starting tomorrow

I had a plan to do more lead-up posts but got way too busy, so here we go, just diving in...

Some of you may have followed my previous blog on this subject. It was quite an involved effort, with photos of almost every meal, recipes, cost of each meal, how much I thought I would have spent on each meal if I had not been on the challenge... I mean, it was overwhelming to keep up with, in hindsight. So here's a fresh approach. I'll try to weave in as much of those types of highlights as possible, but will keep it a little more straightforward, and of course, will rely heavily on photos to do most of the talking.

So, what else? I've decided to go barefoot for 30 days to make it a little more interesting of a challenge. As I reflected on my previous challenge, it occurred to me that there was not a lot about the challenge beyond the diet change that helped me identify with these poorest of the poor. On a recent trip to the slums of Manila, Philippines, I saw so many children barefoot, walking through the trash, etc. and it made me think, "I have no idea what that must be like to go through every day life without shoes." I'll carry my flip-flops with me to wear into establishments that require footwear for legal reasons, but will try to avoid those situations.

So, tomorrow begins the journey. I've been so busy that I've not even had time to spend all $30. So far I've spent $9.23 to get me started. This bought 24 ounces of raisins, 6 pounds of brown rice, 24 ounces of pasta sauce (much better than my 8 oz. can last time!), and a 2 pound bag of penne pasta.

Tonight or tomorrow I'll go out to get eggs, oatmeal, corn tortillas, cabbage, ramen noodles, carrots, pinto beans, potatoes, celery, etc.

Disclaimer: if you read the conclusions of my previous blog, you will learn that I don't view this as any real "challenge" compared to what the residents of the slums have to deal with on a daily basis. It's just my little way of keeping in touch with reality with the hope that I can raise some awareness in the process. Documenting the experience serves two purposes: 1) I keep myself accountable to stick with the challenge by knowing that I've got to blog about it to a real audience as part of the challenge, and 2) you might be inspired to join me or to at least think differently about the life you live.