observations

Bonswa tut mon. Today was another day of MCH training in Petit Guave so not much to say there. Instead I think I will share with you some interesting cultural observations and or other facts I have made or noticed in my short time here.

1. There are goats everywhere. Livestock in general really but mostly goats. About every 20 feet youll see another one tied to a stick by a rope and its like wonder where that one came from. There never seems to be any sign of an owner. Just a row of goats on the side of the road. And pigs. They have lots of pigs tied up here too. And of course the rampant chickens running about. ( I am discovering that I am a bit scared of chickens, I am not sure why)

2. In Haiti, they have what is called a shoo shoo. Im not sure if you spell it that way or this way- shu shu. But nevertheless it is the equivalent to what we would call a boo. Everywhere I go, people want to know if I have a shoo shoo. I say no, mwe pa gen shoo shoo- No I dont have a shoo shoo. Which leads to a series of questions on why I dont have a shoo shoo. Pooquisa is how you say why. I learned because is paske so it gets quite redundant going back and forth. I do think it would be nice to have one, if nothing else just to introduce him as my shoo shoo lol.

3.  Squatty potties exist in haiti. And by squatty potty I mean that I asked where the bathroom was and they handed me a bowl and pointed to a shack. Luckily I have been trained from my time in India on these. Unluckily, when they dont have a bathroom they dont have toilet paper. I made a mental note on Tuesday to remember to bring toilet paper when I found myelf in a similar situation but somehow managed to forget and once again was up a creek.

4. We have 2 kitties on base and I love them! One of them is named Kitty, I am not sure which one so I just call them both that. I think about you Kate everytime I pet them and how much you would hate them :) I love them, they are just what I needed to have here. Apparently though, cat is a delicacy here, only the rich eat it. I could cry.

5. Driving here is another world. Its like India- which car is going to give up first and pull off the road before being hit. They kinda drive like I do, irate because the car in front is too slow. Instead of getting mad in their head like I do, they race around them before the massive mack truck coming towards them creams us. Its been very fun to drive every day- it feels like mario kart. I have also noticed that honking is universal. I am not sure why this is a lost art in the states but every where else it seems to be a functioning form of communication.

6. There are lots of mosquitoes. Period. Everywhere.

There are many more things I have observed but its so hard to keep track in my brain and its like 8 pm now and body is ready for bed. I have to fold my laundry- yes I did laundry today. And before you go picturing me in a river with a rock, we have washing machines and dryers:)

I hope everyone has a wonderful night and a great weekened! (It is a 4 day weekend for me, yay for Haitian holidays!)