$2 a Day Challenge

So it’s already day 4… Seems like the time has flown by. TDC has been an experience unlike anything I’ve done before. I feel more connected to the other participants but more disconnected from the larger UMW community. The article in The Bullet today epitomizes all of my complaints about the people who have never done TDC. People assume that TDC’s goal is to end poverty or end homelessness but if they actually talked to anyone who’s doing it they would know that most participants acknowledge that it’s a learning experience and a personal experience, not this miracle cure for the world’s problems. People assume that we barter for money to eat with but don’t realize the money we raise goes to La Ceiba, which is a charity. People assume that we think we are the coolest things ever and we are suffering with the constraints so they pity us. The people who criticize TDC have never participated, they’ve never taken the time to learn what it’s all about and they’re telling us we aren’t doing enough while they DO NOTHING. If these people want to knock TDC they should try it first. And more importantly, if they don’t like what we are doing then they ought to show us a better way or be doing something about it themselves—telling me my activism isn’t enough while you do nothing really irritates me.

Beyond my frustration with the pushback from some in the UMW community, TDC has been an awesome experience. It’s been really rewarding to get to know new people and having to make tough decisions about food and water and personal hygiene. The fact is everyone has broken some rule at some point over the last 4 days, but did breaking that rule make you stop and think about your choices and other people’s lack of these choices? If it did then TDC is doing what it’s meant to—make you think about what poverty means and its many forms. I broke a rule today… I drove my car to get a poster tube for the poster I’m printing tomorrow to present at a conference next week. But getting in my car and spending $10 on the tube made me think about the inaccessibility and cost of educational materials. This errand made me feel guilty about my access to resources—a car, money, an education. But that guilt and those thoughts are tools which I should harness to drive my future decisions and continue to be conscious of my privilege.

So it’s now day 3 and you would think I’d be tired and dehydrated and cranky…. but I really feel okay. I feel a little off which is probably some of what you would imagine but for the most part I feel okay. Feeling okay at this point makes me think I’m not doing enough to make this hard for myself. I have not broke any rules to make this easier but I have eaten donated food– which maybe I won’t anymore. I knew going into this that it wouldn’t really simulate poverty– because we can’t– but I find myself kind of disappointed that I don’t feel bad. I also almost feel like I’m cheating because I used my bonus card at giant and I had ramen for lunch– things the poor really can’t do. TDC has really made me second guess a lot of my daily decisions and think more fully about this process and the true realities of poverty. This week has given me lots and lots to think about.

Wow, it’s already day three and I’m still chipper.  It’s kind of hard to believe after all the hardships last year with the storm and dreary weather.  Last year’s challenge seemed to drag on but maybe if this was my first year I’d be feeling a little beat down right now.  I didn’t have to do any shopping today because my noodles and rice are lasting longer than I thought.  I’m also well rested which is hard to believe.  I got into my warm sleeping bag and covered my face with my hood and had a nice deep sleep.  I’m a little disoriented from sitting in the sun. I’m also quite red.  This is the first time I’ve been inside since my class at 2.

Also, about my comfortable sleep in my sleeping bag.  I was telling a classmate about the challenge.  She wasn’t someone I particularly new well but it came up in conversation and like most people she was curious and was wondering how it worked.  I told her we built the shelter and slept in our sleeping bags and bought our food we lived off of.  Her only problem she had with it was that she thought our shelter was too nice and we lived in a “hobo mansion.” I was a little offended because we had worked hard on it and used material we found. She also thought it was weird that we were allowed to have sleeping bags since real homeless people don’t have them.  I’m not offended now but I thought it was interesting what she said and that it needed to be shared.  It reminded me that many people on this campus have different opinions on what we’re doing.

I’m also feeling a lot more positive today because yesterday was a busy day.  I had a paper I was working on that I turned in, a statistic take home test, and a Spanish test today that I had to prepare for.  Last night I got out of my 6pm class at 8:30 and by the time I was done boiling water and making food it was 10 and I still had a lot of work left.  But it all worked out.

It’s been kind of hard getting the water from the spigot outside of GW and carrying it to an available kitchen.  The last two days I’ve sat outside of ball or westmo until someone let me in but today I waited for 10 minutes and got impatient and went to willard were I live. This may be a frustrating new rule to $2 a day challenge but I’m glad it was added.  I’m also glad I decided to make a budget instead of buying in bulk.  From what I’ve heard from the others that have done this multiple times they tend to change how they go about the challenge.  This year I haven’t just changed  my spending I’ve also been more strict.  Last year I cheated on the water and probably bent the rules in other places.  Even though I’ve done this before I’m still getting a lot out of it.  Today we had the bartering challenge and is awesome to see everyone displaying there talents and getting donations.  It’s also nice to see the whole group work together for donations even if they didn’t have an instrument to play.  People were simply getting out there and asking for money and explaining our cause.  It’s also nice to see campus walk so lively with musicians and artists.

So sleeping in the shelter wasn’t too bad. It got down into the 30s last night but bundled up in my sleeping bag I got a solid 5-6 hours of sleep. As I laid looking up at the tarp it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reflect on the experience so far. Day 1 was pretty relaxed, less food but not super intense. I feel like today is when the “reality” of our poverty simulation will hit. At this point I’m tired and a tad hungry and probably dehydrated. With a full day of classes and meetings today should be an adventure in coping with my present reality and being mindful of those around me.

