Confession: I'm not really Haitian...

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a Haitian. But I'm not. 

And here's why:

I'm not really Haitian because...I don't like rice and beans. I have no appetite for them...or, to be completely honest...much of the Haitian food at all. I've eaten more cookies in the past few days than substantial food. 

I'm not really Haitian because...I have running water. And a real toilet.

I'm not really Haitian because...if I was, I would like Rihanna and Justin Bieber much more than I actually do.

I'm not really Haitian because...I have white skin. Embarrassing and regrettably white, especially when I'm surrounded by so many beautiful brown people. (You'd think a person should get more tan in a tropical climate, but I just get whiter.)

I'm not really Haitian because...My hair doesn't look good in braids. Trust me, I've tried. Multiple times. Proof:

I'm not really Haitian because...The rats still scare me. 

I'm not really Haitian because...there is NO way I could carry one of those 5-gallon buckets full of water on my head without dropping it or breaking my neck.

I'm not really Haitian because...I don't speak Creole. And what little I do know probably comes out tainted by an Arkansas accent.

I'm not really Haitian because...I'm kind of fascinated by the pig(s) that live right outside my bedroom window.

I'm not really Haitian because...Tampico is still gross to me.

I'm not really Haitian because...if I was REALLY Haitian, I would take a bath in the river in broad daylight just like everyone else.

I'm not really Haitian because...I'm not used to views like this:

I'm not really Haitian because...when I hear the word "taxi," I think about a yellow car in New York and not a small motorcycle with 4 people piled on it.  

I'm not really Haitian because...when I see a goat, I still think, "Aww, cute!" instead of "Mmm, dinner." (Even though they are delicious.)

I'm not really Haitian because...I've never lived through a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

I'm not really Haitian because...I have never known what it feels like to be hungry or to go to sleep at night not knowing whether I will have anything to eat the next day.

I'm not really Haitian because...I don't know how to cook anything over a charcoal fire.

I'm not really Haitian because...I can't imagine what it would be like to have to walk 9 hours to a clinic in order to get help for my child who is dying of malnutrition. 

I'm not really Haitian because...I'm not mentally, physically, or emotionally as strong as these ladies who take care of sick kids 12 hours a day, and then go home and care for their own families as well.

I'm not really Haitian because...I was raised having everything I could ever need; never having to wonder if my water was safe to drink, if I would be able to afford to go to the 3rd grade, or if my parents would ever be so poor they might be forced to abandon me.

Basically, I'm not really Haitian because I could never deal with what the average Haitian deals with and be as strong as they are. But it some sense of the word, I am Haitian.

I am Haitian in the sense that I love this country and this people like they were my own.

I am Haitian in the sense that I see every man and woman and boy and girl here as if they were my brothers and sisters, because really and truly, they are.

I am Haitian in the sense that I have so much respect for these people, so much love for them that I would leave my own family, friends, and home to move here and try to fit into this culture that is so foreign from my own, so different and scary and sad, but yet so beautiful and exciting and full of hope.

I am so blessed to be able to say that I have had the privilege of knowing some of these incredible people who call themselves Haitian, but more than that, they call themselves children of God. GOD, who is the God of Haiti and America and Israel and every other nation, tribe, and tongue that has ever existed. I may not be able to say that I am Haitian, but because of God's love, I can call these people who have so inspired, challenged, and changed me, family.

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."   1 Peter 2:9-10