Living in a neighborhood and I mean really living in a neighborhood is an interesting experience. On my block, I have multiple kindergartens, cocktail bars, bakeries, little shops and even a hot dog stand. It’s adorable and idyllic. When I open the windows in my living room, I can hear the kids on the playground nearby laughing and carrying on. It’s a comforting sound to hear life happening around me. When I open the windows in my room, I can hear the sounds of people on dates or meeting with friends at the cocktail bar. That is also a comforting background noise while I read or write at my desk.
I walk around and assume nobody notices me. Sometimes when people cut me in line or bump into me as if I don’t exist, I take it as a sign that maybe I don’t. Perhaps I’m invisible and floating through life until I’m reminded that I’m not. It’s when the guy I buy my hummus from invites me in to sit with him one night and tells me about when he lived in the US and asks me my story. And when I see him the days following, he waves and asks how I am. It’s when the bartender across the street waves to me every night when I pass the bar or says hello on his smoke break. I started noticing the people around me and they started noticing me, too.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my neighborhood is beautiful. It literally translates to beautiful hill. The buildings surrounding my apartment are old and draped in ivy. My neighbor is a monk for crying out loud. It’s so cool. It feels more community-centric than any other place I’ve lived before. There’s a small community center nearby that holds classes for older people to learn how to use technology, repair their appliances and gather for dinners on a weekly basis. It just feels really nice to know that once you step outside your door, you can be a part of something nice. To some extent, I’ve always wanted this feeling but didn’t think it was possible in the confines of a larger city.
I’ve lived a lot of places and felt disconnected from the area. I’ve felt that at any moment I could pull the plug on the situation and nobody would notice. Not so much anymore!