HONK

I got honked at this morning~! Leaving Shane's school is a real pain if you are turning left, there is non stop traffic coming from the right with little opportunity to make that left turn. As I sat there I thought of many things like the option to turn right and go several miles out of my way for the simple sake of just continuing to move, but the cost of gas and the sheer idiocy stopped that idea (not to say I have never done it). I also thought if there were not 6th - 12th grade at this school there would not be so many parents dropping off their kids, more of the students would be drivers them selves and less cars coming and leaving. Then it happened I was honked at, ya ME! What did the lady behind me want me to do? just pull out there and create an accident? Or was she judging my driving or turning ability? I felt judged, condemned like someone had called me an idiot! With in 30 seconds of the honk I was reminded (by some higher power) that the physical and emotional reaction I was having would be to my demise if I allowed it to follow me to Haiti. In Haiti everyone honks. That is all they do. Honk, Honk, Honk, It does not necessarily mean that you are an idiot, it just might mean that someone is going to pass on the left or on the right, it might be to let a pedestrian do you are coming 60 miles per hour down the bumpy road and to watch out. All you hear in Haiti are horns! I cannot allow my reaction to be one of "how dare you" I need to train my reaction to be "oh well" or "did you hear something"?
I clearly remember my 'reality day' in Haiti. Don, I and Jude R were in Town (PAP) to get somethings worked out with our cell phone. It had been one of those days where every car or bus or truck seemed to come straight at your car, honk, honk. I was already irritated by the time we got to where we were going (or in Haiti where we thought we were supposed to go) only to find out we were at the wrong place. We were walking to the 'right' place and I was walking a bit out in the street, when I hear my husband yell at me, I moved just in time to be missed by a flying taptap. The driver was hanging out the window yelling something at me probably something like "dumb white lady get out of the street or I will hit and kill you". I was emotional about it not because I almost got hit but because it drove home the reality that this is Haiti and it is nothing like the U.S. and I needed to except that. In the U.S. pedestrians have the 'right of way' NOT IN HAITI, you get a honk for a warning and you'd better listen. I also do not like being 'shushed' but that didn't happen today so I will deal with that another time. HONK
Blessings, Lisa