yeah, yeah... i've done my time in haiti and am so used the the blan business by now. and it normally doesn't bother me. i even enjoy playing off of it most of times. however, that day (and i'll add that it was just a few days before my period), it was driving me CRAZY.
first of all, it's not just "blan" that they're yelling. it's more like "BLAN!" all caps, in your face, and on repeat. sometimes, especially when they don't get an initial response, they'll mix it up w/ a BLANCO! and throw in some spanish-seeming jibberish, like "amingo! chinga bodinga camaro!" and of course, they almost never fail to top it off w/ the one english phrase that every haitian knows -- "Geev me one dollar!"
come on, man. give me a break.
and it's not just little kids that follow me down the street shouting "blan!" in my face, but haitians of all ages. what fun! and what dignity, they have, eh? being a celebrity must really suck sometimes and i'm wondering how it compares to being a blan in haiti. i would guess that some, or maybe even a majority, of celebrities' fans are probably a bit more sophisticated than the average haitian. but i wouldn't really know, as there are a lot of wacky people across the globe, that's for sure.
i mean, i came here to reconnect and to offer up whatever i can in terms of time, skill, labor, experience, etc, but "blan" to a haitian means money and handouts and those are, frankly, things that little old me just doesn't have much of. we've all gotta do what we can to get by in this world the best we can, including me. boo hoo.
so, sorry for the pout of negative energy i'm putting out, but i've just gotta let off some steam. it's been a weird week and i'm feeling, overall, frustrated and discouraged with my position in haiti and ready for a nice, tranquil and smiley change of pace.
i just wanna be a PERSON again. i'm feeling better already. :)
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I'm sorry that you feel the way you do. But first, are you happy in Haiti? Have you had good experiences in the country? If you have, those good feelings will outweigh the negatives...
ReplyDeleteMaybe, your negative feelings were just do to your period.
We've all had days when we feel like shit and we need to vent. It seems like your blog was your opportunity to vent.
Anyway, if you feel your presence in Haiti has been good (for you and others), I hope you stay in the country. But if you enjoy being in Haiti, think about the good times you've had.
Those who have lived abroad (myself included) have had days when we're annoyed by an aspect of life in that country and we wish were somewhere else. I just hope you feel better.
migook, blan, Aimee. hope you are having a better day :) big hugs, girl. you are an awesome PERSON...all the time!
ReplyDelete..."amingo chingu camaro" made me laugh out loud..just thought you should know. pretty good. xo
thanks for the kind comments. yeah, it was just one of those days where i was super irritable for some reason. a bit of blogging therapy did the trick. i definitely love being in haiti and will continue to involve myself here until i die. :)
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