One of the Spanish volunteers in Nicaragua, Pablo, had visited the US and didn't leave in love with the place. After a couple months in the Northeast, he complained that big cars guzzled too much gas, people had houses that were much bigger than necessary, and that everything was too spread out. As much as I hated conceding anything to him, I couldn't disagree with the last point.
While in Central America, if I wasn't taking a bus on a long distance trip I went where I was going on foot, unless I had a bike or it was dark. I walked to class, to the markets, to the city center. After only a couple months, I found myself down 15-20 lbs, with an increased metabolism, and much more alert and attentive while I was awake.
Now that I'm home, in safe, secluded suburbia, walking anywhere worth going to is a dangerous multi-hour trek. With most major roads around me carrying speed limit signs between 35 and 45 mph and straddled by shoddy, if any, sidewalks, even biking isn't all that viable of an option. Unless you have a lot of time to kill and no fear of death, you need a car.
And already, after only a couple weeks of limited physical activity, I feel lethargic and slow, both physically and mentally. I forget things like street names and what time it is even though I just looked at my clock. I can't finish a page of a book without having to snap myself out of daydreaming. I sleep 9 hours and wake up tired, spend the whole day half-awake only to fall asleep and repeat the whole process. My mind needs my body to do something, anything, to keep the blood flowing, to keep it sharp and awake. The problem is it's just so easy to sit. And sit. And sit some more. Walking or riding a bike are simple solutions, but not practical ones. I don't want to be a product of my environment, but do I have a choice? I'm hoping the answer is yes, but we'll see.
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