Resourcing

I am quite sure that the Guatemalan people are the among the most resourceful on the planet. They can make shoes out of a coconuts and a piece of sting, whip up dinner with foragings from the backyard, and the Mayan women can balance circus midgets on their heads (some of these examples fault actual sightings, but you get my drift).

Lis and Ron, college compadres, are visiting this week and I was giving them the 411 on some quick Guatemala trivia this morning. One thing I pointed out was that the massive amounts of white stuff falling from the sky is not snow but instead sediment from the volcano, which I can thank for my non-stop runny nose. As I was telling them this, I was thinking that the Guatemaltecos surely find a use for all the dust that compiles here, and made a mental note to investigate.

On Sunday, Kevin and I fixed French toast and we conversed about how Americans have to be the least resourceful people on the planet. I had discovered a hole in one of our pots and considered throwing it away, and Kevin speculated that the pot patching profession surely exists here as the cheaper alternative.

Shortly after, as I was doctoring up our coffee, I was getting ready to throw out the last little bit of milk. Kevin intercepted it on the way to the trash can, saying "Have you learned nothing? What's left of this milk could feed a Mayan family for a week!"

And it's true. Resourceful indeed.