Why I came back

I went to Orissa on my Project Week. We kept going in the jeep for three hours into nothingness. And then we stepped out into a cluster small of trees. The silence was a strong contrast to Pune, MUWCI, train chaiwallahs...
We visited tribal communities and I found myself immediatly romanticising their way of life.
Close-knit community (always having to deal with your least favourite mother-in-law), living from the earth (hands worn down from hard labour), 80-year-old women still working without joint pain (no good counter for that), everyone both healthy and fit (but how many children born survives their first years?). They are also under the threat of their land being taken away, having their rights abused, crop failures and lack of eduction for their children.
But I couldn't help feeling there was something more.. humane about their life style. It's a description too vague and I spent a lot of time trying to pinpoint what it was and how I could bring this into my life.
What I found about my own world is that it is filled with elements of reality escape and at the same time we are bombarded with information every day. We have to make choices about everything, every day. What we eat, how we dress, what we buy, what school we apply to, what news we read, who we get into relationships with: the list goes on. We escape through TV, movies, computer games, fiction books and drinking (not said that this can't be done in the villages as well). We are bombarded through again TV, radio, our cell phone always on and news papers.
Would it make my life better if I avpided these things then? As it is now: No. I would only become misfit in my society.
But if I switched society? What if I would stay there with them and never go back? Would I be "happy"? I donät think it could have been done. Sure, the language barrier can be overcome by time. But my white skin can't. I don't agree with their thoughts on the roles of men and women.I would probably have to marry. A man. And I want the opportunity for both me and my children to come back to our own society.
So in my head I started building up the ideal community. I found it hard to join together self-sustainability with the things we need from the outside (like education) and the alienaion of the community from "modern society". I wanted it to be an option for those who find our life too maximised and too much. But how would I give my children that choice? And I believe in educating yourself, in forming opinions and being able to express them, to learn about others to learn about yourself. How would we teach ourselves and our children? Our own school would have a risk of being biased. If they went to a local school they might be bullied for having home-made clothes, not the latest cell phone ot whatever. There are many other problems of course: healthcare, university, food... but I won't go into details.
Todd had a presentation about Amish in US. This made me think a bit, beacuse they must have the same problems, being isolated communities choosing older ways of living in a post-industrialised society. They also deal with teenagers with a thirst for "the other world". They live in their communities, of the land, self-sustainable, but still have education.
I still didn't want to live with them. Again, I don't agree with their ideologies. But I would like to pay a visit, to get a taste of their life.
That is - if I actuallty ever do it or if I get to enamoured with the society of information and convenience.
Well, I'll just see what I feel like when I'm taking my gap year(s).


(I know the quality of this post isn't the best. I can't be bothered give it more structure.)