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29708: Morse (comment) RAM goes to Chile






_oloffsonram@aol.com_ (mailto:oloffsonram@aol.com)

RAM was recently invited by Chile's Ambassador to Haiti to spend 10 days in
Chile's capital city of Santiago. We did 7 presentations at a festival
(Expomundo) which highlighted rural production in Chile. It was a wonderful trip.
We met Madame President (Chile has a woman president) on the second day of  the
festival. We also met people from the Mapuches Tribe, which is one of the
indigenous tribes of Chile. I heard rhythms that sounded like they came directly
 from Gonaives. I saw "nats" (sleeping pads made from banana leaves found
also  here in Haiti) and we ate the Mapuches version of "pate chaudier",  a
Haitian street food, usually breakfast. It was interesting to find bits of Haitian
culture which were evidently adapted from Indian culture here in  Haiti. I
had known that Brazil, because of it's African roots had strong ties to Haitian
culture, but meeting the Indians of Chile re-affirmed how  complex the roots
of Haitian culture are.

Pinochet passed away during our trip. A couple of my guys got tear gassed
watching the demonstrations on the street. Met the Haitian ambassador to Chile,
met Haitian medical students who had transferred from the  Dominican
Republic. They said they were treated better and were more respected than they had
been in the DR. Ate in a Haitian vegetarian restaurant  (Cordon Verte): sauce
pois, banane peze, zaboca, du riz kole, mais moulin. Ate the Chilean version of
Cerviche which is raw fish soaked in lemon juice (the  lemon juice actually
cooks the fish). Delicious. No visa necessary for  Haitians to go to Chile. We
went by way of Panama on a flight full of  Madame Sarahs. Lovely trip.
Recommended to all.