Simplicity defines me.
Humility and gratitude inspire me.
Nothing conjures up these emotions as do reflections on village life.
Growing up, I recall being envious of friends who vacationed at exotic European and North American cities. Meanwhile, my family would spend summer holidays visiting relatives in various parts of Tanzania. I remember leaving the comfort and convenience of the city to vacation in places with no running water or electricity. Some may call it camping, but to us, it was everyday living.
Today, in my adulthood, I’ve come to truly appreciate the offerings of village life, which is far more dynamic than meets the eye. From the outside, village life appears simple, primitive, and even boring. But search deeper, and you’ll discover a wealth of stories, community, and tradition.
Still, village life is totally different from city living. The days are bright, colorful, and energetic. The nights are long, dark, and ripe for storytelling. What’s amazing is that the tranquility and purity of the village atmosphere allow for deep self-reflection. Limited power and connectivity allow me to effectively disengage from the constant buzz of the city and truly be present in the moment.
So I embrace village life. Are you a village (small town) or city person?
This post is part of the Zero to Hero 30-Day Blog Challenge: Day 1 – Who am I?
Uwana 
I am both. I grew up in a province and currently residing here in the city. Both indeed have such huge difference, I think its just a matter of how you embrace them 🙂
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True. I enjoy city life, but I love the way village living grounds me and reminds me that I don’t need all the stuff I think I need. It’s amazing how you can simplify your life back to the necessities and become less wasteful.
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I totally agree with you. Village living defines what simlicity is while cities have all the complexities. 🙂
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I can relate to this. I live in a village, Don’t like the snow – it reminds me of the faults on very early TV sets – that shows my age!
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LOL, that’s funny!
What do you like most about living in the village?
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Small town girl (Fairhope, AL) who has also lived in the city (Madrid, Tokyo). My favorite combo is a small town near a big city.
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That way you can escape from the hustle and bustle when you need to. Definitely a plus.
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http://jackiespeaksit2014.wordpress.com/zero-to-hero-30-days-to-a-better-blog/day-1-introduce-yourself/day-2-whats-your-name/
I am doing the zero to hero challenge stop by let me know what you think?
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Yeah, I started the challenge yesterday as well. I hope I’ll be able to sustain the momentum. I’ll be sure to stop by your corner as well.
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Our pastor/priest is from Tanzania..Interesting person, indeed..Good to see you take up the zero to hero challenge! I joined but haven’t had time to get started on it yet..Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year Berna!
Please do join the Zero to Hero challenge. It’ll be fun to see how we evolve over the month.
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I’m going to check to see what the zero challenge is for the day & I’ll pop by often to check on yours Hugs!
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Great.
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I am definitely a small town person. It took me a while to adjust to life in Montreal! When I was growing up my family spent countless vacations in the village… priceless memories! The smells, sounds, sometimes eerie silence… I am feeling nostalgic right now.
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I know, for me its the eerie silence at nights and in the early morning. I find that the days and nights are so different. I do enjoy the simplicity and freedom of the village though. No stress, no hurry.
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City life in most of the developing world is fast paced and exciting, it is also ugly and stressful. In India, living in the countryside means being closer to your roots and traditions, cherishing friends and family and enjoying daily the beauty of nature. However, for a woman it can be very restrictive with parochial traditions, dress codes, social mores and hawk eyed gossipy aunts.
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You raise some great points regarding the treatment of women in rural towns. The patriarchal nature of the society is what keeps me from living there fulltime. I enjoy the village in small doses.
And touche about the hawk-eyed gossipy aunts. Every family has them, lol.
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I live in a medium town some might call small 😉
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I have been out in the Australian outback for two months now. Closest town (400 people live there) is two hours away by car. A friend of mine recently said to me that I now sound completely different than I did when I started. It’s a lifestyle (choice). There are many, many pros. But also plenty of cons. It’s just what you focus on.
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For me, spending time in small towns helps maintain perspective. The hustle and bustle of city life can be exhausting and keeps me distracted from life. So taking time to “disappear” and reflect helps bring life in perspective. And the fact that resources are limited, forces you to adapt. I like the fact that being outback in Australia or wherever in the world reminds us that we can adapt to any environment, if we’re willing. Yes, there are pros and cons, but that’s true for anything in life. The focus is what’s key, as you rightly pointed out.
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Truly Awesome. I am visiting a village town I last visited 27 years ago. This was refreshing.
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Wow. Has the town changed much, I wonder, after 27 years? I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.
And thank you for reading 🙂
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Thanks. It looks “same same but different”. I have just written something about it. 🙂
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This is so true. I am leaving my home this week for some weeks in a village in Mexico. Life is simple there which creates a retreat for me. That is exactly why I go…to remind me that simplicity is good.
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Amen. Enjoy, I’m sure you’ll return with many wonderful stories and insights.
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Yes, I learn a lot there every year. Want to see my village? http://whatswhatinmexico.wordpress.com
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I really enjoyed reading your post. I haven’t lived in a village so it was interesting to read there are pros and cons. I live in a capital city with the population of a large country town. It’s quiet, there are no traffic jams and no crowds anywhere.
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Thanks.
No traffic jams sounds like a major plus to me. I always agonize over the lost hours spent in traffic commuting.
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I am attracted to your “voice”. Look forward to hearing more. To answer your question, I am a small town person that mostly stays away from the big city. But I sure to appreciate what a big city has to offer. Like capital “C” culture and and capital “A” architecture – sure little villages and towns offer the same, but on a different scale.
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Thank you Maggie.
It’s definitely nice to be able to get away from the city when you can and visit when you can too.
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I love this. At heart, I think I am a village person but then again I live in New Jersey, very close to New York City and everything here is close together and fast paced. Living in a village sounds wonderful.
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Thank you. NYC is fun though; all those little communities within such a large city. But nothing beats the serenity of being out in the village.
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I love my village life too.. I grew up playing Cricket in the street, football without shoes and a bunch of other stuff which would be deemed inappropriate/dangerous in the city. I wouldn’t change it for the world! The sense of community in our neighbourhood helped to shape me into the person I am today!
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Awesome. Curious as to where you were playing street cricket and shoeless football.
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