Perspective

Monday evening, while walking back from a late dinner at a street cafe in downtown Buenos Aires, we passed a group of children sitting on the sidewalk in front of McDonald´s (yes, they´re everywhere), digging through black plastic bags.

At first, I didn´t understand what was going on. But as I got closer, I caught a whiff of old hamburgers and trash.

Then, my heart almost broke when I saw a little girl -- she couldn´t have been more than 8 years old -- tucking some of her finds into a tiny pink backpack for later.

I know this happens more than I´d like to think, and in my own country, too. But in all my travels, US and abroad, it was the first time I had seen that with my own eyes.

Needless to say, it made me very sad.