So the astounding difference of parenting styles is really nothing new nor unique to CdI, however, this does not mean differences don’t still catch my attention upon special occasion. For instance, came home from my lovely little doubles tennis match and saw two 8+/- year olds standing in front of my neighbors driveway talking to the guard. Now, to paint this picture properly, since you and I are likely living in very different neighborhoods, barring you haven’t moved to Haiti recently, I live in the nicest neighborhood in this country, the best ‘old money’ has to offer. I also live on a street with a couple of VIPs, this means there are cement barricades on both ends of the street, one end is especially special with local armed militia standing guard 24/7 365 days a year (at least they hunker down on the end with the view). On top of all this extra “protection” every residence comes with a large foreboding wall, as is standard, now mine is really probably one of the friendliest walls as it only has welcoming razor wire on part of it, but even still, there is a very different sense of curb appeal. Now back to the boys, I’m afraid this little account is slightly anticlimactic as I was in a bit of rush, but I was struck by the fact that in the states it would be somewhat surprising to see two kids standing in the street with no parental supervision at dusk, it would make nightly news if they were hawking a 2.5 foot crocodile, holding the little pet by the tail. (yes, when I came to, I realized my mouth was still open in amazement and yes, I had laughed out loud – this awe for the unexpected is a personality trait being developed on a daily basis by living in west Africa.)
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