Perspective

Today I saw a man with no arms and no legs. My friends and I used to tell jokes that start like this ("What do you call a man with no arms and no legs...") and end with some situation (..."in a hole?" or ..."in a lake?") with the punch line being some man's name that fits the question (i.e. Phil or Bob). These were slightly amusing to tell, I suppose...perhaps more amusing to create...but we told them anyway.

Today was no joke. This man was being pushed in his wheelchair in (what would be) the bike lane (if there were such a thing here) on the busiest street in all of Arusha in the blazing hot 1:00 pm sun. At some point this afternoon/evening, this man will return to his (assuredly, since this is how a great majority of the people live) one-room cement or mud house which he shares with any number of people (2, 4, 7- these are all plausible).

Yesterday I was complaining (to myself, my parents, anyone who would listen) that it's the rainy season and "there are no children's or science museums to take Eleanor to and woe is me what ever am I going to do in the rain?!"

Even living here, I have an incredible number of resources at my fingertips. When I leave Africa, I get to go home: a place where there is reliable power; where I have a nice car to drive to the Co-Op to buy my locally grown organic food; where I have an amazing amount of education which makes me very upwardly mobile. Life in Africa is difficult enough as it is, and as I sat there, in my air conditioned car, watching this man with no limbs navigating through it I thought, "What the hell are you complaining about?"

This is not to say that I won't have any more "down on Tanzania days" or that there will be no more posts with me complaining about not having lightening fast internet, but for the time being I call a man with no arms and no legs "perspective".
-kjd