First World Problems and My Third World Equivalents

1)      

a)      First World - The upstairs bathroom is in use so you have to go all the way downstairs to use the toilet

b)     Third World - You have to use the bathroom? No problem, there is a latrine outside you can use.  Oh, its night time and the cockroaches in there scare you… Well here’s a bucket you can use.

2)      

a)     First World - The internet is so slow. It is killing me! It has taken like 30 seconds for this video to load.

b)     Third World - Yes! The internet is working so well today! It has only taken 5 minutes to open gmail and I’ve actually been able to read and respond to 3 emails in the last 45 minutes! (Yeah my internet isn’t great. It actually makes dial-up look speedy.)

3)      

a)     First World - Oh man!  I’m the last in line for a shower.  This will take forever and all the hot water will be gone.

b)     Third World - Oh man!  My water is gone but it is the dry season so water is scarce and all the pumps are closed.  Oh well, looks like I can’t wash today.

4)      

a)     First World - The powers down.  Guess I’ll have to watch movies on my laptop since the tv isn’t working.

b)     Third World - No electricity. Ever.  Wait, that’s a lie.  I had one light bulb lit one time.  It was exciting.

5)      

a)     First World - Its so hot!  I cant believe mom wont let us turn on the air conditioning.  These fans hardly keep me cool at all!

b)     Third World - Its so hot!  My heat rash is coming back and I cant sleep at night because I am too busy sweating.  Oh I wish there was a breeze.

6)      

a)     First World - Nothing in the fridge looks good.  Guess I’ll have to order delivery.

b)     Third World - I really don’t feel like eating rice again and there is no street food other than day old cake.  Guess I’ll have to go to bed hungry.

While this is meant to be humorous, I hope it also reminds us of how lucky we were to be born in a First World Country.  There are many things there that we take for granted.  I hope when I return I remember what I learned from my time here and remember what is actually a need and what is a luxury.  Obviously I will enjoy sitting in the air conditioning, watching t.v. while drinking an ice cold lemonade.  But now I know how lucky I am to have those things and know that life can go on without them.  So next time you think your life is so hard because the internet is down for an hour, or the t.v. is broken, remember there are plenty of people in this world that go without those things and much more.