We've been working from about 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. for the last two days. Tonight (or this morning, I guess) we'll be going to work at 12 a.m. and working until 9 p.m. Monday night. I'm definitely going to need a vacation after this "vacation," but at least I get to spend some time with Tyler.
Other things I've learned...
I was mentioning to Tyler how strange it was that the stores sold everything in small sizes- almost like the samples you get in magazines- for things like shampoo. He explained to me that is because the people are so poor, they often can't afford to buy anything more. Never thought of that.
Last night, as we were walking home, we saw a little boy asleep on the sidewalk. So sad. Especially sad because it is so hard to know what to do in that situation. You don't want to just give money- that perpetuates the problem, but it's hard to walk by and do nothing. Early in the trip, Tyler let some of the homeless kids come and "clean" his apartment. The guard downstairs was NOT pleased that he was bringing them into the building. Seth bought one of the kids some shoes- but by the next day, they were gone. He told Seth he sold them because they were "expensive." They cost a little over a dollar.
Everything here is written in English. I guess, if you are educated enough read, you speak English. It makes it easy to find your way around and such. Almost everyone speaks English fairly well. That's a relief, but it still feels very "foreign" here. More so than Mexico, for some reason. Tyler says it felt much more so in Vietnam where no one spoke English.
Well, I'm off to get a little rest so I can get some work done tomorrow.
4 comments:
I remember our first trip to China and it just being so unexplainable. The culture, the poverty, just...everything. It's hard to not feel like you have to fix everything.
"Things" will be just a bit better because those guys were there. Those guys will not see the world as they used to see it, neither will you. Those children, people who saw generosity will not see the world the same. They will remember the saw kindness and good. For this we are all thankful.
It is amazing...when you start to SEE how so many in the world live. Glad the little boys had a job for the day and some income...you know that "pocket change" might make the difference if their family eats this week. It may be beyond our comprehension but, very real.
I LOVE what Judy wrote!
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