7 Things Mark Watney and I Have In Common Right Now

I’m currently reading the book The Martian by Andy Weir (hey again, book club!), better known for its recent release as a movie starring Matt Damon. I thought I would hate this book because it isn’t about high school drama or written by a famous comedian but I’ve actually been enjoying it quite a bit. Especially when I realized that I basically live on Mars right now too!!

I thought I would make a list of similarities between me and my boy Mark.

1. We’re in a unique, beautiful place

Ok lame, I know. But I never thought I would find myself in the middle of nowhere surrounded by cave homes and mountains (including the Sierra Nevada!) and I’m sure Mark never expected to find himself on Mars alone. He doesn’t talk much about how it looks…but it’s gotta be terrifyingly beautiful, right?

2. We’re eating like rabbits

Sure, I am eating WAY more than ¾ rations of freeze-dried meals and raw potatoes but everyone living in my cave is A VEGETARIAN. I HAVEN’T HAD MEAT IN LIKE 5 DAYS. I bought myself a roll of cookies that I binge eat at night when no one is looking to make up for the calories I am missing in sweet, sweet chicken.

3. We’re going to the bathroom like we never have before

Mark Watney has to be incredibly resourceful which involves using his own feces or urine as an actual resource. No, I am not doing that. I am using a toilet that you can’t put toilet paper in though! So it’s been a learning experience as I habitually drop TP into my pee and then have to retrieve it.

4. We’re cold all the time

I kind of assumed that Spain is just always hot. Wrong. And no I didn’t come to live in Spain for a month without checking the forecast. The forecast lies. The warmest day so far got up to like 50 degrees when the sun was actually out. I know Minnesotans, you’re all saying “boo hoo” to me right now because 50 degrees is shorts weather in Minne. But it’s been windy, often rainy, and the caves are not heated. Also, due to the mean forecast lying to me, I didn’t bring super warm clothes. So maybe Mars is like -100 degrees but at least he has the RTG.

5. We’re stuck listening to the same music over and over again

Lucky for me, I am not stuck listening to disco. With terrible wifi though, I am stuck listening to my one playlist that I decided to set to offline mode on Spotify. We did find an old-school radio in the cave so we’ve been able to get some Spanish radio as well.

6. Our communication to the outside world is limited

As mentioned above, my host kind of lied when she said there was wifi in the cave. There is wifi in HER cave, which sometimes generously drops enough signal through the window to allow me to post 1 Instagram picture. I guess I do have unlimited texting so Mark Watney trying to communicate back to earth over 50 million miles away wins this one.

7. Our appreciation of everyday things is amplified

When my shower water is warm, when the sun comes out, when my clothes are clean, when the stove doesn’t stop working in the middle of cooking a meal, when I go to the bathroom and remember to throw my toilet paper in the basket next to the toilet instead of into the toilet, when my host brings home bread and oats and salt (I literally cheered), when I wake up feeling well-rested because I slept in a pitch-black cave, when the hot tea is poured….these are just a few things I couldn’t have cared less about before I came here. It’s challenging but it’s rewarding. And when I’m struggling at all I just look to Mark Watney and think hey, it could be worse.

With the wifi situation my blog posts might be limited, but I’ll try to do a post once a week or so. When it’s nicer out next week I should be able to sit outside and get a better reception. But whateves, this experience isn’t about sitting on Facebook, amirite?

I’m happy here. Conditions are rougher than my previous traveling but I am happy to be in one place, to really be experiencing a different lifestyle, and to be challenged every day.

Adios!