It's all in the details

I love that, though the whole picture is very different from what we’re used to, the details make up for it, at least for me. There are tiny bits of beauty in things that we usually don’t bother with in America. No matter where we eat, even in the school cafeteria, it is on nice china, painted with beautiful scrollwork or floral patterns. The doorframes and doors in our apartment are downright ornate! They are all carved wood and latticework. Every light fixture is a chandelier, even if not very expensive looking.

And if they do one thing well here, it is curtains! They are gorgeous! In our apartment, our director’s apartment, the reception hall at the wedding, every room in our school, including our classrooms… they all have beautiful, floor-to-ceiling, sheer curtains, often embroidered with small patterns or flowers. I love it. It makes me happy.