High Maintenance

While reading The Sex Lives of Cannibals, I couldn't help but continuously wonder whether I would take to the rustic island life like Troost & his wife or if I would be more like the disenchanted woman from the agency whom they replaced. I'm a bit divided on the issue. On one hand I like to think that I don't necessarily need all the modern conveniences and luxuries such as television and air conditioning but then I have my limits.

There are a couple things I can think of that would seriously affect my opinion of island life. The food issue would be huge for me. The thought of only getting the most derelict ant laden preservative filled crap that no other country in the world would take is almost unthinkable to me. Especially because there is absolutely nothing available to try and doctor it up (i.e. fresh veggies, seasonings). The thought of eating rotting cans of Spam everyday just turns my stomach. Although the thought of eating regular Spam doesn't sound too great either. Maybe this would all be tolerable if it was possible to grow a garden, but even that isn't possible. How are these people still alive?

The other thing that would really make me think twice about living there is the sanitation conditions. Or lack thereof. Not having some sort of sewage and/or waste disposal system would be terrible. The smell alone would be bad enough, but having to watch people defecate in the ocean and/or not having a private place available for your own personal needs is nightmarish to me. Even some kind of port-a-potty system would be better than what those people have. Yuck. I can't even imagine.

I guess my point is, I don't think I have what it takes to live on a real desert island. Not if I had a choice in the matter. I would rather spend a year camping in the wilderness than on that island. And I'm sure I'd still have enough stories and experiences to write a book about it later on. It's a good thing there are people that can do that kind of thing because I'm definitely not one of them. Count me out!