Villages

Horror novels, as well as their accompanying movies, always have this way of picking out unique little villages for the horror scenes to come to life. These villages are usually ones that actually exist and they are often perfectly scenic in every other way. When we watch the horror movies, or read the books, we are tempted to never succumb to the invisible threats that lie under the lakes or that creep in the woods that always accompanies these little villages. Even Jaws made its mark on a little village set on the coast.

Why do these little villages make such great places of horror? Generally because they are also places that seem so perfectly picturesque that the author can’t help but shatter the idea that America’s sweet little village are as perfect on the inside as they appear on the outside. All of these little villages are places that look like the right place to raise a family, to put down roots, and to live simply. What better place for an author to throw a little chaos and fear into that the perfect little American village?

We still drive through these villages of horror, but we have a renewed sense of perspective. We have, through the horrors written in fantasy, learned that there are problems everywhere and the perfect little town or the perfect little house can not erase the problems we all face. Rather, we all have to deal with our own horrors in order to make sense of them and prevent them from creeping into our white picket fences.

Greenwich Village: Thriving Artistic Colony or Overpriced Museum?

Greenwich Village, known as “the village”, invokes a certain image of a bohemian quarter, as it was for the first half of the 20th century. The home of the beat generation literary movement, a common stomping ground for the innovative musicians and songwriters of the midcentury, the village carries an image of a counterculture paradise. These days, the streets of the village are far different. The gentrification process which has swept much of New York City has been alternately applauded and condemned.

No more in the village do you find the starving artists and aspiring musicians. They simply can’t afford it. Still, many who live there as well as the tourists appreciate the gentrification and feel the streets have become cleaner and safer. For the tourist, there are still the landmarks to be seen, the relics of the old days of bohemia. The poets may not roam the streets, but the streets still proclaim the place of past glory. The commercialization of the village partly washes out and partly preserves the famous artists of past times, while the artists of the present day have moved on, to cheaper areas. Perhaps in fifty years, these areas will be inhabited by the affluent and brag of past artistic glories. The village may have changed a great deal in recent decades, and the artistic soul should perhaps look elsewhere for kindred spirits. Still, the process is ongoing and the spirit the village supposedly possessed is probably not in the streets themselves but in those artists that passed through, long ago.

Returning to the Village

Urbanization has been one of the dominant processes of modernity, with workers leaving the village for the city, usually never to return. While urbanization has been ongoing for several centuries, the 20th century saw a particular mass movement from the village to the city. Urbanization in developing countries has been especially relevant in recent decades, and all over the world massive urbanization has resulted in rural depopulation and the development of sprawling slums around major cities with poor living conditions. The village is dying.

In the early days of the internet, people began to wonder if the urbanization process might be reversed. The possibilities provided by the internet, such as flexible telecommuting jobs, might make it possible for people to return to the village and work from home offices. The internet could make it possible to live in rural areas, and returning to the village would not necessarily mean being cut off from the world, with all kinds of information at your fingertips. In a sense, the internet could improve both job flexibility and quality of life to such a degree that some might reject the high prices and crowded atmosphere of the big city to return to the village.

So far, the predicted reverse urbanization has not occurred to any great degree. Still, the internet has transformed the workplace and contributed to greater job flexibility and access to information. While the cities may not empty out in the near future, a transformed wired world might curb the urbanization process and keep the village alive.

It Takes a Village

We’ve all heard the saying “It takes a village to raise a child”. What this speaks to in a more general sense is the need for a healthy community, but for all of us in our daily lives. While not many people nowadays live in an actual village, it is important to create community bonds that offer the same support structure of the proverbial village. Recognizing the importance of community, we then must figure out how to build a village. Today, a personal village can stretch across the globe, though real interaction on a day-to-day basis is still important for inter-personal bonds.

Modern society is quite different from a village. With the internet, we can reach across the globe in seconds. Increased mobility and urbanization mean that many people are leaving their home communities to pursue different job opportunities or lifestyles. The individual and his or her individualized choices have taken precedence over the village. While this can offer great opportunities for self-discovery and fulfilment, the deprivation of support structures can be frightening.

