Lakay Se Lakay

"Lakay se Lakay" is a popular Haitian phrase which means "Home is Home." I think it is a fitting title for my blog, given that I feel like I have been on a journey towards home in the last year.
Really I have been on a journey towards home my entire life. My name is Nakeesha J. Ceran, as many of you know who follow my other blogs. I am full Haitian-American. I was born in Athens, Ohio. But my parents and my aunts, uncles and grandparents were born in Haiti.

As the story goes both families moved here as a result of the Duvalier Regime and never looked back. The last time my father was in Haiti was in his 20s most likely when he played for the national team in the World Cup.

My mom was really young when she and her family moved here and I don't think many of them have been back either.

As a little girl I used to ask my father countless questions of what Haiti was like as a kid etc. I never picked up the language and it has been one of my biggest regrets- if I can ever say that I have one.
But no matter where this life has taken me, I always knew that no matter what I AM and will always be HAITIAN.

So why am I blogging? Well this journey towards home has come full circle. I always knew towards the later half of my life that I would eventually make it to Haiti to serve the country and hopefully elevate it towards a better future. I studied about the culture, kept up with politics and tried to grasp the language as best I could. On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 Earthquake ripped through the country and sent all of its progress into a horrible downfall. But what this tragedy opened up for me was an opportunity to learn more, to serve better and to eventually build that stronger Haiti that I have always dreamed. So on March 5-March 12 myself and 5 other women from American University will be embarking on what I hope will be a journey of a lifetime.
I would like to thank you for taking this walk with me.

Best,
NJC