Grateful

I'm from Vancouver but I live abroad. This new-found country I currently call home is by no means as developed as Canada in many respects however, interestingly enough, the people are much happier. People here squat in holes to use the bathroom and flush with buckets of water. Apartment buildings have holes cut into their brickwork for windows. Paint peels off of everything. Construction rebar, broken glass, and house garbage line the roads like public artwork. Everyone smokes. Elevators are a rarity. War-fleeing children and the disabled beg on the street and sleep with diseased cats. English is a very rarely heard language. Those without work become their own highly creative entrepreneurs, weaving their products with their imaginations. Bookshops are everywhere but few read. Gossip is the national sport. Markets run 24-hours off of carpets, and are lit at night by candles and flashlights. Starbucks? --- Hah, only in the capital city. It rains awful hard. If someone is sick, the hospital isn't out of reach but grandma's village soup is the best cure. When the electricity cuts out in the middle of the day, no one panics about five minutes without Facebook or Twitter. But, people are happy. There isn't a soul here who doesn't have a wide sunshine smile on their face, a wonderful sense of humour, a story to tell, a plate of home cooked food to fill for you, or an immense of gratitude for being alive and well, even if they have next to nothing. People here seem to have this wondrous attitude that every little thing they hold in their hands and hearts in life is a blessing. Attached to that, dreams to keep them going. The lowest amount of money in one's pocket is still more money than one had before. If you sold one bunch of spinach today or shined a persons shoes, that's still honest work and most well appreciated. Sure, earning a life here is hard, it is everywhere on Earth. But if you compare where I'm living to where I come from, the Lower Mainland could learn a lesson about gratitude. This place has next to nothing but has everything just because they wake up every day and further more find solace in the warmth of strangers and neighbours equally with little. Vancouverites have it all and complain about every bit of it. Walk a mile in these peoples shoes and I assure you your "mismanaged" Translink and mismade Venti Frappaccinos and "foreigners" many love to hate but don't bother to understand will feel like paradise the minute you learn to be thankful for what you have. Peace out.

11 Comments

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the country? the city/area?

Apr 23, 2015 at 12:51pm

where is this place?

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Rain

Apr 23, 2015 at 12:56pm

Enjoy rockin' 3rd world!

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Been there, done that.

Apr 23, 2015 at 1:50pm

Anybody who has traveled and experienced what you have, as I have, has these realizations. You think you will change when you come back, and you do, but it's short-lived. Our society works because of what we have, for better or for worse. You can not compare them and us and you can not become one of them unless you move there. Your words are inspiring and bring back wonderful memories, but I promise you, it will be hard to live as they do upon your return.

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Complaining about Vancouverites?

Apr 23, 2015 at 2:17pm

Makes you a typical Vancouverite. Good to know we're exporting the attitude to rest of the world.

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I think

Apr 23, 2015 at 2:24pm

he's talking about Hastings and Main

Oh, you

Apr 23, 2015 at 3:42pm

I love it when my lovely Canadian brethren, naive in their privilege, visit these countries and think it's all good because everyone is smiling, saying positive things, reciting metaphors about their poverty being OK because xyz.

In the place you describe, if for one second you let yourself crack, let yourself feel the crushing force of your constant near-destruction, if you even think about failing, you will fail. And then, you will die, if not right away, then soon. Optimism and a mind clear of worries about things you cannot change allow you to focus on survival.

Never forget that our bitchy ways are a product of our having the immense luxury to examine whether we are truly happy or not, and, if we are dissatisfied, to change things in our lives in ways that the happy people you see abroad can never do.

Maybe YOU should be more happy about YOUR home, eh?

vansuck

Apr 23, 2015 at 4:21pm

Cannot wait till I have enough money saved for my whole family to travel.

Vancouver is so expensive. All you can do here is work and eat....

I agree Vancouver lacks laughter everytime I pass someone and smile nothing back unless they are over 70.

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@Oh, you

Apr 23, 2015 at 6:50pm

I think you are spot on describing the situation and I also think the OP will return and find a new appreciation for being here. Indoor plumbing and water pressure will bring OP a lot of joy. The 'happy, poor' fantasy wears off once you become a part of it and you are not apart of it if you still have a bank account in Canada.
The problem is, most people in Vancouver never experience real poverty so they never learn to be happy with simple things. Vancouverites are extremely spoiled and have no reason to feel gratitude because they don't lack for anything. OP, you are probably experiencing your first taste of shedding superficial values and the nagging thoughts to buy things or watch your phone suck your soul, so it's no wonder you are feeling connected, free and happy. Enjoy your freedom!

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I hope

Apr 23, 2015 at 7:37pm

that you don't get sick in your new country. It will be a nightmare. Trust. I paid so much money to get back to Canada to be treated...

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OP

Apr 23, 2015 at 9:47pm

Hint: Somewhere in the Middle East. Also, I don't think it's all good. I know very well that beneath their smiles is constant worry. However, it also makes me much more welcoming of refugees and immigrants to Canada in search of a better life because I am observing their lives through their own eyes and see the importance of dreams to get out of darkness. My point is that Vancouerites don't have the right to complain about their own First World lives until they understand life in the Developing World. Yes, Vancouver has it good, but I think a bit too good.

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