For perhaps the fourth or fifth day in a row, I have willingly joined the unsatisfied masses in their insatiable attempt to acquire more all in the name of being prepared for having less in Madagascar.
Shopping makes me feel berserk. I question all the big and little aspects of every purchase. Why am I paying $25 for a shirt I know cost 30 cents to actually make in Bangladesh? Why must I buy a whole new watch when the one I have just needs a new wristband? However, the wristband is not replaceable; I have to buy a whole new piece because Timex has perfected the art of planned obsolescence. And which shoes to bring? Forget about it.
As I begin to pack and decide which items to bring and which to leave behind, I keep thinking of a quote I read from a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar. She said she struggled with the 80-pound luggage limit before her departure only to arrive at her village and discover that she had 79 more pounds of stuff than all of her neighbors. A humbling experience, for sure, and one of many I look forward to witnessing myself firsthand.
No comments:
Post a Comment