Staying in a French Village

Wendy and I have spent our first night at Courcelles des Montbard with the kind hospitality of the villagers. The heating was not working at the house we had booked to stay in. So we were fed and lodged at a neighbor's home.

It's been such a privilege to receive the kindness of these strangers. When we say thank you they say "C'est normal" and we pick up how much these villagers value community - and regret too much "individualisme".

Ironically the advent of second homes - such as we will be living in - has not been good for villages like this. Nor has big industrial farming (we have heard about the virtually disappearance of the swallows) or supermarkets (no shops in the village).

So it seems to me that the hospitality we have received is at the same time both human kindness and a political protest against all that atomizes and damages society.

Behind the quiet exterior of this pretty village lurks human kindness and concern.


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