New Orleans was never a place I had an interest in visiting when I was younger. I met my boyfriend 10 years ago and he’s a born and raised in New Orleans. He had such pride in where he was from and the culture and food that it sparked my interest. The more I learned about the culture in New Orleans the more I realized it was very similar to the Haitian culture and it sparked my interest more.
My family is from Haiti and I grew up in Boston which is full of Haitian people, so my culture was very well rooted in me. Haiti was colonized by the French and Louisiana was owned by the French so naturally the same slaves brought to Haiti were also brought to New Orleans which made me really understand why the cultures are so similar. The food is just a different variation, and they even speak a version of creole that is similar. Every time I learned something new about New Orleans through my boyfriend, I realized this was probably one of the things that drew me to him.
As the years rolled on my interest in visiting New Orleans grew strong and when my parents visited and told me that had eaten food in New Orleans that they haven’t even seen since they were children in Haiti, I knew had to come to this place that was so influenced by my culture.
It’s funny because I’m not sure how well known it is, but Haiti was the only county have a successful slave revolution against their captures. Meaning the fought against the French and won over the country demolishing slavery. Because France lost so much money they ended up selling Louisiana to America for penny’s on the dollar (Louisiana Purchase). This would have never been able to happen had Haiti not won’t the revolution. They also sparked freedom for the whole rest of the Caribbean. Just a little history lesson. There’s so much more to the connection in our cultures but I don’t want to bore you. (It’s really not boring though, you should look it up some time)
The Haitian culture is one of the strongest in the Caribbean and some of the strongest people I know and it’s so underrated that I felt like I needed to share a little bit of it here. It’s why I feel so drawn to this amazing city. And I also think that’s why parts of New Orleans feel like they could be another country, it’s culture is unlike any other in America.
Our trip was so short I wanted to do so much more but I will be back soon with my boyfriend this time. Excuse me while I try to get out of this food coma. Seriously it was next level. I would have left there 10lbs heavier if I had stayed longer!
Cheers to finding a small piece of my culture in America . It feels good to know that my ancestors contributed to the culture of this rich city.
Wow great read! Our love story is very similar. I, as well, is Haitian and my boyfriend is also from New Orleans born and raised. The history between Haiti & New Orleans definitely connected us! & it has been nothin short of amazing. I was in awwwe first time I visited. The food..no words to describe it. I love going back to visit with my boyfriend. You should visit Ruby Slipper on your next visit.
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OMG so funny! I will definitely check out Ruby Slipper! Thank you!