Alto Caballero

We’ve made it to San Felix! Today, we broke off into groups and went within the Comarca to different communities for the first time. My group went to Alto Caballero, meaning High Horse. Upon arriving there, I was absolutely awe stricken by the intense poverty I saw. It almost reminded me of something you would see straight out of a movie. The houses were made out of thin pieces of wood, with no windows or doors. The roofs were either thin sheets of metal loosely secured or leaves, making their houses literally huts. Clay was their ground. Wild dogs, pigs, and chickens roamed freely throughout their houses. In the “backyards”, trash was scattered. Women were dressed in colorful native dresses that they sewed with a hand sewing machine. Children ran around with ragged clothes, most with no shoes. Most people had no cars. Horses were their main transportation; although this was probably best considering that the roads were clay and had a lot of steep hills that I don’t think cars could have made up. The scenery was very beautiful though. There were lots of mountains and greenery.
Seeing all of this, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. For a split second I was sad. Sad that these people had to live like this and in such extreme poverty. But then I thought, by thinking that, doesn’t that make me ignorant and judgmental? Who am I to judge what a good life is and what is not?? Just because they don’t have all of the luxuries that we Americans do, does that make their life bad or any less good than mine? I’m hoping that with the more surveys we do, and the more people I come across and speak with, I’ll get the chance to answer my own question.