Moving
During the last three years of my life, I re-experienced the contrasts of the routine observed in cities versus the one I adopted during my time living in a small village in the swiss alps. As a born-and-raised city girl, I think it is safe to say I have experienced the best of both worlds.
And so has Janine, the owner of the B&B Chasa Jaro and Barlaina in Santa Maria, a village in Val Μüstair.
This coopetition has revealed a reflective side within the members of our team. We really wanted to dig in deeper, to experience what it is that fascinates people visiting Val Müstair and the ones who choose to live there.
What would make you leave the regulated, to some extend corporate city life you are used to and know how to handle, for a new place that operates under completely different rules?
They are two entirely different ways of life, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
I believe we could make a list, but to some extent, we will find ourselves yearning for the same things:
- A deep connection to something primal, bigger than us. A feeling only a nature-surrounded place sometimes can convey.
- Breaking a pattern. Have you ever felt your days are on replay? You keep reliving a reality, which somehow misses something essential. As if you keep misplacing the same object every single day. And you still keep at it, despite having reached your limit for a long time now.
- The adventure. Let’s be honest. The last two generations are blessed with opportunities and a variety of means enabling them to live their dreams in ways our ancestors weren’t able to. Why dismiss that inner wanderlust and instinct? Pack your bags and just go try. No generation was able to make as many mistakes as we are and still get to wipe their slate clean. Who knows…maybe you are on the verge of brilliance?!
Some of these elements I recognized immediately when Janine started explaining her journey from Basel, one of the biggest cities of Switzerland, to Santa Maria. From visiting the place for the first time, falling in love with it, to the decision of leaving the kindergarten school she owns and runs in trusted hands, to simultaneously pursue the dream of opening and running a B&B.
There is a spark in her eyes ensuring you this had been her plan since forever. Of course, no one really knows what they are destined for until they reach that turning point in their lives, where everything seems to fall into place. And trust me when I say, the woman I met felt so at home it made me want to pack my bags and go search for such a place myself.
Building a new life
When someone asks you whether you are happy with your life what do you answer? Most of the time humans feel they can’t complain. Everything is sort of going according to “plan”, isn’t it?
Well, I guess “destiny”, “god”, “karma”, or whatever it is you believe in has a way of messing well-thought plans up. For everyone.
Janine was also confronted with a drastic life change after Chasa Jaro was an established B&B. Despite the hardships that followed, her strength of character can only be admired, especially considering she never strayed from her path.
We can all imagine that major life changes, when you are already trying to get adapted to a new environment, can be an immense challenge.
I feel it is fair to say she has overcome countless challenges, even though she finds herself at a point in her life, where the Corona pandemic poses a threat to her second business’ existence.
She laughs her troubles off with a certain wit and wisdom that only a true optimist could have. An optimist surrounded by people and elements she loves and would keep fighting for in good and bad times.
This is the young entrepreneur I met on the 16th of November. A humorous woman, who takes life as it is and makes the best out of any situation.
She proudly showed me her masterpiece. First Barlaina, a cozy bar that reminds me of the homely atmosphere I feel every time I have a drink at my favorite pub, only with a way classier and traditional style.
After taking in the lovely wood elements, partly remains of the barn, partly additions from the renovations, we moved onto the B&B rooms. Each room is an idiosyncratic space that lets you travel back in time.
The combination of traditional and new details throughout the building are more than impressive. And to some extend I can say the same of her.
Between a kind and understanding hostess, who by the way did not show the slightest annoyance by our late arrival, I recognized a passionate soul who strives to improve herself and the society she chose to live in.
Looking at Janine one might only see someone re-building a barn into a business. What I see is someone who chooses to take on tasks labeled as impossible and makes them possible. A visionary who cares about more than just her business outstretching to the inner workings of Val Müstair and its various components. Someone who built and is building a new life.
Living in Val Müstair
“There is no place like home”. However, I strongly believe that home is where the heart is. And hearts follow dreams, hopes, and sometimes people. It is hard to say what makes Janine feel at home. She still sometimes thinks she is an outsider in a society, which accepts the change at a much slower pace than she learned growing up.
Such a situation would hardly leave you unaffected. However, I imagine that she not only found a way to deal with Val Müstair’s rules and mindset but has slowly and steadily introduced her own way of doing things. She has encouraged a shift, new mechanisms, and procedures that impact the inner workings of the valley.
Likewise, some of her patterns have been influenced by her new way of life in Santa Maria. Is it the people? Their unique course of action? The culture? It is hard to pinpoint it.
This exchange is, in conclusion, something each one of us experiences. Some with resistance, others with open arms. I believe Janine fights for her beliefs and truly wants to make this place she calls home a better place.
There is no statement I believe more when I write: Val Müstair has gained a valuable new family member and is lucky to have her, just as she was lucky to find a new family in one of the most beautiful corners of the world.
At this point, our team would like to thank Janine wholeheartedly for her hospitality and openness when some of our team members visited her in her B&B in Santa Maria. It was truly a unique experience to see the world through someone else’s eyes and we hope to get to return the favor at some point during our own adventures. Dear Janine, we wish you all the best!
Credits article: Sara Fallet & Maria-Louisa Frangioudakis