When we first arrived in Guatemala I was faced with the dilemma of every tourist, accosted by small brown children selling all kinds of wares, I thought a lot about what I have that they don´t. Pondering our (white people) luxuries & opulence led me to also think about what they (indigenous people) have that I do not & the unreachable realm they live in that I will never enter. It´s similar to the way the brother of a friend described the difference between blonds & brunettes: “brunettes… they just… know stuff.” It seemed to me that indigenous people posses an entire skill set that I will never master. They know how to survive. They know how to get food from the land, if they can´t buy it at a store. They know how to build and maintain shelter when they don´t have a house. They know how to heal themselves and others from plants & common knowledge they share. What am I without Rite Aid & money? I am a dead woman.
In his book Guns, Germs & Steel, Jared Diamond explains that, “In the centuries after AD 15 as European explorers became aware of the wide differences among the world´s peoples in technology, and political organization, they assumed that those differences arose from differences in innate ability.” He continues later, “the objection to such racist explanations is not just that they are loathsome, but that they are wrong.” From his extensive experience in New Guinea, he believes “that modern stone age peoples are on the average more intelligent, not less intelligent than industrialized peoples.” He described native New Guineans as “on the average more intelligent, more alert, more expressive and more interested in the things and people around them than the average European or American is.” He believes them to be much smarter than their white counterparts due to the skills (like the ability to make a mental map of surroundings) they learn & stimulation (constant interaction & complex tasks) they receive as children. And, additionally due to the skills they had to acquire to stay alive, whereas most white societies required less cognitive development to “survive.” And I agree!
Lately, we have been watching DVDs of “Lost” the TV series… ok, ok… I confess, we are obsessed with Lost. The other night we finished the 2nd season & ran to a market to get the 3rd season. Alas, Neil almost got in a fist fight with the guy who was buying the last pirated copy of Lost in a 5 mile radius. Another sign that we may need to tone it down a notch is that Neil dreams about Lost. Most recently that he is the Doctor & that the season was taking place at his grandma´s house in Idaho.
In our defense, there´s not much to do at night (hence the Lost & hence the toe art). This doctor Neil dreams of is the main character, Jack. I´m always impressed at what practical skills doctors have. For example, my friend John learned in medical school to make a stretcher out of trees & perform surgery on people sewing them up with their own hair. All in all these demonstrated skills, real or hypothetical, make me realize that I have NONE. I would be the first one to go on the island. Upon a small inventory I found my survival skills to be as follows:
*Keen sense of smell
*Ability to put out a fire properly
* Obsession with hygiene
*Ability to rationalize with people
*Authoritative aura
But, I do have one key thing that could help keep me alive… Neil! he´s full of all sorts of handy, boy-scouty knowledge. Let´s all hope, for my sake, that if we crash on a deserted island on the way home from Mexico, that Neil survives as well. It´s my only hope.
Oh man, I totally know where you guys are coming from with the “Lost” thing. I was telling Neil that me and Amy are getting into Lost. It’s making for some late nights because we can’t stop watching it. It’s a good thing that we can only get one disc at a time and that there are only 4 episodes per disc. We just started Season 2 last night. We watched the whole disc in one night. I also had my first “Lost” dream last night. I dreamt that I was working for the psycho guy in the bunker that was pushing the button. It was really weird and kind of unsettling. Last year when we were watching 24, I also had numerous ‘24′ dreams. I think we need to tone it down too. Amy always gets kind of edgy right after we watch Lost. She always hears sounds and asks me if I heard the same thing. It’s funny. If I were to be one of the survivors I think I might be like Sayid, because of the technical background. That guys is pretty amazing with electronics if you ask me, though, for an interrogator. He rigged up a working radar and fixed up a 70’s computer in like 15 minutes. So I’d probably be like Charlie - good for a witty comment or two but otherwise useless minus the drugs. If you get a hold of season 3, send it to us when you’re done.
lol. Man. What are the odds..we just started Lost also. We’ve become obsessed to a degree as well.. We just started the second season. Craziness. If I was a character…i would probably be…Claire..minus the baby. Just kind of clueless as to how to survive, yet hopeful. Maybe a bit of Boone, without the twisted sister romance. eek. So funny.
We got into Lost over last winter break and watched the first two seasons in about three weeks. I’m excited on your behalf for all the plot twists you’ve yet to experience…!
I hope you win those boots! Cheryl wants some red cowboy boots, too, although the hip ‘n’ cool boot store here in Austin is really expensive.
You’ll never be able to imagine the joy I feel and they way my heart sings to see that you are not only putting pictures up on your blog…..but that you still have a blog, and you’re having a competition to see who gets the most hits. I remember the day I helped you set it up and you said you would probably never update again…….Well friend I’m happy to see you have given it. It’s lots of fun. Just think of it as a journal.
ooh–i love LOST, too.
responding to another fascinating part of your e-mail: once when i was living in the pacific islands, i got cut by a piece of coral and the med school student of the group pulled out a small bottle of hotel shampoo to clean it. also he routinely sutured my flip-flops when they broke. useful people to have around, for sure.
i newly love your blog. and i hope you win your boots.
Have you seen http://www.lostpedia.com ? Warning, contains Season 3 spoilers, but it sounds like you’re almost done with that, anyway. Lostpedia is an insanely comprehensive Lost wiki, and I find it useful in remembering and connecting many of the islands mysteries.
Yes, but I think this is disputable post.