Thoughts

I first have to apologies that this might be all over the place.  The other day, I completed what "should" be my last mission.  The mission it's self was  quite simple, it was the area in which we went that gave it it's risk.  This was the first time I had been to this part of the country, and the first time, I traveled out into the open desert.  There is something quite different about driving into the middle of a third world country with no roads or bases within sight.  It's hard to explain, but there is something surreal about it.  Something special about this country is that most of it's inhabitants live a very primitive life.  Cars, like in America are expensive to own, and most live WELL outside walking distance to the nearest market.  The basic meal here (and they eat this almost every day) is rice, bread, and maybe a small piece of meat.  The people are small because of this.  IT must be nice to have such a simple life with no electricity, no hassles of the city, but at the same time exhausting to have to provide everything for yourself.  When we past by a couple of the villages ( 6 to 7 families) all I could think about is this is what it must have been like to live in the old west.  Shared community effort.  However, it was sad to see so many children in these villages.  They grow up in uninsulated houses where the summer heat is well over a 100 and in the winter can get down into the 20's.  They have very little possessions (maybe a toy or two), and shoes seem to be a luxury left for the adults.  Every village we passed, the kids would just stand by the trail and stare as our monstrous vehicles passed.  Some would blow kisses or wave, while some would throw rocks in anger.  These kids have and will grow up in a violent country, where you can be stoned to death for having sex with a virgin before marriage.  It made me think how blessed our country is, how I don't have to worry about the safety of my children or how I will get the food for the next day.   Luxuries that we all take for granted such as your ability to read this post from halfway around the world while they struggle to get information from just 100 miles away.  But, they don't seem to mind, in fact, they embrace it.  Something like the escamos, they stay a family unit.  When they travel, mom, dad, kids, grandparent, aunts, uncles, and cousins  all travel together.  The whole family helps to provide for the needs of all.  But they are uneducated.  Why not have schools to teach the basics of reading.   Maybe they don't need to read.  How much reading do you think you would NEED to do, if you lived in the middle of nowhere Wyoming living on the land, and only visiting the market for things you couldn't grow.  No internet, no new or newspapers, just the entertainment that you could provide by trading things with other people.  I wouldn't guess you would need to read alot.  Sure they have money, but it is more of a barter system for these small villages.  One family tends to the rice fields while another shepherds the goats and sheep.  They they eat get a little of both.  The consequence of all of this is a reduced lifespan not just from the violence, but because of the lack of advancements in technologies both medically and otherwise.  Why would they live like this?  Because I presume they like to, it follows their religious belief.