So I was having pints with Patrick and Lily (fun British journalist people). Lily just got back yesterday from a trip home and was missing Kolkata. Patrick just loves it here and really wants to stay. Which makes me wonder (as I was jumping rope this morning)
Is there something wrong with me that I haven’t fallen in love with a city?
I really like Cal, its definitely one of the most unique and surreal cities I’ve ever been in. Though I’ve met some who really loved Namibia, though I personally think I lived there too long to really love it. I definitely have loved experiences I’ve had in places people and places I’ve come to know. But not the place itself.
I can’t help but wonder how much of their “City/Country Love” comes from the way people treat you in those countries. I know ½ of the reason the PC guys tended to like Namibia more than I did is because most of the people have the “All Hail to the White Male” attitude. It’s not exactly the same here, but I do get tired of being stared at and having to act like the Wicked Witch from the West or flirt to get decent service or treatment.
That might explain why if I ever did love a city it was Cape Town. Maybe it was the fact that it was the first city after Peace Corps, but I loved all the different colors of brown/black people there. It’s a beautiful city with great day and nightlife. I also liked how I blended in. People would come up to me and speak in Zulu or Xosa, and after realizing I could only greet and spoke English, they just as easily switched into English and still treated me with courtesy.
But I can’t really think of any city that I love home or abroad. Is that wrong?
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