Today’s village may be built through individual choices, yet it is always necessary to consider the needs of others. Not everyone can fit perfectly into a world we build ourselves, yet with the traditional village hardly possible, we must to some extent take an active role in constructing our own community bonds. These may take different forms from that of the proverbial village, but the function is the same, and we, like the child, are all greatly affected by the community around us – or the lack thereof.

Village

Anyone seeking out one of the best vacation spots need look no farther than the little villages that crest through Brazil. Here a rather inexpensive vacation can be had while wandering through a village or two that is filled with heart, beautiful people, and a welcome mat that extends all around the world. Many of the small villages of Brazil have been untouched by the modern conveniences of the world while the cities bustle in the distance. It is like the perfect yin and yang vacation destination that is just a short plane ride from the United States.

The small villages of many of the Brazilian towns are hosted by native people who are more than ready to share a meal, a story, and companionship with weary travelers. Here you can find some of the most delightful people in the world living against some of the most incredible scenery backdrops imaginable. Very few people consider the potential for a vacation in a Brazilian village, but these are the places that make the country so inviting. Often not far from the luxurious beaches these little villages make the perfect rest stop for just about anyone who wants to find the heart of one of the most incredibly beautiful vacation destinations in the world. One visit to a small Brazilian village and your entire perspective on this awesome country will change, as will your perspective on life. That is where the heart of each village lives.

Nature all around

When at the city you see no trees at all and you see only concrete and asphalt and the whole high-tech iron and glass stuff but there is no nature around you when at the city. But, people sometimes miss nature and they need to see those real trees and they want to feel grass under their feet and see flowers all around and so on. And when people have such a desire they usually run away from town and go to the place where nature is still alive. And it is village that place that hasn’t kill nature and that let is breathing and develops. When in the village the first think you notice, the first difference you notice is air. It is different from the city air because it is sweet and clean. And there are trees all around you and there is nothing that holds those trees and they grow just like that. And there is grass under your feet and in case you take your shoes off you can feel that grass and that is the feeling you will never get in the city. Village means nature and village can help you to remember which thing is the main thing in this life.

Peace and calm

Two typical features of any village are – peace and calm. Nothing ever happens there and there is nothing that strikes people. It is like those villages have a schedule about this life and they live according to that monotonous and common schedules and that is why nothing ever happens there. There are sometimes people who deal with local news and they publish something like newspaper though, there is nothing interesting in those newspapers because nothing happens there. They are people who live in the calm ocean of their lives and they have nothing to worry about and they never even lock their doors because they know that there are no bad people in the village and no one will ever come to steal something or to do something bad. You may say it is a boring life I’m talking about but I guess it is great when you can let your children go anywhere they want to go because you know that nothing bad will happen to them. Village is like another world, the world of peace and people who never hurt each other because all of them are friends.

They still believe

They still believe in miracles and they still think there is no way to walk away in case there is a person that needs one’s help. They still say “how are you” and they really mean it and they still say “hi” to all people and they have a sincere smile on their faces. They still have foundations and they will never betray one who trusts them and they still believe other people will also never betray them in case they are dear and close people. They still believe in a number of things people from cities don. They still believe in a great number of things people from cities have already forgotten about and they are still people who ask you about your life not because they are polite but because they really care about you and your life. And they will do their best in order there is something they can do in order to help you. They will do their best and they will never ask you to pay back and they never want you to pay back. They are people from the village and they are perfect polarities for those from the cities and they are like mirages.

Village tourism

When there is a tome for people and they can use this time any way they want to they usually make their decisions in a favor of tourism. People want to go some place and they need this place to be a polarity for the place they live at. They want to be as far from the roaring city as it is possible. They usually go to the sea or something, but, recently it became common for people to spend their vacation at the village. They call it village tourism. People leave cities they are tired of and they go to the place where there are no cars and huge buildings and irritated people and the whole urban stuff. People need to have a rest and they want this rest to be natural. They want to see the real attire and they need fresh air to breathe. That is why the village tourism is so popular among people today. It is not a wonder because no one can stand such a fuss and chaos for a very long time. And in case you are a city-liver than it means that your whole life is fuss and chaos. Village tourism is a great way to spend your time and to let your lugs breathe and you brain to calm down.

