If home is where the heart is, then my home is in Bloomington and another random place in Indiana, Chicago and Peoria, Pittsburgh, New Delhi, some small town in Ohio, Spain, in various towns around Nebraska, and, oddly enough, in Bangkok. I personally like to think that home is where your eyebrow lady is at. It took me 3 years to find a fantastic eyebrow threading shop in Chicago (it's right at Belmont and Clark, called Ideal Salon for all you Chicagoans. I'm also currently looking at Chicago on google maps and crying so it's fine.) but it only took me 3 months in Bangkok (probably because I now know the value of having your eyebrows threaded on a regular basis. Gotta keep those eyebrows on fleek.) And I even have a hairdresser here. Life is getting real.
This past week I've viewed an art gallery featuring photos of Chicago and returned to the airport to pick up a friend. Bangkok feels like home now sort of.
First off, going to an art gallery where the "art" is pictures of your old life is jarring on so many levels. I knew the places she had captured on film- I've stood on those street corners and seen that skyline. And to be standing in a hot bar in Bangkok, viewing my old life was weird. There's no other way to explain in. Like this means I officially no longer reside in Chicago, right? Ironically, during my solo dinner, I met a man wearing a Wrigleyville Goose Island t-shirt and proceed to have a long conversation about Chicago which equal parts exciting and odd. What is happening, BKK?
Second, going to the airport to pick up a friend is also weird like 5 months ago I was being pick up from the airport, wearing a blue tank-top and long black skirt, not knowing anything about Thailand or work or even how to say hello and now I'm giving directions to the taxi driver in Thai! Like this is what 5 months does to you. It was incredible to host someone for the first time and made BKK feel much more like home.
I wore the same blue tank top to the airport, a tradition I will continue I've decided, and I dressed up extra fancy for my solo night viewing the art gallery. It's weird how places become your home is the strangest ways possible. Who knew that some low-quality Chicago photos or a long trek to the airport would cause such feelings of pride to bubble up!
So, for me, home is where you eyebrow lady is, where you host friends, and, most importantly, where you view photos of your old streets/city/life. Bangkok, you're not a bad home.
This past week I've viewed an art gallery featuring photos of Chicago and returned to the airport to pick up a friend. Bangkok feels like home now sort of.
First off, going to an art gallery where the "art" is pictures of your old life is jarring on so many levels. I knew the places she had captured on film- I've stood on those street corners and seen that skyline. And to be standing in a hot bar in Bangkok, viewing my old life was weird. There's no other way to explain in. Like this means I officially no longer reside in Chicago, right? Ironically, during my solo dinner, I met a man wearing a Wrigleyville Goose Island t-shirt and proceed to have a long conversation about Chicago which equal parts exciting and odd. What is happening, BKK?
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| A collage of Chicago. I felt all the feels and teared up at the sight Red Eye like who would have thought. |
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| New friends and exploring Chinatown! |
So, for me, home is where you eyebrow lady is, where you host friends, and, most importantly, where you view photos of your old streets/city/life. Bangkok, you're not a bad home.
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