7/8/10 So far away from LA

Its pretty amazing that exactly 7 days ago I was in my LA apartment where my room is much larger than some families’ huts that fit 5 people, where cable TV is a staple not an unattainable luxury, and everyone owns a car rather than walk for miles each day. Although I think that most people think of poverty-stricken African communities as lacking so much, I feel like they also have more than some of the richest people in the U.S. It is true that everyone pretty much gets malaria at some point in their lives in Shirati and that many residents live on less than $1 a day and rely on catching or growing their own food. At the same time, it seems like they are sometimes happier and more content that wealthy people that I know. Instead of stressing about money 24/7, being angry all the time over something, fixated over material things, or worrying about life, many of the residents are super friendly and laugh easily with strangers. You would never guess unless that some of these generous families have lost young children to malaria until you ask this on a questionnaire.