I spent the summer after my senior year of high school in Africa. Everyone thought I was nuts. I was giving up my last summer of freedom to live in a tent without showers or bathrooms. I had to get multiple shots and take malaria pills for a total of three months. And of course the food situation was different. There were about 20 of us that went, and we each had to carry 30 pounds of food in our backpacks. There was no room for candy or chocolate.
I spent the majority of the summer working with AIDS orphans. It was such an incredible experience, and extremely humbling. My team members and I spent the first week grumbling about not having such edible pleasures like candy anymore. But when we saw how happy these orphans were with nothing, it made us think twice. On one of our last days in Zambia, we were able to give the children some blow pops that our team leader had gotten. The joy that spread across the faces of the children is just impossible to describe. A lot of them had never had candy, but they immediately fell in love with it. I will never forget the looks on their faces as they happily received just one blow pop.
The trip seemed to end too quickly. The last week of our trip was spent in Ethiopia. The last week was a time for us to relax and shop (and shower!) before going home. Well, as much as most of us had forgotten all about candy, the first thing we all bought was chocolate bars. They had weird names, but they were soooooo good. I think that once you are addicted to candy, there is no going back. Even though I went two months without it, the minute I was able to have it, I was addicted again.
Of course there is a moral to this story. You can't take everything you have for granted. And while I find myself slipping in this moral every so often, I know that I've gotten a lot better at appreciating everything I have. I'm sure no one wakes up every morning and give thanks to the fact that they have a toilet. Well, let me tell you, live without a toilet for a few months, and you will really start to appreciate it. Also, don't underestimate the effect that candy can have on people's lives. You might just make someone's day by giving them some candy. So next time you find yourself buying a box of candy, spend the extra buck and buy another one for a friend. They will be happy you did!
Until next time, this is Kandy K......stay sweet!
