“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
Uncover the Magic: Why Everyone Should Experience the Beauty of A Developing Country
The lessons that can be learned are priceless. I feel like visiting a developing country should be a high school graduation requirement (joking, sort of).
**** Disclaimer- I’m not bashing Americans, just saying that we can all learn something from this.
People are (in ways) way happier with the less they have
People with so little seemed to be so much happier compared to “us”. I witnessed firsthand when we were traveling through a small village in the middle of nowhere Peru, we made friends with the locals. A British woman that was in our group busted out a lipstick. I will never forget the smile (over 15 years later) on this little girl’s face when she saw lipstick for the first time. This woman let her try it on and ended up letting her keep it. Well, you would have thought she gave this little girl the world. Something so little made this girl so happy and feel so special. As I was sitting with this little girl, I watched the kids run around dirt fields barefoot playing soccer with a deflated ball having the time of their life. At first I felt sorry for them, but then I looked at their smiles. The fancy shoes, the perfectly manicured soccer field… all of that didn’t matter.
In Africa, these little kids were running around barefoot with nothing to play with, yet they had the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen.
Look around you….. our kids are throwing temper tantrums if they don’t have the newest $150 Nike shoes. They’re engrossed in screens, unaware of how to connect with other kids like we used to in the “good old days” of the 90s. It’s a rather disheartening sight. However, my most significant realization from that trip was that true happiness doesn’t require much at all.
Generosity at a whole other level
Visiting these tiny villages and seeing the poorest of the poor was heartbreaking. But having so little didn’t stop them from being kind and giving. These people were so excited to share their local food with outsiders. And when I say offer, I mean give samples of their food for free because they wanted to see us experience something new and something that came from them. They did it from the generosity of their hearts and were proud to share. I was in complete awe…. These people have absolutely nothing yet they are sharing with “rich” foreigners because that makes them happy. How beautiful of a thing is that?
Fast forward 3 weeks after my first experience in a third world country, I had to work an event party for a corporate company and their employees. For a three hour party, they spent thousands just on decorations. I was helping with the food and approximately 60-70% of the food got thrown out. Huge cakes with just one slice that was eaten were thrown away. I was told if I were to take anything home, I would be fired. I’m not sure what was worse… all of the food that was being wasted or the other people that didn’t bat an eye with throwing it all away because this was “normal”. After my experience in Peru, this gave me a mix of feelings of sadness, guilt and hopelessness. Most people will never get the opportunity to have the experience of traveling to another country so I tell this story when I can, in the hopes that it will open up people’s eyes.
These little girls in Vietnam were selling bracelets to tourists to make money for their families.
It only takes one experience to completely shift your perspective and leave a lasting impact. I often find myself thinking about the people I met in Peru and throughout my travels. Their lives touched my heart in ways I can’t even put into words. It made me realize how much I take for granted and how important it is to appreciate the little things in life. Now, I make an extra effort to find joy in the simplest pleasures and not let anything go to waste.
The people I encountered in Peru taught me a valuable lesson: to embrace life with gratitude. They showed me how to find happiness even in the face of challenges and to make the most of what I have. Their resilience and positive outlook on life inspired me to change my mindset and be more mindful of the beauty that surrounds us every day.