Hi mama,
just checking in – I’m good, just sitting in the park and I wanted to tell you something. Do you remember the squirrels that were always in the trees across from our house, before they were cut down? Yeah? Well, here in Leicester, there are a lot of them. There’s one running around in front of me right now – wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them. I feel like a child again, going to the park and looking out for squirrels.
Being here actually makes me think a lot about you. To be honest, I never understood why you always said that fresh produce doesn’t belong in plastic. Now I get it. Everything here is wrapped in plastic – even bananas and apples, can you imagine? And it’s not just the supermarket. I see students everywhere carrying plastic water bottles and just using it once. I’ve had the same refillable bottle since I got here. I can’t help myself, I’ve started to tell my friends here why it’s not only safer for them but also better for the environment – you’d be proud. Those are small choices, but that’s what SDG 12 is really about, isn’t it? Responsible consumption.
I found a supermarket that has more unpackaged fruit and vegetables, but it takes me 30 minutes to walk there. I could take an Uber there as others would: it’s cheap, it’s fast, I get it. But for me, it’s a nice walk, and I get to see more of the area. Still, walking home with all the groceries is not fun. I looked it up, actually – that ten-minute car ride would produce enough CO2 to charge my phone about 100 times. So, I prefer the longer walk than blowing CO2 into the world like it’s nothing.
Because if we do, there won’t be any squirrels left. Not here, not at home, not anywhere.
Studying abroad hasn’t changed my values; it has simply made me realise where they came from.
I’m looking at this squirrel right now, and keep thinking – we did that. We cut the trees down, and they had nowhere to go. SDG 15 asks us to protect life on land and to preserve the habitats of those we share this world with. But here they still have their parks, their trees, their space. And somehow, sitting here watching them, I feel closer to home than I have since I arrived. You always taught me to notice these things, to care about who else lives in the world alongside us. I think I needed to come all the way to Leicester to finally understand what you meant.
Call you later!
Hab dich lieb! [I love you!]
Ritchie, H. (2022) Travel Carbon Footprint, Our World in Data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/travel-carbon-footprint
Carbon CalQlate (2024) Carbon Footprint of Charging a Smartphone. Available at: https://carboncalqlate.com/carbon-footprint/charging-a-smartphone/
WRAP (2022) Reducing household food waste and plastic packaging. Available at: https://www.wrap.ngo/resources/report/reducing-household-food-waste-and-plastic-packaging
United Nations (2015) Sustainable Development Goals. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
