Arandis, Namibia: Buying water

Friday, March 09, 2007

Buying water

9 March 2007

I felt it was time for another post so I was going through some of my notes and journal entries that I made while I was in Arandis, in search of a topic or something to write about. This one caught my eye...

As I was walking with Chriszelda one night, talking about different things, the topic of water came up. But not just about water in general, but buying water. She asked, "Why would anyone buy water when they have it already?" Wondering if it was a rhetorical question and remembering the (big) bottle of water I had with me, in the side pocket of my knapsack, I listened as she continued. "Does that mean when you get your paycheck at the end of the month, that you budget and put aside the money you need to buy your water?"

"Um, yes, some people do.", is what I think I replied.

"I just don't see it, buying water." she said, shaking her head.

Then, and only by the Grace of God, we started talking about something else; relieving me of having to explain why I buy bottled water.

Thinking about her words today, I wondered, how would you go about (convincing?) explaining to someone who can't afford water, who doesn't have it in her budget to buy water, and has no other choice but to drink the water that is available to her and her family, that you feel you need to buy water because of what...the taste? Let's face it, isn't that the reason the majority of us buy water; because we do not care for the taste of the water that comes from our taps. That it's necessary because of the taste?

I think about that and chuckle. In theory, water has no taste, right? Or at least it is not supposed to. So who gave it taste? Was it the Madison Avenue marketers working for the high-falutin bottled water companies? Was it the municipal water company who dumps in chlorine as part of the process to make it safe to drink after pumping it from the nearby river? Yes and yes. We could go on and on, back and forth about our need and reason for buying bottled water.

Now I'm not talking about flavored water. That's something entirely different and something that I am really thankful Chriszelda didn't want to talk about. But really, think about all that has been done, all the money that has been spent just to market drinking water. I just did a search on "taste of water" and found this site

http://www.finewaters.com/Water_Food/Tasting_Awards/How_To_Taste_Water.asp
Incredible, simply incredible...or is it nuts?

[Okay, it has only been a couple hours or so since this post. But I just came across this link - Holy Drinking Water. Wow! Sort of reminds me of a quote by Albert Einstein, "What is the difference between genius and stupidity? Genius has limits." I'll let you decide where this one falls.]

I'll admit, I bought water while I was in Arandis. But I also drank the water that came out of the tap when I ran out of the other stuff, or when I was at somebody's home and it was offered to me as a refreshment. I'll also admit that I buy it here, at home. We used to buy the kind that sits in the 'fridge with a little spicket on the bottom. But evidentally, that became inconvenient or something. So now I buy the individual bottles, more for the convienience of being able to just grab one and run. Heck we don't even keep them in the 'fridge, we just have them in the case on the floor. But I buy water nonetheless.

What do you suppose Chriszelda would say if I told her that I've paid $17.50 Namibian dollars ($2.50 US) for a small bottle of water at Lowell Memorial Auditorium? Would she think I was crazy? Wasteful with my money? I buy a case of water here and pay, what, $4.99 or something like that? I paid $20.99 Namibian (about $3.00 US) for a 5 liter jug of water while in Arandis. And that was expensive. Brenda brought me to the place where she buys it and only pays half of that. In reality though, to us here, it doesn't sound like much money. Quite frankly, when I buy water here I don't think twice about it. I don't even specifically budget for it either. Which means I do not put money aside for it when I get my paycheck.

But Chriszelda thinks it is a lot of money and she would have to budget for it. Maybe by her way of thinking it's a lot of money because it is not a necessity. Rather, maybe she sees it as a luxury she cannot afford. I've tried to put myself in her position and, quite honestly, I can't. I don't know how anyone here in America who has abundance, or anyone who has not had to worry about where the next meal might come from, can imagine what it's like for someone that might not be blessed with abundance or who did need to pray about where the next meal would come from.

So once again I find myself amazed at a way of life that is so different than the one I am blessed with here. I think what is most blessed about it, though, is that unlike Chriszelda I have the choice of having luxuries I may not need.

I still don't know how I would explain to her why I need to buy water when it is not necessary to buy. I guess my only answer would be, people may not need to buy water but they do so because they want to and because they are able to.

Anyway, isn't it amazing that what God has given to us freely, we don't feel is good enough; that we pay to have it better meet our satisfaction and expectations? Maybe Chriszelda has the right idea after all, and that her not being able to afford to make what God gave her better is the actual blessing.

posted by Don @ 11:28 AM

2 Comments:

At 2:21 PM, Darin said…

Convenience. Probably as strange to justify spending money on in Namibia as taste or preference. I often grab a bottle of water because it's quicker and easier to grab and go. Too hurried to slow down, pour a glass, and drink it in proximity to where the glass would need to be returned.

Or, and this would be worse still, the convenience of the bottle being disposable. It is nothing to throw the bottle away, as compared to spending the time to wash and replace a glass in the cabinet. This is often why I would opt for paper plates - another sight you don't see in Namibia. Worse still, there have been nights when I've ordered take-out to avoid having to dirty pans and dishes.

Life lessons abound.
At 10:34 PM, amanda said…

Thanks for sharing your thoughts don, definetley makes you think.

By the way, I love the quote on the side about God's planning. I'm gonna steal it and put it in my profile :-)