Different way of life

I turned my ankle day after Christmas so I have to stay off my ankle quit a bit.  Yesterday, I watched a show on PBS.  It was part of the Yan Can Cook series.  He was traveling to China and it was very insightful to see how people lived in this Chinese village.  The farmers markets, most everything was fresh and grown locally.  Early in the morning the elderly and others gathered in a central place and exercised together, the younger ones then went off to their work and the older ones played challenging board games. 

He was invited to a family home and it was a compound where one family had lived for 7 generations.  Built in the Chinese style it reminded me of the Mexican compounds where the buildings are built around the inner court yard.  There were wings for the older and younger generations and there was a common kitchen where they all ate.  They had gardens and their own well and fruit trees that were 300 years old and still producing.  The people gathered in the community square to share entertainment, singers and dancers from the community. 

There seemed to be a overall respect for each other and life itself, not just a quest for more entertainment and excitement like you see so much of in the American culture.  I found it very peaceful.