The Big Life

My good friend at Mother Jungle just got back from visiting the States. While she was there I enjoyed reading about her experiences and thoughts about visiting a part of her past. We have both become quite used to life in Costa Rica, and a visit to the US always comes with its own culture shock.

Her stories and photos made me remember how casually enormous the United States is. Every experience is super sized. Aside from the obvious theme parks and mega malls, there is an enormity to even the simplest pleasures. Parks with incredible trail systems, big paved roads all neatly lined with sidewalks, big flat parking lots, the list could go on for miles. Everything could go on for miles there, the place is simply enormous, and the lifestyle that has evolved imitates the space around, it is all massive.

Rising food and gas prices along with a soft dollar is taking its toll on my compatriots. Easy access to all of the grandeur life has to offer is not so easy anymore, and perhaps life is slimming down. It is funny for me to think of what the average American is having to sacrifice these days, and what is making them suffer so. I do not make light of the struggles of my fellow countrymen, but the tendency to live so large has warped their perception of basic necessities and the belt tightening of today is perhaps a much needed wake up call to a society living way outside its means.

After years in Costa Rica, I have forgotten about a lot of the luxuries life had that I took for granted entirely. What wows me now when I see a glimpse of the old life is the infrastructure which brings total ease to life. Even though the economic strain is tough, I hope that people there can step back into a life that is more practical without feeling it is too great a sacrifice. After all, there still awaits a super sized experience just outside their door.