#3-gender equality

you know when you don't feel hungry, but then you have a bite of something, and then it hits you! that just happened. not excited, because there isn't much i can do about satisfying that hunger.

today i ate:
1/2 grapefruit
2 pieces of cornbread
4 peanut butter cookies (someone brought snacks to class)
1 little bowl of bean soup

the canned vegetables are on the stove. they don't look appetizing...what claims to be a variety of vegetables is more like a whole lotta carrots, a sprinkling of potatoes, three corn kernels, and two peas. can you see me smiling through the computer? i forgot how much i despise cooked carrots. but i'm a big believer in the notion that food's purpose is to nourish you, not to taste good...although that doesn't hurt. this is awful! and i am reminded why i don't buy food that costs $.58, because it tastes like _______. I'll leave you to fill in the blank. this mush tastes like baby food.

okay, done complaining.

this morning i woke up feeling a little, uh, like i hadn't had more than 300 calories the day before. i was expecting this more towards the end of the week, not in day 2. probably not a good sign. but that feeling comes and goes. instead of the 30 minute walk, i decided to take the bus to class today in order to conserve energy, my energy that is. i feel like that is a wise decision because i had to go extra slow up the stairs today.

let me affirm that i know this weeks experiment will in no way give me a complete picture of what life is like for someone that really does live on less than a dollar a day...but today made me think about people who actually work, as in do more than sit in a class room from 9:30-5. (luckily, i love my classes and they really give me energy. if they were boring, i don't know what i'd do.) but really, do they walk, bike, take the bus, or drive to work? because i really had little energy today and if i had to go somewhere that demanded physical labor, i would prefer a method that didn't involve the movement of my legs. but if you are living on a dollar, i doubt you could afford that. and then i started to see why people don't work, they don't have the energy to do so!

MDG 3-promote gender equality and empower women
oh i could go on for hours, but i'll leave it at the fact that women are the predominant source of agricultural labor around the differently developed world. additionally, they are the domestic decision makers. they decide what gets planted, when, where, how much, they put dinner on the table. but, they have no agency. no decision making power. no income. and, as discussed in class, they tend to eat less to ensure that their families get enough to eat. leaving them with less energy.

but, if women were empowered they would have more decision-making power which would likely lead to increased production which could free up more time for other activities, such as education, which may lend to more daughters attending school.