In the United States, everything is streamlined. We have high ways to get us there faster. We have 5G to get us information faster. We have dryers and dishwashers and microwaves to get things done faster. Everything happens with time in mind. Growing up in this streamlined culture, I place incredible value on efficiency. Why do something in 20 steps, when you can do it in 5? Why say something in 200 words when you can do it in 50? Why take 6 hours to do something by hand when a machine can do it for you in 1? Efficiency has always been at my core. But for the people living in the campo of Bolivia, efficiency is not exactly a priority.
We wash our clothes by hand. We heat our food over the stove. We walk to people's homes instead of sending messages. Everything we do is done without regard for the pace. Life here is simple. We don’t use machines because the machines always break. We talk in person because it’s the only reliable way to know the message was understood. We strive away from efficiency in order to honor the process.
Here, life is slow. Going to the grocery store takes the entire day. Life is slow, but life is simple. When your entire day is spent going to the grocery store, you don’t worry so much about all the other things you need to get done. Because you simply cannot get them done that day. Everything is done one day at a time. There is no hurry.
I would like to tell you how much this lifestyle suits me. I would like to tell you that I’m learning to take things slow and easy. I would like to tell you that life lived this way is so much better than life lived in a rush but the truth is, they’re incomparable. Life here is different. It’s not better. It’s not worse. But I have a newfound appreciation for life lived so slowly, so mindfully. I have a newfound appreciation for clothes hung on the line to dry, and unexpected knocks on my door to pass on information, and empanadas that are braided by hand.
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