What motivated you to really learn Creole?
I fell in love with Haiti practically the second I stepped off the airplane in Port-au-Prince in March 2010…the bright colors, the twoubadou music, the friendly smiles…but I knew ZERO Kreyol, so I was concerned when I heard people speaking loudly to each other. I assumed there was some sort of disagreement going on. When I asked if everything was ok, they smiled and said they were just discussing directions to get somewhere. I laughed and immediately thought of my mom’s side of the family, a bunch of loud, talk-with-your-hands, Irish New Yorkers! Ha! They’re just like my family! But I found that I had better relationships with the Haitians that spoke English. Speaking to someone through a translator felt distant, and I wanted to be able to connect with people directly to build on those friendships. It would’ve been easier for me to try to learn French, not having a Haitian community here in Corvallis, OR, but it was very important that I learn to speak the language that EVERYONE in Haiti speaks. And the unique history of how the language was formed out of survival by the slaves, eventually leading to their successful revolt, absolutely amazed me. I fell in love with Haiti, and I fell in love with the language as well. I HAD to learn it!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn Haitian Creole?
It’s ok to make mistakes. Take a deep breath and just start speaking it every chance you get! Haitians LOVE when you at least try; it shows that you care. Also, Kreyol is a very simplified and contextual language…and it’s even phonetically spelled…BONUS! If your high school foreign language classes didn’t go so well, never fear. The Haiti Hub module system is fun and interactive! If you want to speak Kreyol, you CAN DO IT! Come join us!
What’s been the biggest benefit for you personally since learning to communicate in Creole?
Often times in Haiti, locals assume I can’t understand what’s being said, so I usually get some laughs and surprised looks when I jump in and add my two cents. The invisible wall of “us” and “them” is broken down when we can communicate directly, and the friendships I’ve made because of it are priceless. I think one of the funniest moments for me since speaking more Kreyol was when we had a group with us in Jacmel. We had dropped off the group to get surf lessons from Surf Haiti and went to refill our water jug and Prestige case, but one of our empty Prestige bottles was missing. You know how it is, you don’t get the same price for your case if any bottles are missing. My Haitian friend with me told the guy we’d find the bottle and bring it back. He charged us 50 gourdes extra for our case and said he’d refund us when we brought it back. Half a block later, where we were getting the water jug refilled, the bottle was found. I offered to walk back with it and get the 50 gourdes. I walked in to the little shop front and said to the owner, “Mw regret sa. Nou pat ka jwenn sa pandan yon moment. Ou gen senkant gourdes pou mwen?” He just looked at me confused and said, “Ou Ayisyen?” I laughed and said, “Nan ke mw.” 😉