"a good cup of coffee"

Understanding cultural differences may be found in the most basic things such as ‘a good cup of coffee’. People feel strongly about their coffee. Anyone who works as a bistro will tell you that. Everyone has their favorite drink and when they order it, it sounds like they are speaking a different language. Haitians like their coffee very strong and very sweet. One team that was down here jokingly referred to it as diesel fuel or jet fuel. After being in Haiti for about 2 weeks, I asked for them to serve some hot water with the coffee so I could make it half water/half coffee, because my teeth hurt from the sweetness. I need to delute the coffee if I was going to drink it for the next 7 months. When I make my mix in the morning of ½ hot water and ½ coffee my Haitian family just shake their head and chuckle a little. This morning in Haiti I made a cup of coffee pretty close to the way I make my coffee at home. And you know there is nothing better than ‘a good cup of coffee’ in the morning. So as I was enjoying ‘my good cup of coffee’ made with ½ coffee from Haiti, ½ hot water, and a package of hot cocoa. I decided to have Joana try it. She did, then shook her head and said, “why?, with a look on her face that said “You ruined a perfectly good cup of coffee.” Just like a good cup of coffee many things can be seen in very different ways, especially when working in another country. But remember, both people are right, they know what ‘a good cup of coffee is”.