If I were Haitian, visiting here for the first time, these thought and questions would stir in my mind ...
- Your country smells like nothing.
- The roads are SO smooth
- You take turns nicely while driving.
- People don't greet one another very often.
- Where do you put your garbage? It is not on the street.
- There are a lot of roadways & wide open spaces.
- You have A LOT of hospitals and clinics. Are you ALL sick?
- Is everyone here a Doctor?
- Your stores have too many choices. How can you decide?
- What is McDonald's?
- There are lots of places indoors to empty your bladder.
- All the places have soap and paper towels. The toilets flush.
- Every few minutes we go by a place called "Target."
- No one rides in the back of your pick up trucks.
- You keep your buildings and homes at frigid temperatures - WHY?
- Don't you have goats here? Where are they?
- Your cows are fat.
- Where are your street vendors?
- Can't a guy get a chicklet?
- Where do you keep your generators ... they are so quiet I cannot even hear them. Weird.
- Where is the Tampico and the Toro and the Prestige?
- Oh, what is "Weight Watchers?"
- Your construction of homes seems to use quite a bit of lumber ... what are you using to cook with?
- How many families live in those honkin houses?
- What are the building attached to your house with the great big doors on them? Most of them have two or three (even four) doors. Weird.
- I see lots of places called "parks" what is it, and can anyone use it?
- Your airport seems to know what they are doing and have a system and a plan ... that felt really restrictive to me, I prefer to be confused and surprised each time I visit the airport. (sorry sorry, I can't let go of it)
- Why do people throw away some of the food on their plate?
- It is very clean and santitary here.
- There are lots of nice things in your trash piles.
Okay ... so, some people get all defensive and spaz out over this sort of thing ...
This is my disclaimer:
I don't feel guilty about being an American. I don't feel bad or guilty that I own a nice home. I don't think anyone needs to feel bad about having things. I just think we ought to know what we have. We should recognize how huge our blessings are. We could try to do something to help any of the millions who are less fortunate all across the world. Maybe we could focus less on what we don't have (the newest whatever) and focus more on how much we ALREADY have. We should be thankful. We have plenty.
A Haitian in the village of LaDigue would be totally unable to comprehend it.
Sorry I "shoulded" on you, but it is truth.
Love and Introspection from the land of plenty,
Tara
