LearnServe 2017: Perspectives on Consumerism at Greenpop (7/5)
Wednesday, July 5
Hi everyone,
I’m Noah. For those of you who don’t know, I joined the trip late after a space opened up last minute. I can confidently say it was the right choice to come and I’m glad I listened to my persuasive influences (cough, cough… Gaby). To start from a place of complete honesty, blogging is not one of my favorite parts of these trips but I’m actually excited to do this one because I absolutely loved Greenpop.
I believe my fellow LearnServians, Randen and Mariam, covered the basics of what Greenpop is all about so I’m going to share my own personal highlights. First of all, both the campers from South Africa and the Greenpop staff were so nice, open-minded, and friendly. I think our trip leader, Clarence, summarized it perfectly as a Zambian Woodstock for “forest people”. My tent mate, Stefan, and I made lots of friends instantly and felt very welcomed. We bonded with the South African kids over our teenage similarities and differences. We had meals where topics revolved around American slang, bus rides where American dating was compared to contemporary Netflix shows, talks around the bonfire about South African party culture, and much more. I was personally surprised with how interested they were in learning about our lives as Americans and it felt like we were mini-celebrities for a couple of days. We still interacted with our fellow LearnServians but almost everyone found their own South African counterpart.
An aspect of Greenpop that sparked a lot of questioning in myself was the vibe around food and consumerism that sharply contrasted my typical American experience with both. The entire time we ate vegan with only one day of meat which consisted of chicken. On that day, they talked to us about what it means to eat meat, the history behind it, and that it was once only eaten in times of celebration or on special occasions. This ideological component and the food itself made me reconsider the choices I want to make with my diet at home. Not only was the vegan food good, it was all super healthy and served in lean portions. I felt great the entire time and attribute some of that to having great fuel and not overeating as many in America tend to do. I usually eat a lot at home but my time at Greenpop has made me realize how I may be consuming too much, as my portions at Greenpop seemed to fill me up. Not to mention that lots of research shows that this kind diet has lots of current and future health benefits. Mom and Dad, just a heads up that I am coming back with the hope that we will rethink some of our food choices at home, not just for its health benefits but for the environmental impact a healthier diet can have. Not a complete detox (District Taco is still important to me) but maybe a little more than the basic Whole Foods run.
Overall, I have loved the experience of Greenpop and feel it’s been my favorite part of the trip so far. I remember one night by the campfire, looking up at the stars, and feeling so much joy about what we were doing and where we were. Fun fact: South Africans call the Big Dipper the Southern Star which Stefan and I don’t think makes much sense but it’s not really our call. I would highly recommend the Greenpop experience to anyone, especially Americans as it provides an insightful perspective on the lifestyle of excess, entitlement, and consumerism.
Zicomo (probably spelled wrong),
Noah K., Woodrow Wilson High School
