Tales of a Southern girl in the Middle East: One week of food

On traveling

"When you travel, you experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes more slowly, and on most journeys you don't even understand the language the people speak. So you are like a child just out of the womb. You begin to attach much more importance to the things around you because your survival depends on them. You begin to be more accessible to others because they may be able to help you in difficult situations. And you accept any small favor from the gods with great delight, as if it were an episode you would remember for the rest of your life. At the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty in them and feel happy to be alive." (Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage)

20 November 2007

One week of food

This morning I received an email from one of my graduate school professors. Attached to it was a presentation entitled 'Thanksgiving 2007: Equity, Social Justice, Hope', which I have copied below. Each photograph shows a different family, pictured with their weekly allowance of food. Above each picture is the name of the family, the country in which they live and the amount they spend on food for one week. As we take time this week to give thanks for everything we have, I thought this was an important message to share. (Note: all of the pictures were taken from 'Hungry Planet: What the World Eats' by Peter Menzel and Faith d'Aluisio.)

Germany
The Melander family of Bargteheide
375.39 euros or $500.07