-
Feeling at Home
I guess if you spend enough time in one place you grow a sort of attachment to it and you feel a sort of loyalty towards it. I suppose that’s what has happened to me in Damascus. I walk the streets now with my mind a few paces behind me as I don’t really have to concentrate on where I’m going now, my feet know the way as they’ve walked the route so many times. Trips that used to feel like they took ages now seem to be extremely short.
Thinking back to when I first arrived I remember being so entranced with the places I was discovering, not really being able to put a full picture in my head of where I was and where everything was in relation to me. The hotel I first stayed in felt so far away from Old Damascus, however now I realise it’s 10 minutes away maximum. I guess it might be due to the amount of small places I’ve lived in where everything is no longer than half an hour away from the centre. Damascus however is a lot bigger than anywhere I’ve ever lived in and although I usually stay in the bubble that is the Old City, I’m able to appreciate the size of it when I have to travel to university or to an astroturf pitch to play football with some of the locals.
There are some things I’m still not too confident with at the moment such as the service taxis, as I still don’t really know where they all go. Hopefully I’ll be able to work it out before I leave in just over a month.
In a way I’ve probably become a lot more confident with travelling this year. I really didn’t want to come out here expecting myself to “find myself” out here as that’s such a cliché, however I have learnt a lot more how certain things work out here and I’ve really learnt a completely different way of life, and, dare I say it, a life that probably suits me a lot more than the hectic lifestyle of back home.
I’m probably going to miss Damascus when I finally leave as I’ve become accustom to the people and their friendliness here and I’m not looking forward to going back home where everyone is cold to any strangers they meet, whereas here they invite them in for tea or coffee and food, free of charge of course.
It’s also been really weird living without brands out here. I mean you do get things like KFC, coke, pepsi and things like that but you don’t get massive shopping chains along the streets, they’re usually just family shops that have been in the family for generations. I’ve created several rapports with different shop owners along my street and in particular the foul bil leben shop owner who is always happy to see us and knows just how we like our foul…
I suppose what this post is about is that I really feel at home in Damascus now and I’m really going to miss the things that make this place unique.
