Chicken feet and poopy grass

It is amazing how quickly we adjust to our surroundings. Things that were strange to us seven weeks ago are now normal and we don’t even notice them. I was so proud of my wife the other night at a restaurant. We were eating a chicken soup and she spooned up a whole chicken foot out of her bowl. She quietly pulled it out, set it aside, and continued eating the soup. I became nervous at the sight and went digging around in my bowl and found a foot as well. I also set it aside and continued to eat. It was good soup. 

The children have adjusted to the new normal very quickly. I have been a little slower because I am old and stuck in my ways but also because I tend to question everything. It is fun to ask why we do what we do. Why do we wash our dishes in warm water? Why is that man selling pieces of toilet paper on the street? Why are there five dogs on the roof of that house? Why don’t we have any water when it rains? Why are there guinea pigs grazing in that person’s yard? Why are the parks watered with sewer water? Why is there a foot in my soup?

But the questions are good. They lead to some interesting answers. For example, why do we wash our dishes in warm water? In Peru we always use cold water to wash the dishes, or the laundry, or sometimes ourselves. What does the warm water do? It doesn’t sanitize. It has to be over 180 degrees for that. It really doesn’t help get things cleaner as I have found out. In reality it is a waste of water, energy, and money.

Now I am not saying that the way you wash your dishes is wrong, what I am saying is maybe we should rethink things. Why do we do what we do? It is a healthy question to ask but sometimes difficult because usually the answer is “because that is how I have always done it.”

Arequipa is basically a desert. So I wondered how all the parks are so green. I asked my professor and he explained. (All was in Spanish so I am fairly certain this is correct but only about 90%) Well all the parks are watered with sewer water using gravity. The ground has a natural slope and each park has an entrance and exit from the sewer. Workers open the entrance and plug the exit with rocks or trash or whatever and the entire park floods. The sidewalks are built about a foot higher than the grass so you can still walk through the park. Once the park is flooded the worker opens the drain and plugs the entrance and presto! green grass. 

At first I was appalled by this but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. It is water and natural fertilizer for the grass; it is less wear and tear on the sewer treatment plants; and it is free. It also keeps people off the grass. (except our children of course)

In general we are adjusting but I continue to ask why. I continue to reexamine what i am doing and why. We should not only reexamine our lives but also our faith. Why do we do what we do? Why do we go to church on Sunday? We do we celebrate Easter? Why do we carry on traditions? Jesus himself condemned the Pharisees for this saying “you have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions” Mark 7:9

Again I am not saying any of this is right or wrong just I believe it is healthy to ask why and search out the truth. The truth is in God’s word not in our traditions. 

                                                                                                                     Josh