Living In Squalor or Island Lifestyle?

August 12, 2008. In many ways, Aruba is like your typical U.S. vacation destination. Lots of fast food joints (McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc.), name brand stores, miniature golf, and lots of souvenir shops.

Of course, in many ways it’s completely different.

For instance, a lot of the buildings here are poorly constructed. Homes are made from cheap materials and poorly put together. Commercial construction isn’t much better. Nothing here moves quickly – just down the street there’s a half-finished building with a sign out front that says “Completion September 2007.” Fast food isn’t fast, and there’s little urgency associated with anything.

There’s also quite a bit of junk lying around in vacant lots. Half-demolished old buildings, etc.

This lack of urgency seems to translate to living conditions. Many of the residents in Oranjestad and San Nicholas seem to be content to live in old homes that look a little run-down, shop at grocery stores that haven’t been remodeled since they were built 30 years ago, and drive beat-up automobiles. While some of you might be saying “That’s because they’re poor, Jason,” I don’t know if that’s the case. Everyone seems to be busy, there’s next to no crime, and everyone who lives here says it’s nice. If anything, the locals often seem put out by tourists. It’s as if they really don’t need us.

I wonder if my perception of “squalor” is really more about my perspective than the conditions. Nothing I’ve described is unsafe or dirty, and nothing appears to be falling apart. It’s just old. Could it be that my American perspective and my culture’s emphasis on things being “new” have led me mis-interpret what I see? Just because something is old or poorly constructed doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, right?

And let us not forget, this is still Aruba, a tropical island with great weather that lots of people pay good money to visit every year. Living in Aruba in any circumstance is enviable, isn’t it?

See the puppies under the dumpster? That’s “mom” in the foreground. This photo was taken a block away from our condo.

Take these stray dogs. While it’s a little heartbreaking to think about a bunch of puppies living under a dumpster, every one of these dogs seems to be well fed and healthy. The weather here is just fine year round, so they don’t need to worry about the climate. Aside from food and water, all a dog really needs to be happy in Aruba is some shade from the sun. Are these dogs living in squalor, or are they just living within reasonable limits?

Let me pause right here and say that I know these dogs would be better off if they were cared for by a person. But I think this situation might be a good analogy for life in the USA compared to the rest of the world. These Aruban strays barely have what they need to get by, but some dogs in the USA are totted around in Gucci bags, professionally bathed, groomed and walked, prescribed pills for doggy arthritis, and fed premium dog food with fresh vegetables. It’s the old “over-consumption is bad” argument. The carbon footprint of these Aruban stray dogs is probably a helluva lot lower than the footprint of one poodle in the USA. Not that I care too much about Carbon footprints, but you get the idea…

Sleeping in the shade of a dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant.

I’ve decided that my requirements for a “good lifestyle” are too high. All I really need is the basics. I’m not going to live under a dumpster or anything, but I don’t need to live in a mansion either.