A short introduction to Central America
Why is it that taking a nap actually leaves me feeling more tired than when I went to sleep? Yeah, long question, probably a long answer also. I am still at my in-laws on a Christmas visit. Things are going quite well. Today I put insulation in the attic and then helped put a surround sound system in a storage building. Of course that has little to do with the rest of my post, but sets my frame of mind.
On Christmas Eve, my wife and I returned from a seven day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines. We went to Central America and visited four different areas. This was a first for me since I have never been out of the U.S. or been miles away from land. It was a little freaky at first to look out the window and see nothing but water. This didn't really worry me, nor did the idea of the ship sinking or getting horribly sick from the food or someone with a horrible virus. What worried us the most was that the boat would not wait for us if we missed it and some of our excursions were timed close to departure. That and dying while para-sailing, but neither proved to be problematic. The activities on the ship were nice and keep us too busy almost. I enjoyed getting to lay down and read a book while watching CNN. The food turned us into gluttons. So many choices and it was already paid for, so we didn't resist and sometimes had dinner twice.
A lot of details, but they aren't really what I want to go into detail about on this post. We visited four different areas Central America including Costa Maya, Guatemala, Belize, and Cozumel in seven days and I have never seen anything like it in person. I went to see sites and have great experiences through excursions, but came back feeling uncomfortable about how I live a materialistic life and am so blessed to live in the U.S. even with all of its shortcomings. The ship docked at a port for each place we stopped and each port was pretty crazy. As soon as we got off of the ship, people in costumes greeted us for pictures. This really bothered me a lot because it just seems so demeaning for a person to dress up in a costume that isn't even relative any more so a snobbish tourist can get something to keep in a photo-album. Outside of the photo-ambushes were lots of shops with people pushing items on tourists. These areas were built as a tourist trap and some of the prices were fixed and listed, some were listed but not fixed, and some never even listed a price. I hate arguing or bargaining, as many called it, over an item. Just tell me what you think it is worth and I will pay if I agree with you. I wish it was that simple, but in a lot of the places it was not, so I let my wife handle it because she seems to enjoy it. I did persuade a lady in Cozumel to lower the price of an ostrich belt from $18o to $60, but it was only because I really wasn't going to buy the belt and she was actually bargaining with me. All of the items looked like they came out of one large sweatshop where hundreds of people probably work extremely long hours seven days a week for something less than a dollar an hour. (This week on CNN a report stated that the Bratz dolls are made in sweatshops in China where workers spend sometimes 96 hours a week working while making what equates to 17 cents U.S. per hour. The company did not deny this and went on the record saying that the workers get a fair wage for their work time. If that's on the news, then think about what goes on outside of the news and don't forget that Walmart has been nailed for this also.) We kept seeing the same items all over, but different prices. Selling these souvenirs is life for a lot of the people and they are the ones making the most money on average. I just can't imagine getting up in the morning, packing a bunch of items, driving to a location, unloading them all, sitting all day haggling with tourists over prices, packing up everything, then driving home to take care of the normal household duties; and it's every single day. Of course this is everyday life for them and since they know nothing else because their towns are so dependent on tourism, they just except it. That makes me feel uncomfortable and I am and was projecting my feelings onto these people because I don't think I could live that kind of life and be content with it. Most of the area outside of the ports was empty and basically looked unsettled. Some dwelling places were built right in the area and the rest are outside of the port and require transportation to get to them. So things went from very settled and commercialized to vast empty stretches of land.
On Christmas Eve, my wife and I returned from a seven day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines. We went to Central America and visited four different areas. This was a first for me since I have never been out of the U.S. or been miles away from land. It was a little freaky at first to look out the window and see nothing but water. This didn't really worry me, nor did the idea of the ship sinking or getting horribly sick from the food or someone with a horrible virus. What worried us the most was that the boat would not wait for us if we missed it and some of our excursions were timed close to departure. That and dying while para-sailing, but neither proved to be problematic. The activities on the ship were nice and keep us too busy almost. I enjoyed getting to lay down and read a book while watching CNN. The food turned us into gluttons. So many choices and it was already paid for, so we didn't resist and sometimes had dinner twice.
A lot of details, but they aren't really what I want to go into detail about on this post. We visited four different areas Central America including Costa Maya, Guatemala, Belize, and Cozumel in seven days and I have never seen anything like it in person. I went to see sites and have great experiences through excursions, but came back feeling uncomfortable about how I live a materialistic life and am so blessed to live in the U.S. even with all of its shortcomings. The ship docked at a port for each place we stopped and each port was pretty crazy. As soon as we got off of the ship, people in costumes greeted us for pictures. This really bothered me a lot because it just seems so demeaning for a person to dress up in a costume that isn't even relative any more so a snobbish tourist can get something to keep in a photo-album. Outside of the photo-ambushes were lots of shops with people pushing items on tourists. These areas were built as a tourist trap and some of the prices were fixed and listed, some were listed but not fixed, and some never even listed a price. I hate arguing or bargaining, as many called it, over an item. Just tell me what you think it is worth and I will pay if I agree with you. I wish it was that simple, but in a lot of the places it was not, so I let my wife handle it because she seems to enjoy it. I did persuade a lady in Cozumel to lower the price of an ostrich belt from $18o to $60, but it was only because I really wasn't going to buy the belt and she was actually bargaining with me. All of the items looked like they came out of one large sweatshop where hundreds of people probably work extremely long hours seven days a week for something less than a dollar an hour. (This week on CNN a report stated that the Bratz dolls are made in sweatshops in China where workers spend sometimes 96 hours a week working while making what equates to 17 cents U.S. per hour. The company did not deny this and went on the record saying that the workers get a fair wage for their work time. If that's on the news, then think about what goes on outside of the news and don't forget that Walmart has been nailed for this also.) We kept seeing the same items all over, but different prices. Selling these souvenirs is life for a lot of the people and they are the ones making the most money on average. I just can't imagine getting up in the morning, packing a bunch of items, driving to a location, unloading them all, sitting all day haggling with tourists over prices, packing up everything, then driving home to take care of the normal household duties; and it's every single day. Of course this is everyday life for them and since they know nothing else because their towns are so dependent on tourism, they just except it. That makes me feel uncomfortable and I am and was projecting my feelings onto these people because I don't think I could live that kind of life and be content with it. Most of the area outside of the ports was empty and basically looked unsettled. Some dwelling places were built right in the area and the rest are outside of the port and require transportation to get to them. So things went from very settled and commercialized to vast empty stretches of land.
posted by Ryan @ 6:45 PM
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