Winter Realizations

All summer and fall I dreaded the coming winter. Last year it was very cold, there was a ton of snow, and you witness a huge productivity level drop at work amid the holiday season, as well as a general feel that people are less happy.

This winter is far different than last year. It has snowed only twice, and the snow didn't even stick for more than a couple hours. However the cold is still here and the effects of winter are still visible at work and on people's personalities.

This winter has reminded me again of the poor and harsh financial situations these people live in. Despite all this, I am reminded again that they really know what to celebrate in life, and they do it so well.

Often I am offered cookies, fruits, vegetables, house wine, cheese, and eggs from my colleagues and village friends. It's a wonderful illustration of their generous hospitality. I have to admit it is sometimes easy to forget their conditions of poverty with such generosity. I won't anymore.

This winter I have been spending a lot of time with Nadia, the social assistant, and helping her with miscellaneous tasks. I can see the stress on her face coming from the villagers who beg her for higher social payments, medical help, disability payments, etc. She has to repeatedly tell them that the amount of money they receive has nothing to do with her, she simply files the paperwork. The amount of money they do receive is so minimal it makes my stomach sick. It pained me to hear Nadia tell me her salary, which is half of what the others make in the mayor's office, at less than $100 a month. These people have no choice but to live off of their land, as their minimal salaries barely cover their utilities.

In December Nadia received a shipment of second-hand clothes, soaps, and razors from the Swiss Red Cross. I helped her organize small allotments for the families most vulnerable in our village. She had a long list. There were plenty of clothes for small children, but not enough larger sizes for the kids and older teens on her list. We organized it the best we could. There were two older teens on her list that I know personally and work with closely, and we had to give them socks that were 3-4 sizes too small. I could see how frazzled and upsetting this made Nadia. There simply wasn't enough, or the right sizes, for everyone.

This was a very humbling moment amid my own personal struggles here. It reminded me that I need to continue to look at the bigger picture and think less of my own trivialities.

Finally, while everyone is trying to make it through the winter, stay warm, and feed their families, they still take the time to celebrate. Celebrate, they do, in every sense of the word. They do not sit over dinner and complain about their work tomorrow, or leave the party early because of commitments the following day; they know they will always be there. They do not worry about the hangover they will have the next day; they know they will have one no matter how much they drink. They dance, sing, eat and drink into the wee hours of the morning. They truly live in the moment.

By understanding how challenging their daily lives may be, it makes sense that when there is a holiday they stop what they are doing to be with their friends, family, and to embrace the celebrations. It's something that I think we should all try to do. We'll all be much happier.