American Gluttony

First, an apology for not writing to you all for about a week. I have a few reasons for this: a) i´m having a great time b) I´m busy so I don´t have a lot of down time c) I use Eduardo´s computer and I don´t like to dominate it for more than an hour at a time, and unfortunately I only have time to tend to personal emails.

I´m going to write about this after a request by my dad. He said that I should blog about a conversation plus observation I´ve had in the time I´ve been here. I mostly came to this realization as Tia and I chatted at night, tea in hand, about materialism. But what was shocking to me is that she spoke about her struggle with materialism in the same way that I do. She says that she looks around her house thinking about all of the stuff she has. Far more than she needs. She, by herself, fills the little two bedroom house with her things. Many of them being her mothers that she inherited when babunha passed away. She says that she thinks it would be hard to house a second person because she stores too much stuff in that room, but yet, she says, she always is looking around for more and more things. A new oven, reforming the main wall in her house to make a great room with the kitchen and living area, more dishes. but she also says that she doesn´t need the microwave she has, or the air conditioner, or the 3 sets of dishes, or the tv, the list goes on and on. But yet, when I look at her house I think, " if only my life could be this simple". We make food on a wood stove almost everyday, which is also our only source of heat on cold winter days, she only has a tv... no vcr, no dvd player. We usually speak in silence as she only has a little black and white tv/radio in her kitchen that gets bad reception. She drives a 1960 bug, that I could walk fast than most of the time. But yet HER life is so materialistic.

I don´t know how to express this imbalance I feel when I think that she feels that she is materialistic in the same way that I am. I have a crazy amount of things. most of which I don´t need. I have a computer, a TV, a ghetto nintendo, more clothes than I can fit in my closet. And what is even more puzzeling to me is that I have been living off of the few things that I have here for 3 months without any problem. Even here I feel like I have too many things... and in Ijui all I brought with me was 3 pairs of jeans, 5 tshirts and 3 sweaters, my bible, and mere christianity, which I´ve given away at this point.

I wish I could bring a part of this life back with me. This simple, plain and content life. But I know that when I return I will be overcome with business all over again. Lets hope that I figure out a way to bring some of this back with me, and not get caught up in it the american lifestyle too easily.