Sunburnt In Argentina

People come to Puerto Iguazu to see these gigantic waterfalls, which are really incredible, although they are not what I will remember most vividly from this stop on my trip. On the way to my hostel in Puerto Iguazu I noticed signs indicating that tourists can visit the local indigenous community of Yarapu to buy art pieces. I tried asking the taxi driver and the people at the hostel about them and they all said that they didn´t know much about the community except that there are quite a few of them and that they are extremely poor. I was surprised that they knew so little, given that this community is situated right behind this huge row of hotels and hostels.

Luckily, I was with a wonderful woman from Ireland who was as intrigued as I was, so we ventured back there. It was a serious eye-opener. We didn´t have to walk very far from our hostel to find a corrugated metal structure that looked like it serves as a house for about 10 people. This very tiny old woman pulled out a bag of necklaces and little wooden animals that her and her children make as a bunch of little children with tattered clothing, big bellies, and glassy eyes looked on. We both spent as much money as we had on us and then left- it was a difficult thing to see. I can´t stop thinking about the fact that this community sits just feet away from this glitzy tourist area.

It has been a long time since I have had a good look at my own priviledge. I feel like I thought about it all the time as an undergrad studing International Development, but it´s been a couple of years since I´ve really thought about poverty and my position in the world. It is hard to stomach.