'A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again.'Margaret Mead
I get the feeling my mother wonders why I am still in Asia. She hopes I'm happy, even though, I say I am, I'm sure she wonders 'WHY?'.
Yes, the streets are dirty, there's noise, pollution and definitely more traffic than your city. More aggravation, it’s more difficult to move about and harder to communicate.
But I found after 14 months that massive, disarranged picture has settled into the shape of ordinary life...
So what happens when you start to understand the language, see meaning in seemingly meaningless actions, when traffic, pollution and people aren't strange, annoying or confusing anymore?
Life happens...learning happens...acceptance happens...and it makes room for contentment.
Apart from the lifestyle that comes with having a good salary. I am simply in love with this city.
It's beautiful. And has an intangible quality that is hard to place. A Parisian woman recently described as a 'city of hearts' if that means anything.
And...every so often I have a random encounter that makes me smile...and sometimes frown.
So I stay...learn. I'm content now...finally...happy.
Hope that helps mum... ;)
