Mucho mas

So let's see... Again, I'm not here with too many real updates. I do, however, need to list things out again so as not to forget to write about them in the future.

San Luis Potosi
~La Familia - Lupita, MaPo, Princesa Jimonorosa, Hongito
~Cast Appreciation Day
~Travel back to Texas
~Police escorts


New Braunfels
~Arrival/swimming
~Abby
~Fiesta Texas


The Woodlands
~The Masterplan
~The ferret stole my toothbrush - Parts 1 and 2
~Momma

Plano
~Strangeheart
~Hunger Banquet
~Swedish culture presentation

Here we go, starting at the end again (well, with yesterday). We started the day with a walking tour of the Arts District in Dallas. There was nothing too note-worthy. We had some free time in which I walked around the Asian art museum. I loved the intricacies and delicacy of the art work. Other than that, the coolest part was the symphony hall. Unfortunately, we were only able to go into the lobby. It was gorgeous there, but I really wish we'd been able to go into the actual theatre.

Our focus for the day beyond that was poverty. When we returned there were some presentations from various nations describing what poverty looks like in their nation. We also got a look at the worldwide situation. That's where the demonstrations began. Our education team put together a Hunger Banquet, in which we were divided into three classes and given food according to our station. The poorest group (the bottom 50%) sat on cardboard boxes and had rice to eat and salt water to drink. The middle class group (the middle 35%) sat in chairs and had rice and beans as well as water to drink. The upper class group (the top 15%) sat at a well-decorated table where they were waited on by our road staff. They received a salad course, a pasta course, and dessert. That group, however, was not allowed to share with the others. Beyond that, any food that was left was tossed in a trash can in plain sight of all parties. Once the food started being thrown away, those at the upper class table rallied to eat as much as they possibly could. This resulted in many ice cream-filled stomachs as one of our staff members kept "accidentally" bringing out an extra cup of ice cream, just waiting to be able to throw it in the trash. After the sixth time this happened, the table gave up and sighed as the rest of the fixings were unceremoniously thrown away.

"How were we categorized?" you may ask. There was an activity earlier in the day in which hands full of pennies were tossed and the cast scrambled about trying to scavenge for as many as they could. On the first toss, I managed to grab three. On the second toss, I didn't grab any. In each of these rounds, we were told not to share any of our pennies. On the third toss, I happened to be standing near the front and by simply putting my hand up I managed to catch five, then I picked up one more for a total of six. The education team mentioned that you could share pennies this round if you so chose, however there was no one around me who was talking, so I just kept the ones I had. That, as you may have guessed, left me in the upper class.

To truly understand the reality of the situation, some context must be added. We were asked to wait outside until the food was ready. Upon returning to the room, it was clear what was about to happen. The lights were all dimmed and the walls were lined with pictures of poverty along with descriptions and quotes. There was a slide show portraying more images along with statistics. We were asked to keep silent as we listened to Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" and looked at photo after photo. We were then asked to take our seats. The silence continued for what seemed like hours, as we contemplated whether or not we could actually eat the food laid in front of us. Too many thoughts went through our minds as we realized there was no right way to handle the situation. The guilt set in long before those on the cardboard began to come as close as they were allowed and started singing "Sound of Peace." It was immediate. Welcome to the real world.

At what point does the situation lighten up? Well in the case of our demonstration, it was after we got in the car with our host family to go home. It was decided that a stop to Cold Stone was in the cards (please refer to aforementioned section on ice cream). Those who didn't have enough to eat during our hunger banquet were asked to go hungry for the night. As I was in the upper class, I figured it was my responsibility to take what was offered to me and pony up for some more ice cream. Mmmmm.

That's all for now. I'll try to get one or two more posts in before Thailand. Good night.
~Molly