Lessons learned in a rural village
by Joel Forster, Evangelical Focus:
Life in the village is more relaxed but surely less safe as well. Everything is ‘pointy’: the old pieces of furniture, the rocky ground, nails and other sharp materials in unexpected corners.
“Nos vamos al pueblo” (We’re going to the village) is an expression heard in many Spanish homes as the summer vacation arrives. Families living in cities near the coast pack their cars and hit the road in journeys of over 500 kilometres towards the interior of the country. It is an almost sacred tradition – an annual trip back to the rural villages their grandparents left decades ago as they were looking for a better life in the industrialised areas.
In the pueblo, one can enjoy the invaluable cool nights as heatwaves of over 40 degrees become increasingly common in the south of Europe. The old stone houses and the often-unpaved streets are a reminder of past times. Dogs, chicken, sheep, and all kinds of other bugs here are the delight of children.
But spending the summer in the pueblo is also getting out of your comfort zone. Internet connection does not always work, there are no large supermarkets nearby, and the playgrounds are old and rusty. Life in the village is more relaxed but surely less safe as well. Everything is more ‘pointy’: the old pieces of furniture, the rocky ground, nails and other sharp materials in unexpected corners. Children love the new scenarios to explore but parents have to make extra efforts to foresee potential dangers.
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