Reusable Bags, among other changes

Overall, things have been going well. I have continued to eat out less and buy drinks out less, as well as use my nalgene bottle. Unfortunately, there is not anything very exciting to say about those things, as they are just small daily events.

However, there has been one major exciting change recently, and that is in regard to reusable bags. As I said earlier, I have convinced my mother to get and use reusable bags when she goes shopping, which I think was great. However, I still cannot convince my boyfriend, Zach. He is stubborn, and doesn't think it's worth his time to remember them. And since I am just getting used to having reusable bags, it is often not until we are almost to the car that I remember that they are still upstairs. It's often hard to convince him that it is worth the time to go back up to the fourth floor, but I do. So, here is where the exciting change comes. This past week, I was unable to go on our usual Sunday afternoon grocery trip, since I got scheduled to work. And so Zach made the trip by himself. And, to my wonderful surprise, I came home from work to see that the reusable bags got used, even without my prompting! So, I have now officially influenced 2 other people to stop using plastic bags, and start using reusable bags. What a start!

Clara

In this post, I wanted to include a scan of some of the pictures I have received in the mail from Clara, but unfortunately my scanner is not cooperating. However, I was able to find a picture of Clara already online, so that will have to do.

Clara is 7 1/2, and lives in Bolivia. Throughout the letter writing I've learned that her favorite activities are playing dolls and tag with her friends at school. She does very well in school, and she especially loves math and PE. She loves the flowers in spring, and playing with her dog, Osito.

Clara's family is supported through her father's occasional job as a bricklayer, and Clara helps her mother sells candies to the school children. Other than this, Clara and her siblings are enrolled in the Compassion program, where people like me send support to her and her siblings to provide for their schooling.

I love that I've been able to help Clara, and every time I receive a letter from her, I get to learn even more about her. Over the past year, I've received 8 letters, as the transportation and translation can take more than a month. Just recently I received a letter that was written in November of last year.

Every letter I receive from Clara talks about how thankful she is for her schooling, and how much she loves writing with me. If none of my other personal changes extend after the semester (which I do not anticipate to be the case), at least I know that I have directly influenced one person's life in a way that they could not have done themselves.