Yesterday there was a photographer from the school following us around and documenting us getting water and cooking and just about everything else. I felt awkward having him following us around and taking pictures of the littlest things. But when I stopped and though about it, this might be a good representation of how those living in poverty really feel. All to often westerners show up on vacation and take pictures without asking and without being courteous of the local people. And while the photographer was super nice, the thought that having him follow us actually was realistic and could make us better able to empathize with those in developing world made his presence seem that much more appropriate.

The first day and night of $2 a day challenge definitely went more smoothly than the first day and night of  last year’s challenge.  Yesterday I met all the people apart of my new community in $2 a day challenge.  It was a brief but down to business introduction.  We began working together efficiently to build our new home for the week.  The first morning of building is a nice experience of meeting new people and feeling connected through a similar cause.  I am very into being around people and meeting new people. So, I tend to emphasize the socializing aspect of $2  a day more heavily than some of the other and just as important aspects.  It’s great that I can feel so connected and also make a difference with the women that La Ceiba is helping.  Even though I just read the Ivan Illich article, To Hell With Good Intentions, I am staying positive about the many charitable aspects of TDC, La Ceiba, and $2 a day challenge.

Some people don’t react very well when they see us on ball circle, they don’t understand that we’re actually supporting La Ceiba, or they think we should only be fundraising and take the challenge out of the equation.  I said earlier that I like making new friends during the challenge but it’s also a great way to connect with old friends and family.  When I asked my sister to borrow a pot to boil my water in she was very interested in the challenge and made a generous donation to La Ceiba.  When my friends see me out on ball circle and offer help I tell them that I’d prefer that they make donations to La Ceiba instead of giving me food.  It’s a good way to connect with our entire campus not just with the people participating in the challenge.

Just to give a quick recap of yesterday and today’s events, after building the shelter I went to my 10 am and 11 am. Once I got back I was eager to shop for food.  My boyfriend, who is also participating, joined me to walk to Bottom Dollar Foods.  Last year I stuck with the dollar store next to giant and bought everything in bulk.  This year I’m trying to challenge myself more and I’m creating a budget for each day.  I bought rice, sweet peas, and tomato sauce for $2.75.  I had the sweet peas for lunch and cooked the brown rice and put tomato sauce in it.  I discovered that tomato sauce and rice tastes like spaghetti-0s and it was very filling.  Even though the rice concoction was filling and I was surprisingly satisfied with my meal my energy was non-existent.  The night before the challenge friends and I went to an Andrew WK concert.  If you know who he is you will understand my exhaustion.  My friends that are doing the challenge with me also went to the concert the night before.  It ended at 11:30, we collapsed into the car at 12, drove until we got back to fredericksburg and stopped at Steak n Shake at 1 am.  Then at 2:30 we stopped by my amazing sister’s apartment (she’s amazing for staying up that late, letting me borrow her pot, and donating money to La Ceiba).  Hunger was not a problem but sleep was.  The night was uneventful and I woke up early before my first class to go buy peanut butter that I split the cost of.  My boyfriend and I had been dreaming of peanut butter the day before and and it was an amazing lunch.  I’m looking forward to the Ivan Illich discussion and my planned dinner of tomato sauce and egg noodles and vienna sausages for me because apparently I’m the only person that likes them.

Sorry for such a long post but I have one more thing to say.  I’d like to mention a really special friend I made today.  I woke this morning and there was an inch worm next to my sleeping bag.  I think he approves of $2 a day challenge.  Now it is time to relax in the sun on ball circle.

So it’s the evening of day 1 and I still feel pretty normal. So far I have pooled my money with 2 other participants to buy food for today and tomorrow. We have 6 bananas, peanut butter, a loaf of wheat bread, pasta and marinara sauce.  So far I have eaten 1 banana, 1 piece of bread and peanut butter and we split 1/2 of the pasta and sauce 3 ways. I ate little bits throughout the day so so far I’m not super hungry and I’m not cranky from lack of sleep.

I spent a majority of the day at the Esfuerzo de Amor/La Ceiba table today. This was an interesting opportunity to sit on campus walk and see people’s reactions to our cardboard shelter. Some people seemed to know what it was and others just stared. At one point, a group of girls came over and were asking about living on @2 per day and the rules so I was explaining it to her the best I could. Then she said that there was no way 2/3 of the world’s population lived on $2 per day. I just looked at her for a second and she said that that’s only in Africa. So then we had an interesting discussion about poverty and how it tends to be hidden and much less hollywood than most people think. It was an interesting discussion and interesting to me to hear her perceptions of global poverty– hopefully I could open her eyes just a tad.

Tomorrow will be the real test– several classes and meetings after sleeping in the shelter outside. Should be an adventure… no one said it would be easy. But it has already been rewarding.

Hey UMW. Lets get ready!

1. Complete the “$2 a Day Application Form” (required): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dG91bGw3MkFDaFlrSV9PUEVoNzZ5dXc6MQ
a. Only those who complete the form will be able to participate.
b. It is due this Sunday at 12 pm.

2. Complete the “$2 a Day (and La Ceiba) T-Shirt Order Form”: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEhlREtRV1FkTV8zRUQyREtmeHpmcWc6MQ
a. For those who have not already submitted an order.

3. If you know anyone who wants to participate, have them contact me via gmail.