Life is What You Make It
March 9, 2006
I want to tell you about my life…
It’s weird to be out here in the middle of nowhere and be tied into the mundane life. We get up, we go to work, we relax, eat dinner, and go to bed. It’s almost the same as if we lived in New York.
I have grown accustomed to this life. One of the big differences though is the people that I hang out with. I used to think that a diverse crowd was teachers and engineers and rafting dirt bags all hanging out together. Now a diverse crowd is one that represents the world.
We all live different lives. We have grown up in different places and experienced different things, but we all have something to talk about. The differences quickly fade. After a few beers we dissolve into a bunch of guys hanging out bullshitting. We are all different and yet so much alike.
I have lost touch with American politics. I pick up on a few things here and there, but in the end it means nothing. It is completely removed from my day to day.
Tonight we said goodbye to a good man. He is an Aussie, dead set on surfing and fishing. He throws a bit of a spin on the okes just here to work. It’s refreshing. Life is what you make it.
It sounds cliché, but if I had to sum up my experience here, that would be it. I worried so much about so many things when I knew we were coming here and now most of those things seem trivial. Global things don’t affect us here. The biggest issue right now is bird flu. Chicken will soon be a thing of the past, even though it has been a staple of our diet until now.
It would be easy for me to fade into West Africa and pretend that nothing else exists. Life here is easy. Mohammed takes care of us. He does the dishes, cleans the floors, washes and irons the clothes, takes care of Zachary, and runs any errand I ask him to. Without him we would have cried uncle long ago. Now I am accustomed to it. I even get upset when things don’t get done like I think they should. In the end, though, life is easy here.
On the other hand, life is really hard. Many of the folks we encounter are racist. Some of them are overt in their racism and others don’t even know they are racist. In the end, however, there is a lot of racism to deal with. Even while I try to identify and rebel against it, I find myself falling into the same patterns as everyone else. It’s easier to accede then to stand up and defy. We live with these people every day! As time marches on we find ourselves isolated from others more and more.
That’s why it’s so refreshing to have a new bloke along to break up the monotony. It helps me to realize that I am not alone. There are others that share my beliefs. It helps to keep the flame burning. The more I interact with the Aussies, the more I want to visit their planet. I will miss that man. I will work hard to cross paths with him again.
Why do we draw lines so arbitrarily? Why is there so much animosity? Are we the only ones that see these things? Some days I just feel lost…
MJR
I want to tell you about my life…
It’s weird to be out here in the middle of nowhere and be tied into the mundane life. We get up, we go to work, we relax, eat dinner, and go to bed. It’s almost the same as if we lived in New York.
I have grown accustomed to this life. One of the big differences though is the people that I hang out with. I used to think that a diverse crowd was teachers and engineers and rafting dirt bags all hanging out together. Now a diverse crowd is one that represents the world.
We all live different lives. We have grown up in different places and experienced different things, but we all have something to talk about. The differences quickly fade. After a few beers we dissolve into a bunch of guys hanging out bullshitting. We are all different and yet so much alike.
I have lost touch with American politics. I pick up on a few things here and there, but in the end it means nothing. It is completely removed from my day to day.
Tonight we said goodbye to a good man. He is an Aussie, dead set on surfing and fishing. He throws a bit of a spin on the okes just here to work. It’s refreshing. Life is what you make it.
It sounds cliché, but if I had to sum up my experience here, that would be it. I worried so much about so many things when I knew we were coming here and now most of those things seem trivial. Global things don’t affect us here. The biggest issue right now is bird flu. Chicken will soon be a thing of the past, even though it has been a staple of our diet until now.
It would be easy for me to fade into West Africa and pretend that nothing else exists. Life here is easy. Mohammed takes care of us. He does the dishes, cleans the floors, washes and irons the clothes, takes care of Zachary, and runs any errand I ask him to. Without him we would have cried uncle long ago. Now I am accustomed to it. I even get upset when things don’t get done like I think they should. In the end, though, life is easy here.
On the other hand, life is really hard. Many of the folks we encounter are racist. Some of them are overt in their racism and others don’t even know they are racist. In the end, however, there is a lot of racism to deal with. Even while I try to identify and rebel against it, I find myself falling into the same patterns as everyone else. It’s easier to accede then to stand up and defy. We live with these people every day! As time marches on we find ourselves isolated from others more and more.
That’s why it’s so refreshing to have a new bloke along to break up the monotony. It helps me to realize that I am not alone. There are others that share my beliefs. It helps to keep the flame burning. The more I interact with the Aussies, the more I want to visit their planet. I will miss that man. I will work hard to cross paths with him again.
Why do we draw lines so arbitrarily? Why is there so much animosity? Are we the only ones that see these things? Some days I just feel lost…
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 12:53 PM
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