12 October 2010

It's the little things I've noticed thus far.  My perception is changing little by little.  Before I go to bed, I have to think about what I will eat the next day.  Do I need to soak some beans overnight?  I have one tomato that is getting soft-- how can I work that into breakfast?  The little things.  Like putting aside 15 minutes every time I need to fill my canteen.  The little things like conserving my legs so I won't be too sore to carry stones the next day.

I've read about villages in Africa where the women spend on average 5 hours per day collecting heavy jerry cans of water for their families.  Time.  Time that could be spent starting a business, or getting an education.  Time spent away from children, often times leaving toddlers to watch over infants, because you'd better believe if you're old enough to carry a can, you're going with mom.  If you give people clean water, you give them their time.   You give them a chance.  

Today was tough, for all the reasons I didn't want it to be.  My "real world" would not leave me be today.  I had an exam on world architecture, seven hours of class, a brother wondering what the status with his bachelor's party was, and constant reminders in the form of flapping black and white fliers, and I still need to find a subleaser for my place next semester.  This is where my breed of empathy falls short.  I want to immerse myself completely in the lives of these people.  But my life keeps getting in the way.  These are the boundaries we construct.  

Thank you to all of you who have stepped over such boundaries and talked to me over the past two days.  You keep me going.