I find this a little funny :)
Are you light-skinned?
You know, my brother's barber of more than 17 years is nicknamed 'blan'. He's not white. He's 100% Haitian with just a little lighter skin than me. All his clients, including me, call him 'blan'. I don't even know his real name. And I know of at least two more Haitians nicknamed 'blan' because of their light skin.
I also know of two Haitians women nicknamed 'grimèl' after their light skin. And it doesn't stop there. Scores of Haitians I know are nicknamed after a physical feature that they have (and I'm pretty sure this doesn't just happen in Haiti). We Haitians can be so politically incorrect :)
So, if you are light-skinned, it might not be a 'foreigner' issue, it might be a skin color issue.
I hope telling the kids that might help them to see you as a "moun nwa", but they might not see it that way.
I'm not white. I'm black like you.
Mwen pa blan. Mwen se yon moun nwa menm jan avè w.
Are you light-skinned?
You know, my brother's barber of more than 17 years is nicknamed 'blan'. He's not white. He's 100% Haitian with just a little lighter skin than me. All his clients, including me, call him 'blan'. I don't even know his real name. And I know of at least two more Haitians nicknamed 'blan' because of their light skin.
I also know of two Haitians women nicknamed 'grimèl' after their light skin. And it doesn't stop there. Scores of Haitians I know are nicknamed after a physical feature that they have (and I'm pretty sure this doesn't just happen in Haiti). We Haitians can be so politically incorrect :)
So, if you are light-skinned, it might not be a 'foreigner' issue, it might be a skin color issue.
I hope telling the kids that might help them to see you as a "moun nwa", but they might not see it that way.
I'm not white. I'm black like you.
Mwen pa blan. Mwen se yon moun nwa menm jan avè w.
Hahaha! Yes, you are right, I am light-skinned. The American orphanage director told me that the kids call all the foreigners that (but since most of the foreigners are white I guess that's why he thought it was a foreign thing). LOL! Thanks for the clarification :)
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