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| The Haiti you never see. 2012 |
I was stunned to learn on our recent trip that most Haitians have never been to the beach. They live in a place once called The Jewel of the Caribbean yet they've never dug their toes in the warm sand or swam in the clear blue water.
"It's too expensive," our interpreter explained. Most beaches are private and charge $20-30 a person to enter; the average Haitian earns $2 a day.
"It's too expensive," our interpreter explained. Most beaches are private and charge $20-30 a person to enter; the average Haitian earns $2 a day.
Our Haitian friends couldn't believe it when I showed them pictures of the California beach I walk to almost every day.
"You just go down there?" they asked, unable to fathom such adventure cost nothing. "Anytime?"
Countless hours of the last 1,825 days have been spent at the ocean - playing, dreaming, praying. I've just hit the five-year mark in LA.
Hollywood's definitely been an adjustment for a girl who grew up with Big 10 tailgates, church potlucks and chivalrous men. Here, they grow up with pools and pills; celebrities are worshipped more than Christ; and men? Well, let's just say my friends and I can often tell the non-natives by their manners.
I've thought about moving but so far have felt compelled to stay. Maybe it's time for a change.
I go to the beach to think. The ocean seems to ebb and flow with an invitation to linger. Thankfully it's free.
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