living a life of poverty

What does that even mean, anyway? Living a life of poverty. Does that mean you live so that you don't have enough food to eat? Do you go hungry? do you live without shelter, clean water, access to health care?

Or does it mean you have enough food to not only survive but to gain weight, you live in a sweet house (even if it is in the ghetto), you have plenty of clean water, total access to health care.

I don't feel like we're living in poverty. Its more of an attempt to get a glimpse of how the other half lives, except without any of the worry. Living on $5800 a year is just annoying, mostly because of the cost of education and the inability to save for the future. When I think about it in terms of living right now, I don't even notice it anymore, really. $85/month on personal expenses is simple when you don't have to pay for gas or plane tickets and you're used to leading a non-extravagant lifestyle. Of course, I was used to leading a semi-extravagant life before JVC, so it was difficult for me at the beginning. But after you get used to something, pretty much anything can become bearable. So while i don't feel it now, and am not exactly impressed with myself, perhaps in fifteen years ill look back and be amazed that I thought $85/month was not difficult to live on as a single woman (?) in her early twenties. 

Other than personal money matters, mostly this year has taught me about political bureaucracy, the structural limitations that don't allow people on the ground to really push through change, the importance of big money and funding, and the slowness of political machinations. And the amorality of people in bad situations. 

Pretty much everyone has some good and some bad in them. Most people will react in a way that corresponds with their environment, oppressing others for their own sake, stealing, beating, killing, etc. It was quite disappointing figuring that out.  But it also means that if you create a sustainable, peaceful, encouraging environment, that the people within that environment will react accordingly. Of course you will always have your dissidents but we are talking population as a whole here. So thats the challenge, creating and transforming environments. 

I can't wait to go home next week. My mom's going to cook me kimchi and brisket and rice and its going to be sooo delicious i can't wait!