Nostalgia
I am in a foreign land and have been here for 18 days. Experiences of unfamiliar sights, places, and people bathe me daily and its both exciting and adventurous yet all these cannot fill the sense of familiarity I am missing. Here are some of the things I am missing for sure:
I miss the smell of food, whether in restaurants or on the sidewalk, I still think homegrown food is the best.
I miss the chit-chats I hear on the street, on the public transport, at home or basically everywhere else that I CAN comprehend. Here, most of what I hear are mumbles of other languages and dialects or just the buzzing in the trains.
I miss being able to go places without totting with me a bus/mrt card and a map. After almost three weeks here, I still feel like a stranger.
I miss my family. I miss seeing them and talking to them and even arguing with them. Its just different when you're away from them. No amount of talking on the phone or being online will ever really replace any of the physical contact you get when you're physically with them. Even just a little pat makes a difference.
I miss cooking at home, and cooking with the ingredients only available there. I miss the smell of our own patis and suka, and even the smell of our own cooking oil.
I miss my routine. For someone who actually hates routine, its amazing that I am actually saying this. I miss not waking up early, sleeping late, watching my favorite tv shows and all other things I used to really take for granted.
I miss eating in stalls on the sidewalks - green mangoes, santol, papaya, balot, batchoy, lechon and pretty much everything else you could find in our busy sidewalks.
I even miss breaking the rules - jay walking, spitting anywhere, eating anywhere, and boarding the jeepney while its still running.
Yeah, all of these just seem like petty things but do wait until you experience what I have experienced and tell me I am wrong.
I am still waiting for the response to a job application and it somehow kills me that I have no control over it. I can only pray and wait, and hope that the response will be positive and I can move on.
Its hard being in a different land and not knowing whats going to happen next. I can only hope and pray for the best.
nmed 06/24/11 @12:28noon
SG
I miss the smell of food, whether in restaurants or on the sidewalk, I still think homegrown food is the best.
I miss the chit-chats I hear on the street, on the public transport, at home or basically everywhere else that I CAN comprehend. Here, most of what I hear are mumbles of other languages and dialects or just the buzzing in the trains.
I miss being able to go places without totting with me a bus/mrt card and a map. After almost three weeks here, I still feel like a stranger.
I miss my family. I miss seeing them and talking to them and even arguing with them. Its just different when you're away from them. No amount of talking on the phone or being online will ever really replace any of the physical contact you get when you're physically with them. Even just a little pat makes a difference.
I miss cooking at home, and cooking with the ingredients only available there. I miss the smell of our own patis and suka, and even the smell of our own cooking oil.
I miss my routine. For someone who actually hates routine, its amazing that I am actually saying this. I miss not waking up early, sleeping late, watching my favorite tv shows and all other things I used to really take for granted.
I miss eating in stalls on the sidewalks - green mangoes, santol, papaya, balot, batchoy, lechon and pretty much everything else you could find in our busy sidewalks.
I even miss breaking the rules - jay walking, spitting anywhere, eating anywhere, and boarding the jeepney while its still running.
Yeah, all of these just seem like petty things but do wait until you experience what I have experienced and tell me I am wrong.
I am still waiting for the response to a job application and it somehow kills me that I have no control over it. I can only pray and wait, and hope that the response will be positive and I can move on.
Its hard being in a different land and not knowing whats going to happen next. I can only hope and pray for the best.
nmed 06/24/11 @12:28noon
SG
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