…it’s all a matter of perception.
Now I can say that every time I come back to Italy, I see it in a completely different way.
I give you an example: I used to complain about the lack of nightlife in Genova, the Italian City where my apartment is. I can’t say “the Italian city where I live”, because I actually spent more time abroad or in other parts of Italy than here.
And then…
2004/2005
Then I went to Scotland for 9 months. I loved it, but shops closed at 6 pm and pubs not later than 11. I attended the University of St Andrews (yes Prince William was there!) and there was just one club in the whole town.
Me in St Andrews, Scotland - beautiful! But not much life around
When I came back to Genova I thought “wow, this place is so much fun! Look at all this people in the streets, and clubs, and bars, wohooo!”
2009
Then I went to New York City for 6 months – the only thing I can say is that when I came back to Italy everything looked so cheap. And weather felt so warm. But also, I don’t know why, I had this feeling of being somewhere in the past. Like, the city looked a bit too old and falling apart.
Me on the Brooklyn Bridge, with a cool haircut B-)
I remember one night I went to a pizza take away and ordered one “pizza margherita”. When I saw the price – €3,50 – I ordered another one. Yes, because in New York City I was used to pay $21 for it, in my favorite Italian pizzeria!
I used to go to supermarkets and be amazed by how cheap fresh products were – and buy, buy, buy.
People looked so friendly and simple.
2010/2011
Then I went to Cairo, Egypt for 9 months.
Probably the best pic I have of me in Cairo
I came back about 3 weeks ago, and here in Genova everything now looks so perfect, shiny, clean, new to me.
While everyone else complains about the 5 minutes delay of the bus, I am amazed that there are bus stations with bus routes, and a display showing approaching buses.
People are all so well dressed and I find myself giggling to myself, wondering – do you really need high heels to stroll down the promenade?
And me? The first time I went out, I found myself carrying a plastic bag with my stuff in it, in a perfect “Egypt street” style.
Plus, believe me, I am still kinda shocked when I see one of the following things:
- Couples kissing in public (sometimes pretty hardcore)
- People walking in swimming suits
- Girls in mini skirts/shorts
Everything looks outrageously expensive – gas, food, clothes, taxis (which I don’t ride at all here). And I can’t even haggle!
People look so cold and shallow.
And there is another thing – the main one: Streets-are-empty. Where is the traffic? Where is the noise? Where are the crowds? In Downtown Cairo, you constantly have AT LEAST 50 people (+ a dozen cars) in your visual field. Here… it’s HORROR VACUI.
A view of my hometown - Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy
The city that looked so cheap on 2009, looks so expensive now.
The city that looked so messy on 2009, looks so perfect now.
The city that looked so crowded on 2005, looks so empty now.
The people that looked so simple and friendly in 2009, look so cold and shallow now.
But the place is still the same! I’m getting confused. *scratching my head*
Oh, travel, this is another one of your tricks huh?
Well, at least this means I will always be curious to see how my home city will look like after the next trips.:)
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17 Comments
This is really true. Everything is about relativity and perspective. Place and us, both, Maybe. We are constantly changing and the places too.
More and more I realize, name, label, these things are meaningless for define who we are. Only thing matters is what those effects us, I think.
Names, labels and timeframes too don’t make sense to us.:) It’s always interesting to see other sides of the same thing… Never stop discovering.:)
Everything is relative! It’s funny how traveling somewhere else can make you look at your hometown from a fresh perspective. I can relate to your post– I studied in Argentina for a year during college, and had a very different view of my own US school when I came home. PS- the average NYC pizza is super cheap now. You can get it for US$1 a slice! (Of course, you will pay more for the Italian-style pie).
Yap I know about the $1 pizza slice! But that price was for the Italian pizza (full one) I got in my favorite pizzeria in the East Village (Luzzo’s Pizza).
Wonder how “home” will feel like next time I come back from the next trip…
Insightful post. I hadn’t thought about this before. I’m on my first long-term trip, and I am interested to see what I think of my hometown when I return.
Would be cool to know how it feels like to you when you go back!
I feel exactly the same way about Sydney sometimes – everytime I go away, I come back and look at it in a new light – sometimes positive, often negative :D
Same here! I see something negative and something positive that I didn’t see before. But the funny thing is that sometimes the same thing looks different: when I came back from the US, Italian people looked friendly and simple. When I came back from Egypt, the same people looked cold and shallow! It really depends on where we’re coming from, I guess.
Yes….its theory of relativity……am sounding like scientist now…hehe…..am also feels the same when i shift to new place on account of job hope and goes bak to hometown…
I like this scientific point of view! I think everything is relative:)
wow that’s such a different perspective every time you travel to a new city and come back home. I love how you say pizza is expensive. Because I agree with you on that. There are $ 2.00 pizza everywhere but my favorite one cost me $17.00 for a pie. We ordered 3 pies and the bills is high already.
Yap, that’s too much for a pizza! But as I saw, people in NYC don’t really cook that often… and spend too much money on food!
I loved this post. We get completely bogged down with Fethiye sometimes (it’s a small town) but whenever we go away and leave it for a while, we can look at it again with fresh eyes. It’s us that change; not the place.
Julia
But it’s great to have the “fresh eyes” every time! It prevents you from being bored of the place, and makes you appreciate it. I am kind of appreciating my city now… even if I can’t hide I miss Cairo.
This is so true!! I lived the first 19 years of my life in this small German town which I thought was ok, but really nothing special. Now, after having lived in Egypt, France, and Texas for over 10 years I come “home” to visit and everything seems so green, and pretty, and hilly, and idyllic, and the air seems to clean :) It almost seems like a place somebody could come for vacation :)
Aha, same here! I see everything from a tourist’s point of view. I notice things I didn’t notice before. I think it’s great!
And yes, air is definitely better here than in Cairo, hehe:)
Hehe. I liked this post. :) I’ll be interested to see what I think of my own hometown when I head over to Latin America. :) It’s amazing how travelling affects what we see. I spent some time up in the Scottish Highlands near Loch Ness. It was so empty and tranquil … Then when I came back down and stopped in Edinburgh, the fast-paced craziness of the city overwhelmed me!