So this is the part that feels like a time warp. In addition, there are the starved horses that pull carts along the streets as their owners collect and sort through trash near the dumpsters. Oh and
when I say starved, I mean starved. It is one thing to compare them to the muscular visions of beauty that are KY thoroughbreds, but these horses look worse than those they find at abandoned homes on an episode of Animal Cops. My heart breaks every time I see them. When I see all this, it feels like I've jumped back in time to some strange early civilization.What is more strange is that this is oddly mixed with ultra modern experiences. Just yesterday I enjoyed an espresso at a little cafe that would pass for any NYC coffee shop, even Starbucks. Then I stopped by a little boutique that sold only customized bean bags chairs - puffs. It was right across the street from a modern little furniture store. Also, did I mention that on the other side of the park there is another coconut stand that uses a machine that drains and cools the coconut water before putting it in a glass? So again I say, what is up with this place?
I'm so used to the culture of 'out with the old and in with the new.' We get rid of things as soon as the new, supposedly more effective, version is introduced. The new is in and you don't see the old anymore. This is the most true with electronics. I'm practically embarrassed to workout with my old ipod shuffle now that the new one is out.
Don't get me wrong, preserving the old fashioned or antique is worthwhile in our society. I've just never experienced a place where the two exist together simultaneously. Having the new - a machine for coconut water, trash trucks collecting at night, didn't replace the existence of the old - cutting off the top of a coconut or horse pulled carts. They both exist at the same time and seem to be perfectly acceptable. It feels so strange. Although I'll try the coconut water, I do have to say, Thank you God for the little modern coffee shop. I need that little piece of the new!
2 comments:
I never supposed the horses are starved. How can you see that? There is an ONG that cares about animal wellfare in Maringa. Once I went to the university and I let my dog outside, attached under a tree, far form the people because people use to be scared about it. It was on a hot Summer and suddenly it started to rain. A teacher who works on this ONG asked me to put the dog on a dry place. I said the dog was enjoying the rain. She said, "a dog is not a horse!" That's true, but both can enjoy the rain, no? Just to scape form the debate I put the dog under a cover but sometimes I think people are too much afraid about some animals and not enough about others.
Well, I've been living in the horse capital of the world for the past 4 years. Equines are a huge industry. The horses that collect trash in Maringa are definitely starved and some injured. It breaks my heart to see them. I will look into the ONG. I was wondering if there was an organization like that. Thanks!
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