Maddie Ziegler: There's Always Room for One More

In Haiti, most people ride around in tap taps…. These are brightly decorated pickup trucks and in the back are benches for people to ride in. When you want to get out you “tap tap” and they pull over, you pay them and you go on your way. When we ride in them with teams, they are “private ones” and everyone is relatively spread out with their own personal space, which is very un-Haitian. When I drive around and see regular tap taps, there are Haitians crammed in, sitting and standing in any open space. While we usually feel that squeezing 10 people in is excessive, there could be anywhere from 15 to 20 people stuffed in the back of the trucks. Their thought is “there is always room for one more.” I had always wanted to see if I could survive the crowded tap taps and until today, I had never had the opportunity.

I finally had the chance… Jessi, Nadege and I went up to her parents’ house in an hour called Delma, on to a coffee shop called Rebo and then to a restaurant called Pizza Garden. This required a motorcycle ride to the main rode (20 goudes), 2 tap taps to Delma (5 goudes each), 2 taps up to Rebo (10 goudes each)… and then we repeated the same thing going down! Honestly, it has been one of the highlights of my trip because I have never been able to travel like this, and I loved it! We were able to walk around Delma and Petionville and thankfully we got a little lost and were able to explore even more! I felt a little bit like a kid on Christmas morning because I was just wondering around smiling looking like a “blanc fu” (crazy white person). But I didn’t care, I just kept on going.

I think the saying “there is always room for one more” applies to more aspects of the Haitian culture than just tap taps. In the time that I’ve been here, I have felt so welcomed, whether it was squishing next to someone on a church pew, being invited to join a group of people at an already overcrowded table, pulling up a chair to join a game in progress, or squeezing just one more person on to the swings at the playground… it really has been incredible. They are so inviting and it has made me feel so welcome in this foreign country! I will truly miss these amazing people and will treasure the relationships and the memories for the rest of my life. I also think that as Americans, we could learn a few lessons on welcoming visitors!

Where has the time gone?? See you all in just 4 short days!!!

Tap Taps around Haiti: