So, I have told you all about the Peace Corps and where/when it came from. I have told you about my experiences getting into the PC and what it has been like for me waiting on correspondence from them, and just simply waiting to leave. Well, here I am - in exactly one week, I will be in Honduras. This seems completely baffling to me!!! I just can't believe that this time next week I will be in another country beginning a whole new life. I am going to be away from my friends and family. I am going to be away from the life that I have become so used to and comfortable with. No longer will I have the internet at my finger tips when ever I want it to e-mail my mom because I had a bad day, or to watch my girlie shows online because I'm a total girlie-show girl and a romantic. No longer will I have access to the daily amenities that we all take for granted - what ever those may be: running water, a toilet, a shower, electricity, being able to go to the grocery store and find anything from milk to peanut butter to toilet paper when ever I want - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That is the life that people in the United States get used to. We are the epitome of the ideal consumer: we want products and we have the ability and authority to purchase those products. But, also being a consumer, we have to have access to those products when ever and where ever we want, and here in the United States, that is given to us.
Where I'm going, though, that is not going to be the case. If a kid falls down and breaks his leg, we won't be able to call 911 and have an ambulance there in under 10 minutes. If a goat that a family depends on for milk and eventually meat is found unconscious, we won't be able to rush it to the nearest vet to be fixed up in a jiffy. If someone is making there daily tortillas but doesn't have enough corn or lard needed to feed the whole family, they won't be able to just walk down to the 7/11 on the corner. We, as US citizens, are so used to having what ever we want at our finger tips, i think we often take it for granted.
Now, even us PA-ans don't really have do much roughing it. Yes, we may not have the ability to walk down to the corner quicky-mart to grab some eggs or sugar, but we still have the means of doing and getting what ever we want. These things just take a little longer. In Port Alexander, we just have to plan ahead. We can order what ever we want from Sitka and have it to us in a week or less. Yes, there is never that instant gratification, but you can still be a happy consumer. If someone hurts themselves, the helicopter can be there in 45 minutes. Yes, Port Alexander is remote and it is a-whole-nother life that takes getting used to, but it is nothing compared to what I'm going to see. Some communities I may end up working with may never have seen a computer in their life, they may never have had the opportunity to eat a chocolate chip cookie, they may never of had the satisfaction of knowing how it feels to run out of something and just be able to go and grab more. They won't have money, their neighbors won't have money - if that is all the corn; that will be all the corn - there just won't be tortillas that day for some people.
Like i said, this is going to be an adjustment for me. I think that growing up in Port Alexander with out a lot of the same comforts as growing up in a city, will make it a little bit of an easier transition for me. However, it is still going to take some getting used to. I haven't had to rough it like I did when I was little in Port Alexander for quite some time. I like having a clean porcelain bowl underneath me when I have to go pee; I like using a microwave to cook and re-heat things; I like have electricity without having to worry about the generator running out of gas, or checking the oil, or making sure that the 110 vlt plug is not plugged into the 12 vlt outlet.
Life has been made quite simple for all of us, and for the most part, we take it for granted. Yes, we have all had our trials and tribulations, but when you look at the broader picture, it is nothing. We travel, watch the news, read books, newspapers, and magazines - we hear all the devastating stories of things that happen around the world. Oh, and I'm sure a lot of you probably no someone personally that has been effected by some grave travesty - Hurricane Katrina, a tornado, a fire - things happen. But, these are not everyday occurrences for us in developed countries. These are once-every-few-years travesties that stick with us! But, when you see the kids in the TV commercials with bloated stomachs because they are malnourished, when we see the pictures of the tribal women in Africa that are weaving crafts to sell to us in America just to make money to put a roof (more cardboard) over their head, we have to remember that these are the countries that go through travesties ever day of their lives. Families are penniless, babies are dieing, governments are corrupt, kids learn to shoot an AR before they can tie their shoes. There are problems out there in this big world that we only ever get sneak peaks into. We should all be grateful for growing up in the United States. Yes, we have political problems, poverty problems, health problems - but when these are compared to other nations in this world - it seems so minuscule to me.
I have to admit, I am a little overwhelmed with the idea that this time next week I will no longer be going off the images I see on TV or the stories I read in news papers. I will be up close and personal with the people of Honduras. I really have no idea what to expect, which quite honestly, scares the crap out of me. But, I am relieved that I have not let fear stand in my way, yet. It could have easily come to the point where I chickened out and changed my mind. The idea of going into the unknown is enough to send me back home to my mom, but I have stood firm, and I will continue to.
Today, I have been a mess of nerves - unable to pack or practice Spanish; unable to do anything except for be a bum and watch my girlie shows. This is just nerves on my part, but nothing that is going to stop me from going out into the world and helping the people that have been through so much more in their lives than we can even imagine.
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