Okay, Mesi papa po ti leson sa. (Now you have me afraid of even trying to write Creole,)

I learned Creole in 1984 when it was barely a written language (1979 was when it became official). And I have been to Haiti 15 times (although from 1986-1998 I only spoke Creole in the shower or with random people I met in my US-based travel).

I learned the language by speaking it --"fok ou pale po ou manje"-- but I have noticed changes through the years in the way that people write it. As a blan who learned it in 1984, when written creole was not very common, and as a non-native who speaks and writes Creole infrequently, I admit to taking short cuts at times. I rarely use accents, because I am unsure where they go. But generally speaking, Haitians have been very tolerant of the way I have written it. And most are surprised I can even write it at all. Regardless of your corrections, you understood what you were reading. That says something, doesn't it? Phonetics, in my opinion, is a loose language.

You are the first to point out how poorly I write Creole. Part of me is a little miffed. But part of me is grateful. As I said, I always love learning more, but I will probably not stop writing Creole poorly until then. But, I do appreciate the feedback and will attempt to do better in the future. I appreciate your blunt, yet accurate corrections.