to say Bonjou or not

One of the things that was very hard for me to get used to when in Haiti is saying 'Hello' to EVERYONE! It just felt weird, I mean really. Imagine, every person that crosses your path you say 'Bonjou' [good morning] or 'Bonswa' [Good afternoon]and 'Como ou ye?' [How are you?]


At first you might think it sounds nice. But every person, people you don't even know. But I learned this is the way it is done in Haiti. Plus as an outsider you want to try and blend as much as possible. So I embraced it. I learned to greet everyone. And sometimes I even stopped and talked to people for awhile. It became very normal and I really never thought about it again.

Until last week. I was walking across campus at USD in Vermillion, SD. I was just going to visit a friend. I passed people and didn't know how to react. Do I avoid eye contact, make eye contact and smile, say hi or do nothing. Instead I just thought about it while I was passing them and thought how weird this was to pass someone by and not even acknowledge that they exist. Suddenly I felt a little lonely and missed Haiti. Where you greet everyone, even if you don't know them.

The first picture I posted happened to be a friend of mine. I might have just said hi and just passed him on by, but I decided to talk. And as it turned out. Look what I found.



... so do you say Bonjou or not? I don't know the answer for every situation. I don't know what I will do the next time I pass someone walking. But saying hi can't be any weirder than not saying anything and you never know how you might effect someone else's day or maybe you will find kittens.