We went to Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico. We were on a protected area of Haiti so we didn't have much exposure to the real lifestyle and culture of Haiti. However, we saw a sailboat that would be better described as a dugout canoe with a makeshift sail, comprised of bedsheets and tablecloths. In Jamaica, we took a tour sponsored by the cruise line, but we were exposed to the market locals who were verbally abusive and downright rude if you refused to pay attention to them as they attempted to hawk their wares.
My husband thought for sure the sailboat was a tourist thing, that the people of Haiti couldn't be that impoverished.
In Jamaica, I had to explain to him that was how these people provided for their families. Right or wrong, it is how they survive.
Then we got back on the ship where American teenagers were flitting about in their Hollister and Ambercrombie clothes, acting foolish and entitled on an expensive trip completely paid for by their indulgent parents.
At that moment, I realized why many non-Americans look so poorly on Americans. We're truly egotistical, self indulgent, ignorant people who believe that we are the center of the universe.
