We take things for granted

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I think that before I start this semester-long blog on my experience in a society dominated by new technology, I should reflect on the fact that the ever-changing technology that I see as the norm is completely foreign to so many. In the town of Ignacio Ellacuria in rural El Salvador, a town I had the privelige of visiting for a brief time during the summer of 2004, the people literally have nothing. The town has recently been able to purchase a computer (a very old one) for its one school, and that is by far the most advanced this town gets. Each section of the town has running water for one hour every day. This water is used for bathing (like a sponge bath, to conserve as much water as possible), cooking (there are no conventional ovens and cooking is done over a fire or in a very primitive sort of oven), and cleaning. As far as electricity is concerned, it is quite expensive and therefore used scarcely. In the day care center where I stayed, we were instructed to use flashlights whenever possible at night so that they could conserve their electricity. And then there were the bathrooms, or shall I say lack thereof. In Ignacio Ellacuria, you are considered very lucky if you can even afford an outhouse which consists of a tiny cinderblock hut with a bottomless bucket over a hole in the ground. The one we used at the day care center was built especially for the girls who come down there every year from my high school, and was probably the result of some huge sacrifice on the part of the people of the community. There are so many things that we don't even see as technology anymore and take for granted.

The people of Ignacio Ellacuria love to play soccer- especially the children, and this is what we did with them for several hours every day. We all had sneakers on. They were mostly barefoot or in flip flops that had seen better days. Shoes have been around since forever, and I suppose they could also be considered "technology." I think everyone I know must have at least 10 or 15 pairs of shoes and these people have NONE. It is amazing to me that there are things that we have in America and think nothing of, and then I go to this place that is actually not even THAT far away and it is like I am in a different world. And I think the most interesting part is that the people of Ignacio Ellacuria seemed generally happier than Americans. They did not have nearly as much to worry about. They are among the poorest of the poor in the world, but they still get by by working together as a community and making the best out of everything they have. I learned a lot from the people down there, and I think that everyone should have a similar experience at least once.

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Photos

Salvadorian Children Outside the Day Care Center
These children are all in flip flops (except one who is barefoot) and in clothes that have been donated. The bike was also a donation.

dinner
The people of Ignacio Ellacuria have neither the means to house nor to feed their livestock. This cow was skinnier than I am and roamed the community freely, as did chickens and other animals that would eventually be killed for food. it seems so primitive and yet this is in the same world we live in.