29708: Morse (comment) RAM goes to Chile

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

_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.