“A whole big part of traveling is to find some sort direction. What i really want to do in life. It’s been quite fun, sometimes i think, is traveling a job?” Writes my cousin, who is presently traveling through Peru on her first trip outside the US (Canada doesn’t count). My cousin landed in Peru three weeks ago and will spend another six months on the road going through Bolivia, Ecuador, and who knows where else. It’s her first exposure to developing countries, to urban poverty, and to that weird feeling that despite the fact that these people have very little, they seem to be happier with life than many of us. In my response back to her I inform her that everything she’s seeing is the norm for the majority of the world – that as residents of the US, we are the minority.

It’s easy for me to forget that many people don’t know this, and even I forget from time to time. I’m thoroughly enjoying re-living my first impressions of the rest of the world through her. An email excerpt:

“As i see more and more of peru i´m starting to realize how low poverty some of these people live. They remind me most of the natives back home and how they live on the reservations. I go to the local markets and see all these people sellng their goods and i don´t know, someting happens when i see their faces. Eventhough they don´t have a lot of money, they still seem happy and always have a smile on thier face. And laughing with each other. I guess the feeling that i am feeling is compassion.”

Compassion it is, Brandie! Don’t lose it.