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I'm betting that you DO appreciate what you have now. Don't feel guilty! Be glad for what you DO have. I, too, have had a similar (although not quite so rough) experience. And every day, here at home, I revel in the abundance we have here in the USA and wish that everyone could have it. You have a house to redecorate? YAY! And the means to do so? Cowabunga! A washing machine? How wonderful! Reliable electricity? Hallelujah! Just because you have them doesn't mean that you DON"T wish everyone else had them. Enjoy them and do what you can to help everyone else get what you have. Like I said, we have a standard of living that most folks in the world can only dream of. Even if we think we are poor, we rarely stop to think about what we really have. If you think you are deprived with no dishwasher, think of how your life would be without electricity. Be grateful. It can change your life.
I don't think there's a day that goes by that I don't think about the life we had in Uganda. We have and are still helping some of the Ugandans we left behind, and in a couple of cases totally changed their lives for the better. Funny you mentioned dishwasher as I just got one in my new kitchen after 20+ years without. I appreciate it every day!
I appreciate that I can turn on the tap and drink the water w/o having to boil it.
I still appreciate having a washer and dryer after 2 years of handwashing all the laundry. I also notice just how wasteful I really am! I toss things in the washer that are only a wee bit dirty, waste so much water! Waste electricity!
Noted. On the other hand, I have no respect for those who do not respect others' right to decide for themselves. You speak of progress. It's not possible through compulsion.
When we lived in Indonesia and Paraguay, we didn't have to "endure" water and cooking hardships as a condition of our circumstances---we weren't beholden to anyone to be there, we were there because we wanted to be, living the way we wanted to live, enjoying the fact that that's the way we had chosen to live. In Paraguay, we paid $15 a month rent for our house, and granted, it had two light bulbs and a standpipe faucet in the front yard. Cooking was done on a kerosene stove that a local handyman has fashioned out of coffee cans.
It is true, though, that we could walk away and fly back to the USA whenever we got bored with the lifestyle, but it was still not at all unpleasant to live without any switches to flip for whatever we needed.
When we lived in Indonesia and Paraguay, we didn't have to "endure" water and cooking hardships as a condition of our circumstances---we were there because we wanted to be, living the way we wanted to live, enjoying the fact that that's the way we had chosen to live. In Paraguay, we paid $15 a month rent for our house, and granted, it had two light bulbs and a standpipe faucet in the front yard. Cooking was done on a kerosene stove that a local handyman has fashioned out of coffee cans.
It is true, though, that we could walk away and fly back to the USA whenever we got bored with the lifestyle, but it was still not at all unpleasant to live without any switches to flip for whatever we needed.
We soon got used to the inconveniences in Uganda. They were part of the package a volunteer could expect. We could have quit and gone home anytime, but never even considered it. Many did quit and go home early. I'm very glad we went. We were surrounded by really lovely, friendly people and little kids who always waved and smiled at us wherever we went.
I will confess that we treated ourselves often and stayed in nice hotels in the national parks, the price of which would be a year's pay for a typical Ugandan.
We soon got used to the inconveniences in Uganda. They were part of the package a volunteer could expect. We could have quit and gone home anytime, but never even considered it. Many did quit and go home early. I'm very glad we went. We were surrounded by really lovely, friendly people and little kids who always waved and smiled at us wherever we went.
I will confess that we treated ourselves often and stayed in nice hotels in the national parks, the price of which would be a year's pay for a typical Ugandan.
I have absolutely NO TROUBLE with people living the way they want as long as they are not interfering with others' decision to do the same.
The people who bother me are the ones who try to make me feel guilty because I have more than someone else has and incinuate that I should feel guilty. I have post-poned paying my electric bill or my mortgage to help family and friends in the past. I try my best not to be oblivious to what is going on around me, but some people seem to be too atuned with what is going on around them and not looking at themselves.
I don't think there's a day that goes by that I don't think about the life we had in Uganda. We have and are still helping some of the Ugandans we left behind, and in a couple of cases totally changed their lives for the better. Funny you mentioned dishwasher as I just got one in my new kitchen after 20+ years without. I appreciate it every day!
I appreciate that I can turn on the tap and drink the water w/o having to boil it.
I still appreciate having a washer and dryer after 2 years of handwashing all the laundry. I also notice just how wasteful I really am! I toss things in the washer that are only a wee bit dirty, waste so much water! Waste electricity!
We soon got used to the inconveniences in Uganda. They were part of the package a volunteer could expect. We could have quit and gone home anytime, but never even considered it. Many did quit and go home early. I'm very glad we went. We were surrounded by really lovely, friendly people and little kids who always waved and smiled at us wherever we went.
I will confess that we treated ourselves often and stayed in nice hotels in the national parks, the price of which would be a year's pay for a typical Ugandan.
Noted. On the other hand, I have no respect for those who do not respect others' right to decide for themselves. You speak of progress. It's not possible through compulsion.
Exactly. That is a big reason to resist the statists and their big government, because government is, above all, compulsion. Rush, in his absolute genius, as a great way of putting it.
What they really need is for the population to not accept corruption as a way of life. They also need to learn that punctuality and being organised is important and that you can't just wait to go to work or school because it's pouring rain FFS!
Everything in Uganda is totally owned and controlled by the private sector. Everything. Virtually unregulated. How can you get more capitalist than that?
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