"No es fácil" (It's not easy) is a very common phrase here, almost as if it's the country's motto. Doñas far and wide exclaim this saying... I've come to say it quite regularly too.
The other day, I was at my neighbor's house, and we were commenting on how the lifestyle is not easy here. When one thing gets fixed, another thing breaks. Then, she explained how living here is more like "surviving." We never have 24-hour electricity (it's a country-wide problem), water can be hard to come by, mosquitoes are everywhere, it's HOT, and people are generally poor. Luxuries (like 24-hour luz, hot water, air conditioning) are for the rich -- or people of the United States.
So we're not living here in La República, we're surviving here. I thought that was an intriguing perspective... And interestingly enough, I've adapted. I'm "surviving" too and I'm doing it quite well, but I never thought of my American life as luxurious before.
I have a lot to be thankful for.
(And a little Spanish lesson for you... vivir means "to live" and sobrevivir means "to survive." Interesting how similar the two words are, but have rather different implications.)
No comments:
Post a Comment