Welcome to Turkey Again!
Welcome to Turkey Again!, originally uploaded by smilezthief.
I am entering the stage where the newness of my experience in Syria is starting to wind down, and I am becoming increasingly homesick for Singapore and my friends there. A long time ago, we were discussing the issue with a close friend of mine, who is also in the habit of globetrotting and living in different countries, and we came to conclusion that 'home is the place you have just left behind."
In many ways, this is absolutely true. It takes awhile to settle down somewhere, to develop everyday habits like going to one's favorite coffeeshop on Sunday afternoons or knowing your way around the market by instinctive mapping. Moreover, friendships grow deeper with time and one truly feels they have become part of the family only two, three years into the experience. I had exactly the same reaction when I first moved to Singapore from DC and left all my dear and beautiful friends behind. I spent a year in a state of accute nostalgia and homesickness, alleviated briefly by the fact that I made a couple of trips back for different conferences.
But time heals everything, and after a brief while, I fell in love with my newly adopted country and developed contacts and friendships to last me a lifetime. Not only that, but I discovered the beauty of exploring the culture and lifestyles of people in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Without such trips, I believe, my experience wouldn't have been neither full, nor worthwhile.
And yet, here I am in another new 'home,' making new friends and new habits. It's a magical experience in many ways since Syria is an amazingly beautiful country and the people here are warm and friendly, but it will take some time before I start viewing it as home. Even though most of my current roommates are Bulgarian, and Bulgaria is my original homeland, I still feel much more connected to Singapore because of the almost 5 years I spent there. And I know that it is only a matter of time before I submit to the attractions of my new country, but the nostalgia is still here and growing stronger right now. Especially when you are working hard and not having much of a social life, it hits you really hard and somehow all of a sudden.
Have any of you had similar experiences? How have you dealt with them?
Much love, E.