I admit it. In the past couple of weeks I've become addicted to a show I scorned when I was younger. Why do I crave it now 10 years later? Hm... well, besides the fact that I've developed an appreciation for David Boreanaz's broad shoulders... I think it's just taken the place of my usual sedatives of watching TV and escaping to a fictional place in order to avoid real life, real problems, real interactions, and well, reality in general.
I spent last week in Mexico and didn't even think about the fictional characters that had been my company. Instead I enjoyed interacting with team mates, getting up early, striving toward a common goal. It was great! in spite of the strong ammonia smell from the nearby latrines, lack of decent showers, really cold nights on an air mattress, and a team leader who wasn't up to the task. I got incredibly frustrated, smashed my finger with a stapler, burned my nose and parts of my ears to crisps, woke up to throbbing pain in my arms from muscle strain. However, I wouldn't trade last week for anything, except maybe for being back in Chile... We built a house, well, an addition onto a house, and nothing can equal the sense of accomplishment and humility of giving to someone less fortunate than yourself.
Besides the work, what I enjoyed most was getting to know new people, good people. The sad part is that though we all live pretty much in the same town, I know that we won't interact like that again. Why are relationships so hard to develop and maintain as an adult? Daily life doesn't seem condusive to intimacy and I don't mean the romantic kind. What is it that we fear? Or is it just inconvenience? Why don't we realize that convenience is small-minded, boring and unhealthy?
