Have you ever been to a 3rd world country ? Did you enjoy it ? What was the most strange thing over there ?

Answer 1

Yes, while in the Navy we visited several. Also a number of countries that while they themselves are not considered "third world" countries, they definitely have regions that would fit the concept.

What I liked most was the openness of the people -- they were friendly, cheerful, and as interested in learning about us and our lives as we were in learning about them and theirs. And if you bought a little hand-carved trinket from a local craftsman for a buck or two or a nice whatever-it-was for five dollars from someone's shop, you made their whole day -- to them it was the height of generosity and they were so thankful and happy to get it.

In Africa, I was astonished at how resourceful the people were. Absolutely nothing goes to waste. They have machines and contraptions that are cobbled together from wreckage, like something out of "Junkyard Wars." The people never ceased to amaze me with their ingenuity and ability to convert a pile of trash into something that performs a useful job. The contraptions themselves were usually human- or animal-powered and you might think you were in a weird sci-fi movie or something. Being an Engineer I can really appreciate such inventiveness.

I was greatly humbled by their ability to be happy and contented with the simplest of blessings in their lives, in contrast to those of us in "the civilized world" who whine and moan when we can't find a pair of shoes in just the right color or face some equally meaningless and trivial "difficulty." I remember in particular one African man I met who was very happy with his "house" -- it was four poles in the ground, with a big bent corrugated tin sheet overhead for a roof, and four blankets around the outside to keep the sun and bugs out. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. And I'll tell you, to this day (20+ years later) I still remember him whenever I start to get frustrated with anything that is breaking down or needing work in my own home.

One of the stranger things was the food. You know, darned near everything is edible. Stuff that we only see on "fear factor" is normal daily food in some parts of the world, and it takes getting used to. I am glad I never visited the tribes in South America who eat tarantulas, I don't think I could have dealt with that... but I ate or am pretty sure I ate monkey and dog and cat and rat and snake and chicken feet and weird little worms and some crunchy insect things and all sorts of odd stuff. The funny thing is, if you just turn your mind off and say "hey, everyone else is eating it so it's edible" then you just eat it -- and often find that it is pretty tasty. Just don't stop long to think about what it is that you just ate. Of course I was younger and crazier and had a stronger immune system then, but still -- as long as it is well cooked and hot off the burner it pretty much can't hurt you. Its usually the water overseas that gets you, not the food.

Another strange thing was seeing the way people get things done when there is no money to buy a powered machine or even the gasoline to run one, but there are plenty of people around to do work for little more than the food to keep them alive. Again in Africa, I saw men repairing a road that went out across the grassland. They were carrying these huge stones on their shoulders, and walking miles between the stone quarry and the place in the road where the stone was needed. A whole line of them, must have been 200 men involved in this, happily walking back and forth all day in the African sun carrying these big stones that I could just barely lift, much less carry that distance. But that is what these men did, day in and day out -- they were professional stone carriers as it were, and I couldn't help but think "for Pete's sake, 10 men and one truck could do this job in half the time" but there just isn't money for the truck or its fuel. It is kind of surreal, because here in the US that much labor would not be affordable, but there it was the truck that wasn't affordable. It is strange, because I had to completely invert my normal way of thinking about things and how to get things done, because there everything is approached in a different manner.

Answer 2

I grew up in various third world countries because my dad was a diplomat. I'm back in Canada now, and I miss the experience of living abroad.

People take things for granted here, and you wouldn't believe certain things that happen elsewhere.
Strangest? Hmm, that's a hard one. Anything ranging from living in places without malls, "modern" clothing, and even without things as common as McDonalds to having my school evacuated because of bombs being thrown around.
I remember coming home on holidays, and it was fun to drink water right out of the tap! That was a big deal, after living in places where you have to boil it for 20 minutes, and THEN filter it through a sophisticated filtering system.
Fun times, though! I wouldn't have changed my childhood for anything.

Answer 3

Yes. I spent a year in one about 35 years ago.

For the most part I enjoyed it. The strangest thing was all the barbed wire, sandbags, and shooting going on and all the armed men in jungle fatigues and military aircraft. But I survived my year without adverse effects and would like to go back to Vietnam one of these days.

Answer 4

Babies running around with open sores dressed in the plastic bags in which we bring home groceries!