Golden Nuggets

Golden Nuggets is a term I am borrowing from my friend Sini who is spending her senior year of high school in Indonesia as a foreign exchange student. She calls all the random facts she's gathered about the country she's now living in Golden Nuggets. In that vein, I am going to periodically share Golden Nuggets about Haiti.

• Humidity is alive and well in this country. My clothes often feel damp when I put them on, and in the afternoon when the clouds come I feel like I've been standing in a sprinkling rain. My sheets and blankets also often feel damp.
• Because of the constant moisture in the air, mold grows on everything! When I put my tennis shoes on for the first time the other day there was mold all over the souls of the shoes. My suitcase has some mold growing on it. And the bullion cubes I brought with me drew so much moisture they "melted" in their wrappers. 
• I have not yet found a sink that produces hot water. Thankfully my shower always has hot water!
• Everyone is very friendly here. All the neighbors say good morning and good afternoon to each other. Johane often stops her car while we are driving to talk briefly with someone who is walking. I'm probably giving Americans a bad name because I find it out of my comfort zone to say hello to everyone. My neighbors keep talking to me in Creole and I don't know what they are saying. I hope they forgive me for being so rude.
• There are no landline telephones in Haiti. The earthquake in January knocked out the telephone company, so all businesses and individuals use cell phones. There are three cell phone companies. I use Digicel.