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14 October 2009
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| COMPARISONS |
| Keywords:
developing world
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motorcycle
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treadle pumps
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Where does our need come from to compare ourselves to those around us? Is there an inherent desire to be taller or better than, or simply different from other people? It's difficult to not make comparisons when you live in the developing world. I am so far the only foreigner I've seen in my apartment complex... that's 17 buildings, and I've estimated almost 500 families. The other residents aren't poor by Ethiopian standards -- the parking area is packed every evening -- but that doesn't keep me from being just the slightest bit uncomfortable riding past them on a not-lavish-but-quality mountain bike, wearing western-brand clothes and listening to an iPod.
Should I be uncomfortable in that situation? I'm not worried about theft... more about other peoples' thoughts and assumptions regarding me. Is that right? Why do I compare myself to others in the first place? Discomfort of this sort leads to homogeneity... if you're always with people who are like you, then where do new ideas come from? I don't have answers here... just throwing some questions out.
It's been a crazy couple of months at work. The manufacturer training is over, but that means the work has only just begun for building the supply chain for our project area. I still manage to get a bit of fun in now and then though... on to the photos.
So what happens after the manufacturer training? First off, we have to check and make sure the manufacturers learned the right things...
Most of my riding recently has been to Ziway and back, but occasionally I get The Horse out for just a fun day trip...
Parting shot...
For more updates go here.
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| Comments: |
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16 October 2009
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I thought you Dad came back to the US? So how is he helping to furnish your new place? |
| - Jennifer |
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16 October 2009
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I think we tend to subconsciously compare 'cos we're constantly being bombarded with 'Keep Up With The Joneses or Go Back To Your Cave' messages all around us. Being content with one's state & not buying into that hype (much to the aggravation of the marketing dept) are what would help make things easier for ourselves.
Earlier, I succumbed to that rhetoric, but over the past few years, I've begun to compare differently. I'm more appreciative of what I have, uate the need to go after what I don't have & am sometimes glad I don't have everything I covet. Keeps me grounded.
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| - Victoria |
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17 October 2009
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Hey Mark, good to see you're back. Those two IDE-certified suction treadle pump manufacturers look mighty proud of their new titles. How are the remaining five faring?
Go for that 77,777 milestone, man! |
| - Jude |
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19 October 2009
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Father & Son Addis* Again - two thumbs up! Peanut Gallery Times
*'At It'. Get it?
Neat stitching with those cool panoramic photos! Now I don't have to just wish I were there, I feel like I'm there already!
I'm in a concrete jungle & you are ... where there is grass galore, AND greener to boot. Howzzat for comparisons? |
| - Kate |
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20 October 2009
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In my earlier comment, that 'uate' word was meant to be e-v-a-l-uate. I've broken it up here lest e-v-a-l gets swallowed up again.
I, too, subscribe to the 'separate, yet connected' theory.
My beef with the Joneses effect is when people want to be better than (or even as good as) someone else for trivial reasons (in my eyes). Here are but two examples that got my goat.
1. Two guys try to outdo each other with Christmas decorations each year . When one got a big tree one year; the following year, the other got a bigger one. Then more lights, ornaments, etc. They both commented on each other's competitive actions and material when the other wasn't around. Oh, both men are in their 50s.
2. A mother was worried about her 14 year old's career choice - civil construction or medicine. Hmm, very diverse interests, said me. The daughter likes the former, explained the mother, but it's the father who's egging the teen towards the latter because it is a more lucrative profession. I know. I needed to lay down for a bit, too.
These are classic cases of wanting to be better for the sake of it with one's personal interests, aptitude, satisfaction quotient, etc playing a tiny role, if at all.
I read the following quote by FDR last week, which I think, blends the essence of this post of yours and that of the previous one i.e. What Do You _Do_?
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have enough; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
It reminded me of you and a few other folks I know. Now _these_ are the kind of Joneses I would like to live next door to! |
| - Victoria |
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21 December 2009
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Interesting post as always! There's actually an academic literature in psychology on "social comparison" -- it's some fascinating stuff. Here's one summary of some of the findings (citations omitted): "The direction of comparison, namely whether one compares to a better-off or worse-off other (termed upward and downward comparisons, respectively), has been a central part of the theory. A great deal of research has substantiated that under conditions in which self-uation and self-improvement predominate, individuals prefer to compare their state with that of a slightly better-off other. On the other hand, a substantial body of literature indicates that when a comparison is motivated by self-enhancement, as is the case when self-esteem is threatened, the preferred target of comparison is one who is worse off." An academic way of describing our tendencies to say "At least I'm not ___" when we need a boost, and to say "I really aspire to be like ___" when we want to challenge ourselves. |
| - Francis |
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Ah, I thought I'd mentioned that before. My dad is back in Ethiopia! He spent about three months at home in Colorado this summer, and planned to work on the Ethiopia project from there, but then it was decided that it'd help a lot if he came back to Addis to work from here.
So he's back (yay!). Some colleagues of his are living in the house now, and I have my own place, so he's staying in a furnished apartment about a 5 minute walk from my flat. Not a bad deal, really... I just had dinner with him tonight. :) |
| - Mark (RoamingCavetroll) |
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Does "keeping up with the Joneses" drive innovation (making yours better than the Joneses'), or does it drive homogeneity (making yours just like the Joneses')?
The band King Missile plays a song called "It's Saturday", in which the singer insists "I want to be just like all the different people." Each person has to strike a balance between wanting to be part of a group, and wanting to be an individual... separate and connected. In both cases, comparisons have to be made... otherwise how do we know where we stand in the world, or what we are, other than in relation to others? |
| - Mark (RoamingCavetroll) |
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My name is Mark. I was born near Chicago, have lived in the US, Germany and Nepal, and am starting a new job and a new adventure in Ethiopia. This site is a way for me to keep friends and family updated on my progress, share some pictures, and perhaps offer a bit of reflection along the way. Please look around, and enjoy the ride!
Herumwandernder Cavetroll... heisse Mark. Ich habe in den USA, Deutschland und Nepal gewohnt, und jetzt geht es weiter nach Äthiopien. Mit diesem Website halte ich meine Familien- und Freundeskreise informiert über wie es mir in meinen Abenteuern geht. Schau mal 'rum, und viel Spass dabei!
-Mark, September 2008
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