Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Michael Benjamin's "Si m te gen zèl"


Vole, vole...
fly, fly...


Vole, vole keyi zetwal nan syèl
fly, fly, gather the stars in the sky
Vole, m ta vole...
Fly, I would fly...


Si m te gen zèl,
I I had wings,
tankou yon zwazo, m ta vole, al keyi zetwal nan syèl.
like a bird, I would fly , to gather stars in the sky

Si m te lapli,
If I were the rain
Mwen ta jete dlo, pou m wouze flè k pouse anba solèy.
I would drop water to spray the flowers growing under the sun
Si m te lajwa,
If I were joy.
M ta antre nan kè, tout malere pou yo kapab jwenn lespwa.
I would enter the heart of the unfortunates to give them hope.
Si m te lanmou,
If I were love
M ta met ajenou, devan Bondye pou lèzòm kabab sispann goumen.
I would kneel before God so that humanity would stop fighting
Yo ta renmen.
They would love

M ta fè tout mòn blanch yo rebwaze,
I would reforest the barren hills
Tout sous ki seche, rekòmanse koule,
All dried up springs, start flowing again
Si m te gen pouvwa pou mwen chanje,
If I had power to change
Tout sa m dezire.
Whatever I desire

Mwen ta bani tout trayizon,
I would bannish all treason
Tout sa ki malad ta jwenn lagerizon,
All the sick would find healing
Tout sa ta pwouve saj yo te gen rezon.
All that would prove the wise were right

M' ta fè tout sa k' grangou jwenn manje,
I would give food to the hungry
Sa k' nan lesklavaj, ta va jwenn libète,
The captives would go free
Si m te gen pouvwa pou mwen chanje,
If I had power to change
Tout sa m dezire.
Whatever I desire
Mwen ta fè tout zam tounen jwèt,
I would turn weapons into toys
Move zentansyon, santiman disparèt,
corrupt intentions and ambitions disappear
Si m te ka chante pou m chase mechanste
If I could sing to chase away naughtiness

Karabela Dress

A Karabela (or Carabella) dress is a traditional Caribbean dress worn during the quadrille dance, and is worn not just in Haiti. Now people wear them during some cultural dances. Karabela dresses are custom made and can be purchased in downtown Port au Prince or at the Iron Market for $15 to $25. This is the most beautiful one I have seen and I want one just like this for my daughter!

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Wòch, Papye, Sizo


With my limited Creole, this seems like a lot to explain. So I might just demonstrate with someone and explain this part:

Who wins:
Ki moun ki genyen Wòch ka kraze Sizo. Sa vle di Wòch bat Sizo Sizo ka koupe Papye. Sa vle di Sizo bat Papye Papye ka kouvri Wòch. Sa vle di Papye bat Wòch

But here are the complete instructions too. Thanks to Mandaly from Sweet Coconuts. I found the translation of how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors here: http://sweetcoconuts.blogspot.com/search?q=%22jw%C3%A8t%22

Wòch Papye Sizo Anpil timoun jwe jwèt sa a pou detèmine kilès kap gen priyorite. Ou gen dwa jwe li pou konnen kilès kap kanpe devan nan yon lin, kilès kap chita devan machin nan, kilès ki premye ap jwenn yon bagay. Goal of the game Bi Jwèt la Jwèt Wòch Papye Sizo a gen twa eleman. Bi jwèt la se pou yon jwè chwazi yon eleman (wòch, papye, oswa sizo) ki ka koule eleman lòt jwè a. To play the game: Pou Jwe Jwèt la: Pou jwe jwèt la, de jwè dwe kanpe fasafas. De jwè yo dwe chwazi ak ki men y’ap jwe, men goch oswa men dwat. Epi de jwè yo dwe fè yon pwen avèk men sa a. Gameplay Jwèt la Jwè yo dwe kòmanse ansanm. Yo kapab konte sou twa pou yo kòmanse ansanm. Jwèt la kòmanse ak: en, de, twa. Jwè yo kenbe pwen yo youn anfas lòt. Epi yo fè yon monte desann pwen yo tankou se kafe yap pile pandan y’ap di ansanm, “Wòch, Papye, Sizo! … ale!” Menm kote yo di “ale” a, chak jwè yo fè yon fòm eleman an ak pwen yo. Fòm wòch la se yon pwen. Fòm Sizo a se yon pwen ak dwèt indèks la e dwèt majè a pwente tankou yon sizo. Fòm Papye a se yon men plat, tankou si ou tap bay lanmen. Who wins Ki moun ki genyen Wòch ka kraze Sizo. Sa vle di Wòch bat Sizo Sizo ka koupe Papye. Sa vle di Sizo bat Papye Papye ka kouvri Wòch. Sa vle di Papye bat Wòch Example: Pa egzanp: Lè de jwè yo di “ale!” a, si yon jwè fè fòm Papye e yon jwè fè fòm Wòch, se jwè ki fè fòm Papye a ki genyen. E si yon jwè fè fòm Papye e lòt la fè fòm Sizo, se jwè ki fè fòm Sizo a ki genyen.

If both players choose the same item:
Si tou de jwè yo chwazi menm eleman Si tou de jwè yo chwazi menm eleman an nan yon jwèt, rekòmanse ankò jiskaske gen yon jwè ki genyen. Bònn Chans!