This post was submitted by Ivy Tech student and ASB participant Ejaaz M.

Calnali is sweet but yet bitter. I admired the rich culture, beautiful people, and the regions vast mountainous land, but hated seeing how much poverty existed in such a little place. While in Calnali sometimes I just basked on the dusty street corners and watched the locals pursue their daily routines which was usually work. While being highly observant, I realized that most of the older local’s attire and appearance was traditional, from the way their hair was styled to what type of clothing they were wearing. This made me feel proud for them to know that they have not lost their culture like most other cultures in modern day societies.

Also watching people get to their destinations, I could see that most of the locals were physically and emotionally demoralized from poverty. Many locals’ clothes looked like they had never been taken off to be cleaned and the looks on their faces were very defined; their faces told me that they were tired.