A friend asked me how I've changed in the year that I've lived in Burundi and it's something I've been thinking about all week. I've come to the conclusion that I don't think I have changed, but I've learned a lot and perhaps I'm an enhanced version of the person I was before we moved here.
I've definitely learned what Americans take for granted and how wasteful even those of us who are conscious of it really are. I feel bad that we imported so much food that's in plastic bags, because so much of the garbage gets composted or burned here and we brought in all this plastic that can't be gotten rid of easily. But I'm afraid that once I'm back in the developed world I'll fall back into wasteful habits because it will be so easy.
I can't say I've had an awakenings about how cruel, or how beautiful, Africa can be, or how "ugly" Americans can be, or how true love or friendship conquer all difficulties. In one sense, I've always suspected all of those things could be the case under different circumstances. Also, life isn't that simple.
3 comments:
I think you said it all with your last sentence - "Life isn't that simple." Thank you for this thoughtful and insightful post.
Always reminds me of that phrase, the more things change, the more they stay the same...suppose it applied to people as well hehe
It is so true, it is so much easier to be wasteful in western societies with all the plastic which is nearly impossible to avoid!
This was a very sweet post.
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