2014/04/06

Explanation: Lack of Pictures

I left home a month ago (already!), and I have taken barely any pictures. It was nice to have other team-members around the first week to take pictures for me, but since then...I haven't taken pictures. So now I'd like to explain why that is.

(1) Primarily, I hate being a tourist. I don't want to walk around with my camera like a clueless tourist. Tourism is a pet peeve of mine...
(2) Actually carrying my camera (iPhone 3GS) around isn't practical. Working out in dusty fields, hauling concrete, etc. isn't a great environment for the device. And even when I'm around the main compound, I rarely feel like having my camera on my person. I'd rather enjoy the moment than record it.
(3) Whether recording moments for posterity or to share with friends, pictures (and even video) are woefully inadequate. You truly have to be here to believe it. This is a weak reason, because my photos could whet your appetite to make you want to come experience it here. But in my mind, it's a good enough reason.
(4) Usually, moments I think worth recording with photography are abnormal events: birthdays, vacations, etc. Even in the course of a month, what was once abnormal to me in Mexico has become normal. It's normal to ride in the back to the pickup and nudge cows out of the way with the truck, to make enchiladas and cut avocados, to walk down the road to buy Coke. The only reason I'd share things that used to be abnormal to me is to brag to you, so that doesn't seem worth it to me.
(5) When taking pictures of people and their homes, I'm wary of privacy. I live at a casa hogar, a children's shelter, so I want to be especially careful sharing online about the kids that have come from rough backgrounds. But even aside from that, if a foreigner barged in on your home and started snapping pictures because they thought your U.S. architecture was cool...you may rightly be creeped out.

So here are five reasons I haven't taken many pictures. Actually, let's just call them excuses. Here are my five excuses why I haven't shared many pictures with you. I really am sorry.

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