Village education

Village is not just place like a paradise here. It is a common place where people live and they ate just the same people with those who live in cities and town. There are just the same people and so they also go to school and they also need an education in their lives. Though, the education is actually the dark side of the life at school. Not much people want to live in the village and most people prefer urban life. Though, there are teachers are needed at the village to teach pupils. And unfortunately a good and a perfect teacher will never go t o the village to become a village teachers. See, people need a success in their carriers and as the rule they choose the best way to the top. Though, being a teacher at the village school is not even a step from the point of view of carrier and that is why in most cases education of village people leaves much to be desired. This is the main problems of the village and those people who live there, I guess reformation is needed at this sphere and at least some changed should be brought to this education.

They trust each other

People in the village are people of peculiar kind. They are people of that kind that will soon disappear from this world. They have no thirstiness for money and image and social status and the whole material stuff people of city are possessed with. Sure, they also need money and they make those but they never recognize it as something that makes them more precious people. As a rule, there are never too much people in the village and they know each other well. They know each other good and they know they can trust each other. Trust makes all those relations people have, those people who live in the village. They have the fabulous ability to trust people and with the trust they have they keep this value alive. They know each other well and they would never dare to betray each other. This is the main merit of people from village and at the same time it is the main weakness of them. It is okay to be of that kind when they are in the world of the same people but it is impossible to act like that when they face polarities-people.

The different world

Village is like a different world and everything is different there. If you thinking about city with all its drawbacks and benefits than in order to realize what the village is you will only have to image the perfect polarity for the city. You will never find all those drawback of the city in village. There are no roaring cars that poison the air with exhausts and there are no subways that make you feel like you are a fish in the can. And there are no crazy people who are rushing somewhere and there is no fuss and worries and yelling and stresses and psychiatrist who heal people of that whole stuff. There is nothing like that in the village and there is calm and peace only, but, there are also no supermarkets where you can get everything you want. And it is not that easy to find the place you can connect the world web and so on and so forth. In other words the village is place different form city and it is provided with the mental benefits and deprived of material. Though, I guess mental matter is still more precious than the whole material stuff.

Village people

What is that thing that makes us and our characters? That thing is society around us and world around us. Were we kind and sweet towards each there are than some of our common features would be lost, but we are who we are and we are what we are. So, this is about people who live in village because they are different from those who live in cities. Have you ever noticed those faces around you when rushing somewhere? I bet you don’t because you are too busy, and so those faces are. But, in case you take a look at them you will see that there is no even a single smiling or kind face. All of them are stern and busy and it seems they are thinking about something really important. But things are different when talking about faces of those people who live in village. They are never stern and never deprived of emotions. They smile to each other and when they say “hi, how are you?” they really mean it. it is not just a common expression to say “hi” but they really care about how you are doing. See, this is the difference between village and city.

Village keeps culture

Cities are place for people to live and those are place greatly developed by people. People in the city are always in touch with the whole word ad they know about all those changes of it and they bring those changes in their lives and in the life if city. They follow the progress and they are crazy about something new and about development. Though, they never see that they replace old and native things with the whole new stuff they are so thirsty for. But, people in the village are people of different kind and they are not so crazy about the progress and development. They are not crazy about all those things and they are keepers of the culture of country. Recently it became clear that there are more and more of those people that want to leave villages ad move to the cities ad town, and in case there will be no villages left in the country this country will lose it culture and so its soul. People in the village are people that still remember all those customs and traditions and in case they will forget about those a country will never be country anymore, it will become something faceless.

Born to live in the village

There are a lot of different places for people to live in and those places have their peculiar merits and their drawbacks. It is important for one to realize what that perfect place for him or her is. You know, there are such people that can’t imagine their lives without a scientific-technical progress and they will never be happy with living in the village. They are people that need all those nightclubs and wireless connection and the whole social modern stuff and they will never notice ad appreciate the beauty of the village. But, there are also people that need village and there is no way for them to be happy with living in the city. They are people that soon get tired with that permanent roaring and motion of the city. There are cities that never fall asleep and live is always active there and there is no calm in cities like these and so people get tired of them. Such people need village as a place for living because it is the place they can feel in calm at and it is the place that provides them with that natural peace, you know.