Honking

          Horns.  

          They honk constantly here in Haiti, much more so than in the States.  In the States, drivers honk for one of two reasons: to get your attention because the driver knows you OR to tell you to get moving!  The first one is usually a quick little beep followed by a wave.  The second one is a nasty honk that sounds mean.

Flowers at Gertrude's

            Here, though, honks are a language unto themselves.  Vehicles honk once or twice politely to announce that they are coming around a corner (very important on roads that have virtually no stop signs).  They also honk briefly to say “Thank you” for letting me slide into traffic.  This honk is often accompanied by a brief wave.  Multiple quick honks in a row often indicate that the driver is passing.  They do have the quick, loud honk to indicate “Hey, get moving” if a driver is caught daydreaming when traffic was stopped (I can’t imagine daydreaming while driving—or stopping—in PAP traffic.  As a passenger, I don’t stop looking around to make sure that we aren’t going to be hit).  Most of these honks make sense to me because they help keep traffic moving.  And, most drivers are quite polite about it.  The one honk that does not make sense to me is the H-O-N-K in the middle of a major traffic jam (“blokis”).  This honk is loud and obnoxious.  Drivers lay on the horn and blare it as loudly and as long as possible.  It’s like a car’s screaming until it’s out of breath.  It’s not as if the traffic can move.  And not every as every car needs to scream honk like that to let drivers know that traffic isn’t going anywhere.  Heck, no honking is necessary to clue drivers in that they are in the midst of a “blokis.”

Gertrude with her first lesson!

            I did go out on the motorcycle again tonight.  Alexi, my driving instructor, didn’t show up tonight, so I decided to practice on my own.  After a few missteps, I was doing just fine.  Okay, so I was doing alright.  By the time I went around the block once, Jude—another of Gertrude’s brothers—had come out to watch and help.  I know I promised video of me driving, but Gertrude forgot to start the camera when I drove by.  We’ll try again tomorrow night!