What is the significance of the opening scene of Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"?

In the opening scene, we become aware that Jig, the protagonist, appreciates the beauty of the train station’s natural surroundings. Hemingway was a great believer in the power of nature to edify and uplift people, and the fact that Jig understands and values “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro,” along with their attendant mountains and shadows of clouds, indicates that she is the character with her priorities straight.