By Naaemah Trader
Duke de Ben Jules was born and raised in Haiti before coming to America at the age of 12. Mr. Jules has been a close friend of mine for about a year now. He talks about his culture, family, and country all the time, so I felt it would be very interesting to interview him about it all. During the interview we discussed many things: school, government, politics, careers, food, music. However, the exchange below mainly focuses on his background and how Haiti differs from America.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Q: What was your family dynamic growing up?
A: Me, three cousins, two aunts, and an uncle.
Q: What was your everyday life routine in Haiti?
A: I [would] go to school in the morning on foot, come home, complete my homework, help my aunt with chores or my uncle with outside work. The days would usually draw out in that order.
Q: Living in Haiti, what values did you learn?
A: The values that I learned in Haiti [are] to appreciate everything because some days I really didn’t have it, barely ate, seen a lot of people suffer because of poverty, and always appreciate your family because they will do anything for you. I value where I was born because it made me look at life differently. In America it seems everything surrounds competition. In Haiti the only concern is to give yourself and your family a better life.
Q: What’s your most defined memory living in Haiti?
A: Going on vacation in the province, seeing my grandma. I learned how to cook, [and] kill goats and a lot of other animals.
Q: What age were you when you came to America?
A: I was 12 years old, and it was May 22, 2009.
Q: How was it for you moving to America?
A: Moving here was really different because I didn’t know what to expect when I was really young. I feel coming here was a great experience. I saw a lot of things I had never seen before.
Q: What adjustments did you have to experience?
A: I experienced a lot of adjustments like learning the language, getting familiar with the food, the culture, school, music, and the winter weather, because [there’s] no winter in Haiti.
Q: Did you experience any Hardships or struggles?
A: I experienced a little struggle my first few months. I was just lost. I was only 12 when I started school. I struggled the first month because I was one of three in my class that didn’t know the language at all, so I struggled with that. Kids were making fun of me for not being from here, which made it even harder.
Q: What became your everyday life after coming to America?
A: Soccer, school, home; soccer mainly because that was my dream to be a soccer player since I was a little kid. Practice [was] every day because I know [there are] more opportunities in America than in my country.
Q: Living in America, what values did you learn?
A: [The value] I learned is [that] timing is important-with timing you either make a good or bad impression. Making a lot of useful connections gets you ahead in life. Knowing someone big in a certain field can help you in the long run, and also competition is taken very seriously. You have to have a very competitive mindset to live in America, because if you don’t it won’t end good. It’s a swim or drown environment honestly.
