Village Life

“I want much more than this provincial life…I want adventure in the great wide somewhere…” I sang my heart out with Belle in the movie, “Beauty and the Beast”. Never had I realized that I will have a heart warming adventure in my husband’s tribal village. Two kilometers away from a public school, almost everyone in the vicinity is related to each other.

Life in the village is like living in a close-knit community. Whenever one lacks anything, whether a hardware tool or a cooking ingredient, they don’t hesitate to come to ask their neighbor for it. Yes, I know how upset I felt when someone asked me for eggs, milk, juice, salt, rice, dishwashing liquid, disinfectant and many others to mention. Many times, it honestly unnerved me. Well, you have to know that there is only one store nearby. The other one is 2 km away.

My neighbor is a hard worker, a Jack of all trade so to speak. He borrowed our wood glue and tools several times. After his regular job, he would be seen responding to help people. I saw him the other day pruning our neighbor’s grapevine; then he came by our backyard and started pruning our grapevine! It so amazed me to see him willingly give himself in service to the community. My other neighbor has been serving my old parent-in-laws by carrying drinking water from the well. My sister in law would come to clean the house. I would occasionally receive a plate of dawali (rice rolled in grape leaves), malfuf (rice rolled in cabbage) or homemade Arabic bread. I am so overwhelmed in my heart.

Every now and then, my husband will get a call after work. Sometimes, I am nervous when the phone rings because I am dreading what favor would be asked of us. Simply tired, I wanted and needed my husband to be with me at the end of the day… or even on our day off. Well, it could be anything from someone who is sick or passed the tawgihi (college entrance test), or simply someone who needed a transportation. You see, public transportation is available twice or thrice a day. Therefore, life in the village is like living in an extended family. When they needed us, we hesitate to say no. Indeed, it was an opportunity to help someone. But sometimes, we wished there is no mobile phone. Tsk.tsk… Truly, we give ourselves most when we are giving inspite of our inconvenience.

I was a recipient of community life last Saturday. Alas, I felt sorry that I have to bother my husband’s nephew in the middle of the day. No matter if he is home; after all, it is his day-off. I do felt like I was imposing myself. I was ashamed. But I couldn’t find public transportation myself. So he had made a 15 km drive for me to reach my destination. Now I understand what is it like.

As my 23rd month in the village life unfolds, I guess I am starting to get a grip of what community life is all about. We have lived in a private and cloistered life- nothing is wrong with that. Yet, it is a closed lifestyle where people only come on an appointment; when we received and prepared for them. When we lacked, we sucked it out because we don’t want to demand from someone. Life in the village is like an open space for people to come and go. Indeed, it is a space where people come and visit in the news of even the slightest illness. Or for any event to say congratulations: when someone leave and comes from Hajj; or whenever someone passed the high school exams, or whenever someone bought a car, then people will come. They will flock over like swarming bees. They will never leave you alone, in sickness or health. Well, that is the meaning of a community; it is a life of give and take.

Perhaps, there is more beauty in this provincial life.