hear ye hearye… and unfortunately another hearye. I hope things keep getting better for you though

Warona–yeah, in Haiti there are kids named “Love” and “Baby” and other strange things (sometimes the Kreyol names are pretty funny too though, when translated literally), but most of the names are French, as it was the French who ‘colonized’ the island. It’s funny–you read “Western” literature about Columbus and he is portrayed as a demi-god, a moral, religious man, confusing at times, but a man to aspire to and respect. Talk to a Haitian about Columbus, and they’ll spit. Read any South American literature (sometimes I think the rest of the world deliberately keeps 3rd world countries in their darkness so that they will never publish what *really* happened) and Columbus was a devil. Talk about Columbus to anyone from South America/Central America/Caribbean… they’ll spit on the ground and say he was a demon.

Heather–ha, don’t even get me started on grandparents! My dad married my mom (taboo) and we were pretty much dead and forgotten after that, at least on my dad’s side of the family. I can count the times I’ve seen my mom’s parents on two hands (hey, at least it’s two, right?!). And when I go back to Haiti again, I’ll let you know!!

Regarding parents – My parents complain that I don’t come to visit them. (The last time I did I hadn’t seen them for two years.) BUT when we were growing up, we only saw their parents maybe once a year or every two years or so… So how else am I supposed to act, since that is how they raised me! I definitely have a hard time relating.

I would love to visit Haiti, especially after reading “Mountains Beyond Mountains.”

but the bit you wrote about slave names there, it reminds me that in south africa this was also the case. a lot of people don’t know this. in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and so on, as soon as you entered school you were forced to take on an english name (first name though) if you didn’t already have one. many parents started naming their kids english names so that they wouldn’t have one randomly chosen for them at school. so many south africans, and africans in general have a “home name” and a “school” name, the school name is more often than not, english. my parents both have english second names and thus named all their children 2 setswana names. i guess a sort of quiet rebellion

in fact, nelson mandela’s name “nelson” was given to him at 6 years old on his first day of school. his given name at birth is rolilhalha. a lot of folks don’t know that. nelson is, in essence, his “slave name” almost literally.

“But not enough to settle down and pretend I like complacency. Don’t think I’ll ever get there. Heck, I pray that I never get there. That would be too much like dying.”

I fully agree with that. I think sometimes we lose track of what’s truly important, and get complacent. If they aren’t visiting you, it’s their loss!

Here’s a Siberian tiger hug for you.

(I hope you guys aren’t getting sick of all my forum picture posts, I’m having a lot of fun heehe..)

All–I have three siblings. Two of them write when they want money or when something’s wrong, and they sure as heck do not understand me or make the effort to. I mean, they spent the same amount of time as I did in the deep jungles of Venezuela, but they say it’s “this stupid North American culture” that has seduced them and made them forget how they felt back then, and now there’s nothing they can do except blend in… into F250 Fords and condos and puppies and the stock market and credit cards and drinking…

The third is my 13-yr-old brother and he’s content with his high-quality clothes and shoes and $400 badminton raquet (which he’s really good at and could get scholarships that I never dreamt of) and whatever he wants to eat whenever. Sure, North Americans are blessed–our forefathers worked stinkin hard to ‘tame’ this land and subdue it. North Americans have a right to enjoy their freedom and wealth. No doubt about that.

I just wish they wouldn’t forget that they are the minority and here comes my poverty speech… which also makes me ticked off, so…

Warona–I wish I had had the chance to go to your school!! And seriously, I’d love to go visit you! I can’t ever understand why people won’t visit me either–it’s not like they are sooo important that there will be snipers waiting on the rooftops to take them out. I’ve spent thousands of dollars visiting my friends in the US and Canada, going to weddings and just saying hi, but not a single one of them has ever visited me. What is wrong with me? lol (I’m in Canada right now and the only person that has visited me so far–besides the people who carried me off the plane and into the hospital–was an ex-boyfriend from eons ago… I was standing at the window today remembering all the efforts I’ve made to stay in touch with people (especially family), all the emails and phone calls and visits… I wondered if it was that people were afraid of me or just didn’t know what to say around me… or if they’re just too damn busy with their cushy North American lives. Ignorance, especially when it’s voluntary, makes me pretty ticked off too.

But not enough to settle down and pretend I like complacency. Don’t think I’ll ever get there. Heck, I pray that I never get there. That would be too much like dying.

And Dan, you’re not the only one. I had the same problem but only with my dad, since we don’t see each other much.