Thursday, May 11, 2006

Expatriates

ex·pa·tri·ates - n.
1. One who has taken up residence in a foreign country 2.To remove (oneself) from residence in one's native land.


It is weird to be here in Haiti and learn that some big-wig from "our" country is coming down.

Even now, it is still strange to us to see other regular Americans when we go to church or the grocery store.

Having Jeb Bush or Condoleeza Rice come here is weird. We only hear about news like this through friends or internet news sources from America, and then afterwards might catch wind of it from a Haitian source. This is a difficult adjustment for former news-junkies. Jeb is coming on Sunday for President Preval's inauguration. (We wish we could be inside his head to see what he thinks about what he sees here.)

The sense that you have no country sort of sets in. We are definitely not able to blend into Haitian society and call this our country, but at the same time we feel very removed from the USA ... it is an odd sort of homeless feeling.

President Preval is finally getting the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration. The USA is sending Jeb Bush.

We wish we were invited. We are betting it would be entertaining to watch.