The Week Before Christmas

The rest of the week leading up to my departure was uneventful, as far as the boycott goes. I was finished with my Christmas shopping, (except for Luke's gifts) and I was frantically trying to complete the two paintings I was creating for close friends.

I did encounter an endless stream of goods made in China when trying to fill Luke's stocking. What did I expect though? We put a $10 limit on each stocking and went with a theme of not necessarily practical gifts. Many items were purchased at the dollar store. The golf calendar I bought him to help remember silly things like Valentine's Day, our anniversary and family member's birthdays, was made in China. So was the giant eraser which proclaims, "For Really Big Mistakes" (good thing we both thought it was funny). The candy,a book and trivet from the Ann Sather Restaurant were not made in China (the last two came from a thrift shop though, so it would have been ok any way).

We don't know where the pins Luke bought for my stocking were made (One says: "I'm not childless, I'm child free" and the other, "It's not premarital sex if you're not planning on getting married."). The wooden, movable snake (one of my most favorite animals) was made in China, as was the Van Gogh flip book (His ear comes off at the end! Hilarious!!). The origins of the beautiful Celtic knot bookmark are unknown. (Clearly we have different ideas of what not so practical stocking stuffers are!)

In many ways, the trip to the zoo, combined with the frustrations of Christmas, mixed with an awareness of where our gifts were made, helped solidify our desire for a year long boycott. It helped highlight some of the problems we would have in trying to go shopping, in discussing this with people, in debating these issues as well as in educating ourselves about imports and exports, politics and big business, manufacturing and the strength of our convictions.

There are many assumptions that we've made in this boycott, many unforeseen circumstances and many instances where we are wrong. I hope that the next year will be more than a pompous act of denial by two people who can't afford much frivolous consumption. I hope that we take the time to challenge ourselves to learn about topics I often consider boring, i.e, economics, trade deficits, mergers and downsizing and so on.

I also hope that this blog evolves into a forum where people who know more than I do, or just have an opinion, will share their knowledge and insights. In the end, it is the discussions and the debates, the new ways of thinking, which will most likely be the lasting benefits of this project.