Pensamientos en un combi (Thoughts on a busride)

“You don't want to hear the story
of my life, and anyway
I don't want to tell it, I want to listen

to the enormous waterfalls of the sun.

And anyway it's the same old story-
a few people just trying,
one way or another,
to survive.
… …
And nobody gets out of it, having to
swim through the fires to stay in
this world.”

-excerpt from “Dogfish” by Mary Oliver
(currently my favorite poem)


It can be undoubtedly stated that the United States of America is one of the most wealthiest countries in the entire world. Even our poorest of the poor most often can find means to have daily food, shelter, and in many cases even cell phones. Being such a wealthy country, our standard of living and our expectations for everything are extremely high. Our most common problems often stem from OVER consumption. [One of our biggest causes of death and disease is from obesity. We run into debt because what we have just isn't enough. Our environment, our Earth, is being torn apart because we want more “things”.] Our battle is often for perfection, not simply just management. We strive to thrive in the States. This is how life is for the wealthy. However, we are in the verrry distinct minority. The truth is, this is not the reality for the majority of the world. Most of the world strives to just merely SURVIVE. Most of the world instead doesn't even have the means to be able to over-consume in any way. Finding the means to merely get by is the key. For the most part, we as Americans never have to go through the pain and strife that most of the world does. We cannot even begin to relate to the struggles of daily life of these people. How things have gotten this way, I am not entirely sure. All I know is that is the reality.

These thoughts have been on my mind for quite some time now, but not until today was I swept away with passion on this subject. Today (Sabado, 10/16/2010) we took a field trip to Lima to check out a certain water treatment system and also view this place called Kallpa Wasi – Casa de Energia. It is the first and only plant of renewable energy in Peru. Please understand, when I say “plant” I mean tiny building with a backyard. This place had a compost area, a solar panel, a biodigestor area, a windmill (with 1.5 foot blades, might I add), and a small biodiesel converter. ...That's it. Honestly, it blew me away at first. Not because of the novelty, but rather the exact opposite. This was Peru's renewable energy plant? Simply paling in comparison to the US. [We must not forget to rewind time in American history to remember when our society was once there too. It is not until just recently when parts of our society have slowly started becoming more conscious of our actions. Of course that's not to say we're a sustainable country by any means, but we have enough wealth and stability to begin dabbling into it.] Through college I had studied and been exposed to an infinite amount of “green living” systems, ideas, and technology. I used to spend my free time reading articles, going to fairs, supporting local movements, recycling at football games, alternative transportation, putting on programs... all focused around “green conscious” living. But for the most part, none of that has any place here whatsoever. They are too busy just trying to get enough Soles ($) to survive the day. Why would they care about a windmill or solar panel if it does not directly assist them in survival today? How can they even begin to relate to that when they're cooking over a fire for their 7 kids in their tiny one-room thatched house? Here, it is completely irrelevant.

Again, most of the world is just striving to survive; the USA is a unique and very minute population in our world. Living in a developing country and seeing & experiencing a taste of what people go through has made this point all too obvious. The world is not always nice, the world is not clean, paved streets, happy faces, super-stores, fappuccinos, personal cars, fancy phones, clean water, green grass, more-or-less stable government, educated population, environmental activism. It is often difficult for us in the States to realize our wealth because wealth has been all we've ever known. Our expectations are set much higher and because of this, anything lower is often outrageous or unacceptable. Above anything else, I wish that more gratefulness would exist in heart of the American society. After all, it is just by pure luck that we have been born into the situations we have been born into. As I'm sitting there in the combi (bus) watching the Peru sites pass by, witnessing all the poverty, I can't help but think: What if I was dealt the hand of that Peruvian child?