Journey North Mystery Class Spring 2003

Introducing Mystery Class #4
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti ( 18.533 N, 72.333 W)

Hello, my name is Lillian Deslandes (pronounced day-LAHND). As you've probably guessed by now I live in Haiti, but I'm not Haitian. I'm from New York. My husband and I have a factory, where we make hot pepper sauce and other condiments. I love animals and have two dogs, named "Fella" and "Wigglebutt", and two chickens. I like to walk, read and cook, a lot. But enough about me, I'd like to tell you a little bit about my adopted country of Haiti..

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Of course, when you talk about the Caribbean, you talk about beaches. There are 1,771 km of coastline. Since most of that coastline is in a protected area of the Golfe de La Gonave, the waters off of these beaches are very calm, and in my opinion a very beautiful blue.

Haïti, spelled in Creole "Ayiti", is a Taino Indian word meaning land of mountains. There are 5 mountain chains in 27,750 square kilometers of space! I live in Port-au-Prince near the highest chain called Massif de la Selle, with Pic de la Selle being the highest mountain, Chaine de la Selle being 2,680 meters high. In those mountains are two historical forts, Fort Jacques and Fort Alexandre. But the most interesting fort is the Citadelle Laferrière where Henri Christophe fought the French in the War for the Independence, in Milot. Below the fort is the Palais de Sans Souci, where "king" Henri lived.

I mention these forts because these days it is a very exciting time to be living in Haïti. January 1, 2004 is the bicentennial of Haïti's independence from France. Haïti is the world's first free black republic! On April 7, 2003 we celebrated the bicentennial of Toussaint Louverture's death. He was a hero of the revolution, and died in France, a prisoner. Today, Haïti is fighting a new battle with France to recover his body and the money they paid to secure their independence. In any case, there are many exciting events going on celebrating the bicentennial.

Haïti is a country made up mostly of descendants of African slaves freed by the revolution. The culture is very African. People carry loads on their heads and sell in open-air markets, putting their wares in piles on the ground. People love to bargain and think you’re a fool if you pay the price asked for the merchandise. One of the largest religions besides Christian is Voodoo, which is a religion with African roots.

ENVIRONMENT
I wish I could tell you about all of the natural wonders of Haïti, but I'm sorry to say, this place is an environmental nightmare. When the Island of Hispañola (Haiti shares the island with the Dominican Republic) was discovered by Christopher Colombus, it was a tropical paradise covered with forest, but today the western side of the island has only 10% tree cover, most of which is in a national park called Fôret des Pins. I often wish there was something I could do about this, but many of the campaigns to reforest have failed. The biggest problem is that people use wood to make charcoal to cook with. More people are using gas (butane, propane and kerosene), but many can't afford to buy the stove and tank of gas, so they continue to use charcoal.

FOOD AND LANGUAGE
Street food is very important in Port-au-Prince. Outdoor restaurants are little more than a bench and three or four pots called a "chyen jambe" (dog walks through). Mainly, people eat rice and beans, boiled plantains or cornmeal garnished with some kind of sauce and a little meat. Another favorite dish is "fritay", which is fried plantains, sweet potatoes, breadfruit and "marinad" (fritters), with fried chicken, pork (called "griot"), beef, fish or "boudin" (blood sausages) topped with "pikliz" (a spicy pickle made with cabbage and habañero peppers, called pimen bouk). I just love hot, spicy food, don't you? There is also a regional dish that comes from the south called "tomtom kalalou", which is mashed breadfruit, served with a meat sauce made with okra. It's very tasty.

Toussant Louverture

Creole or Kreyol, is one of the official languages of Haïti, the other being French. Unfortunately, I don't speak French, but I love Kreyol. I had so much fun learning it and I love speaking it! It's very colorful and expressive! When you greet someone, practically any time of day after 10 o'clock, you say "bon swa" (good evening). Nostril is "twou nen" (nose hole), and something that is very expensive is "tet neg" (a man's head). “Sak ap fèt” means what’s happening. My favorite saying is "gwo non tiye ti chyen" (a big name kills a little dog) but I'm not really sure what it means, maybe you can tell me!

I must say that although I'm very busy, I've really enjoyed participating in this project. I love telling people about my home!

Please write to me at hotsoslil@netscape.net. I'd be so happy to hear from you.