would like to share. They will let you sing. Eventually the band will figure out the music and start playing with to. The thing about it, is it comes from the heart. My friend and I were commenting after church that the second guy wasn't that good. I decided to ask my Haitian friend what he thought, he replied "It was great." You see, it came from the heart, and anything you want to share is great! They care about what is behind it and the heart not the surface stuff that we care so much about in the US.

Ok...maybe this one is no longer valid, because I did find out today that you can actually buy washing machines in the country (yes, I will be saving my money). However, we do laundry by hand. It takes a long time, but their clothes are so clean (I am not that good yet).

Driving here is very different, but what I really would like to discuss is Horn Honking. There are several rules that one must follow while driving here.

One Honk = I'm passing you or here I come
One LONG Honk = Get out of the way
Two Honks = You can pass first and also Thank you
An important thing to remember is that if a person is pulling onto the road in front of you and you hit them and didn't honk it is your fault. You should have honked to let them know you were passing by them. Lesson to learn when driving, use your horn a lot. Note: I am not looking forward to driving back in the states, I may be viewed as having road rage!

Physical Space...is there such a thing?? When we stand in line, we stand in line touching each other. When we are crossing the street with someone else, we hold hands. When we are sitting by someone our legs are usually touching. :)

Visiting your Friends: No need to call ahead of time, just stop by. Like most Latin American Cultures, when friends drop by you are expected to drop what you are doing and spend time with them. Also providing drinks and a snack is suggested. I love this. I love that people feel free to come over.

That is all I have for now!! Hopefully come up with some later.