8/19/11

Alright, don't worry even if things end up a bit too heavy


Carlos, what do you want to do for the rest of your life?

Travel?

Why travel? Why the question mark?

Because I’ve been doing it for most of my life and because I’m not completely sure about that answer.

Do you feel good about that answer?

I do, I like learning new things. When you travel, that tends to happen.

When you didn’t travel, did you learn new things?

Well of course. During the times I was alone I learned, during the multiple conversations I had with good friends too.

So technically, if you lived in one spot you would learn new things too, maybe you should find another reason or defend it with a clearer explanation.

It is something I’m used to. Lets go back to the original question, I like traveling because I get to see the world. The world is a fascinating place, you do not discover the world when you stay in one town your whole life. Sure there are countries that offer most types of climates and terrains but not languages or food.

But when you eat at restaurants you order the same things anyways. If you stayed in the country that was your favorite you could just do that, couldn’t you?

I guess, but sometimes a conversation with a new friend that I met in a different location will encourage me to try something new. Sometimes that something new is better. So in a sense, I want to keep traveling to see which is the best, or simply to keep looking for something better.

Okay, so I guess its safe to say that you want to travel for the rest of your life. Are there more goals on the original question?

I want to serve people. Mostly the people who are looking to be helped. People who are looking to improve their lives for the better by experiencing something different.

So technically they don’t even have to be poor, why do you want to serve people?

First of all, poor is a stupid word. I’m positive that in the eyes of some billionaires I would be considered poor. I don’t consider the dadas in my concession to be poor and they live in a very “poor” country. Poor can mean bad quality, people with low incomes don’t necessarily have bad quality lives. I have met several people who may or may not make more money than I do and are generally cleaner, more respectful, more giving and genuinely good people. That doesn’t mean that they are “poor.” So yes, I do want to just help people who want to be helped. I just have to make sure I’m qualified to help them.

Okay, it seems that you are pretty confident about that. What is it that you want to be qualified in, in order to help people who want to improve their lives?

I’m not sure. Living here for a while has exposed me to some problems that may (or may not) be leading people to a crash. There are an abundance of health issues here. But then I get into conversations with some friends here that tell me public restrooms in the U.S. are no cleaner (germs wise) than a public restroom here. Or that washing your hands for 30 seconds in the U.S. really doesn’t do anything more than what one would think (other than waste precious water). And to be honest, the biggest health problems in the U.S. seem to be psychological ones, there seems to be less of that in “developing” countries. I don’t know which type of health problem I would rather have but I think I have an idea of which type of health problem I would rather be in the process of helping.

So you want to go into health?

Actually I take that back, I don’t know which one I would rather be involved with. But to answer your question, no, I don’t want to be in health. Personally, I don’t think I’m that great of an example of somebody mentally and physically healthy.

Soo, you want to help improve people’s lives, you want to travel and you don’t want to work in health?

Correct.

You have told a lot of people that you are thinking about staying in development or diplomacy, sometimes you even mention business.

I’m pretty set on choosing one of these three. I do think it’s a pipe dream but sometimes I dream about writing screenplays for a living. They would be films on the world’s… problems. So I would say one of those four. Traveling has exposed me to several of the world’s inefficiencies. I think there is a lot of money in improving those inefficiencies. That’s where the business idea comes from. But I’ve never been good at handling money (at least money that is mine), I don’t think I would be a very good investor either though. Sometimes I think I’m good at settling disputes but I don’t think that’s what diplomacy is. Diplomacy, at least these days, seems like shopping in the local market here in Meidougou. Everybody is just trying to get the best deal for themselves while trying to rip the other person off. I thought modern economics solved that problem but people aren’t seeing the benefits of cooperation. So if diplomacy is like business, I think I better stay out of it.

It seems like you have ruled out two. Looks like you’re either going to become a screenplay writer or a… international development worker (?) ?

Yeah, looks like I’m going to be poor for a long time too.