One Week Out

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One Week Out

Final Preparations

So one week from today is my flight from O'Hare to Heathrow, and one week from Monday I'll arrive in Lilongwe. At this point, it's still a rather arbitrary statement for me to say that I'm going to be living in rural Sub-Saharan Africa this summer, and about 200 hours from now it is going to become vividly real.

In preparation for this summer, I've been trying to tie up any loose ends, still do well on finals, and just get ready physically and psychologically as much as possible. I've started learning simple phrases/words in Chichewa, I've been wearing my boots constantly to break them in - I've even been sleeping with a travel pillow so I'm used to that before I go.

Perspective

But at the end of the day, regardless of how much I try to be prepared, I'm still a professional-middle class white kid from the suburbs who is going to have more than a slight introduction to reality over the next four months. We've all grown up (well maybe not all, but if you're reading this then there's a good chance you're either from Naperville, go to U of M, went on SAS with me, or are related to me and most of you guys this is applicable to) with extreme levels of comfort wealth that often goes completely unnoticed. We don't realize just how wealthy we are since our perceptions are diluted by the comparable wealth of those around us.

And while I can make all of these statements and know that in theory I'm right, I don't think I can completely comprehend the meaning of this, and the costs of our success and wealth without putting everything in perspective. At a personal level, that is what this summer is going to do with a vengeance.

Singer's Argument

One thing I'd like to bring up is this argument by philosopher Peter Singer that I find particularly interesting. The argument goes:

Assumption: Suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad.

Claim: If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it.

Implication: The extreme levels of wealth many people possess are inherently immoral, as the cost of that new DVD player could be interpreted as the sever suffering of a innocent child abroad.

Now I'll be the first to admit that to hold people to this moral standard is impossible, impractical, and irresponsible - but that doesn't mean that it doesn't raise some interesting questions. I'm sure I'll get more on this issue later, but I wanted to raise it to get in people's minds.

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Comments

[David Meyer]

Safe travels
Hey Jon just wanted to wish you a safe trip and let you know that I'll be following your blog. What exactly are you going to be doing in Malawi? I found out yesterday that I'm probably going to Albania next fall to work at the U.S. Embassy and having a travel blog of my own seems like a good idea, so thanks for the inspiration :)

[Gil Gehle]

Good on Ya!
Greatest of luck, adventure and good will to you Jon! The world needs more like you! Uncle Gil

[Bettie Hill (Oma)]

Bon voyage
Jon, We just returned from our trip to Atlanta, several activities during the week including a lovely wedding and a very green project of a parking garage Uncle Todd opened at the Botanical Gardens. It is LEEDS certified, the only one to date in Atlanta. Hopefully it will help with the carbon levels on earth! This will be quite an adventure for you, take care of yourself, our love and prayers everyday are with you. Oma

[Ray Hill]

Just getting started
Jon, as you embark on this journey make sure you take the time to put all that you will see, hear and experience in perspective. Few of us have the opportunity to come face-to-face with another culture. To walk in the "other persons" shoes. Just keep everythi ng in balance. The project you are working on, Sustainable Development, is what it is all about. All to often we have a desire to "cut to the chase" and solve the problem right now, when the solution is a process that can be sustained, never more true that when feeding the population. Stay safe and keep that wonderful outlook, Papa