On being rich (and continuing with MCC)

This past Sunday afternoon, I met up with a couple of friends down on Champs de Mars (Haiti's equivalent of the National Mall) to engage in one of my favorite past-times: people watching. After a while, one of my friends turned to me and asked, "Have you eaten yet today?" I hadn't, nor had either of my friends, so they decided it would be a good idea to go buy some fried spaghetti. I told them to go ahead without me. Looking concerned, they offered that if it was a problem of money, they would simply buy a bit extra and we could share. I thanked them but refused, explaining that I didn't feel like eating just then.

The conversation that ensued basically went like this:

Friends: That's crazy. You have money. You're hungry. But you're not going to eat?
Lindsay: Yeah, I'll get around to eating later.
Friends: That's crazy. If you don't have money, it's understandable that you skip a day or two of eating. But if you have money, you eat.
Lindsay: But I've never had a day in my life when I didn't have money for food.

(Awkward silence)

Part of the awkwardness of working with MCC is that you end up spending time with the "have-nots." And just when I start to feel sorry for myself for having chosen to volunteer with MCC, rather than the UN (UN volunteers receive $3,000/month), conversations like this occur.

MCC doesn't give its workers a lot of money, but it does give us enough to eat each day. Granted, with the rise of world food prices, our meals may increasingly consist of rice & beans or popcorn, but even that is more than many Haitians can afford. Life would probably be a bit easier if I spent my Sunday afternoons in the upper class suburbs, rather than sitting Champs de Mars. I probably wouldn't be so painfully aware of my riches. But, then, what would be the point of being in Haiti with MCC?

-L