Small vs. big town

I visited my wife's "small town" this time on my vacation. It is called Midsayap, and is in Mindanao, an island south of the Philippines, more famous for its Muslim separatist movement than for its rich agricultural produce, mainly coconuts and mangoes. My wife and her family were worried that I would get bored there. I was given DVDs to watch, some books to read lest I have nothing to do there. My wife's family was also very worried what I would eat there as everybody's carnivorous and I am largely vegetarian!

Imagine my huge surprise when somebody cooked an Indian meal for me there. Granted it wasnt the best Indian food I have had in my life, but the fact somebody even tried to make chapatis was enough for me. It was a wonderful experience- everybody was out to make me feel at home. The moment they I learnt I loved beer, out came bottles of San Miguel and the Vice Governor even threw an impromptu party for me at the Midsayap Tennis Club of which my father in law is a proud member. We had conversation around the Indians who have played tennis at the international stage from Amritraj and Sania Mirza. I was amazed they knew so many of Indian tennis players but clearly they read their papers and out ot make me feel at home!

There is something about the warmth of the hospitality of a small town that big cities just cant match. The people are simpler, they are somehow more affectionate and they also do everything they can to make you feel more comfortable- as a result, you tend to overlook some minor material comforts that you may enjoy in a bigger city. Secondly, there is something about the work ethic of the small town that I am very proud of and so is my wife. Our only passport to professional success is education and so we study very hard- we work the nights to ensure that at least in terms of education, we are well qualified to match the very best- what we could not get in terms of exposure that is available in a big city, we tend to make up in terms of academic excellence! It breeds a work ethic of both hard work and excellence, something I am not sure you would develop if you got everything in a platter in a big city.

On the flip side, though, the concept of privacy is completely missing in a small town. Everybody wants to have some say in what you are doing, who you are dating and who would eventually end up with. It could possibly be constricting as the worldview is limited. So the best option would be study in a small city, develop a good work ethic and then, move to the "big city" environment where opportunities are more and you can leverage what you have learnt.

At the end of the day, I constantly bemoan the end of innocence, and in my view, in a small town, that happens much later in life if at all, than in a big city. The warmth of the people, people I had never met in my life, in a small remote town in the southernmost island of the Philippines, their small gestures to make me comfortable, their attempts to make conversation with me in their broken English, their utmost joy in getting photographs clicked with me- all of these shall remain one of my most abiding memories of this vacation.

Maybe the "small town" work ethic and values combined with the "big city" outlook is all we need to lead a fulfilling life.