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I am sitting in a coffee shop/restaurant on Shenkin Street. My chair is facing the street and the rain is pouring down so hard that the sound of the drops hitting the pavement and the trees takes over all other sounds.
Its strange to be sitting here, not speaking the language of 99% of the people in this room. Part of me feels like an intruder. I wonder if me sitting here with my journal out, my hebrew flash cards, and ipod is abnormal and they wonder why I am not at home, in privacy, reflecting and studying.
I think one of the many reasons I love going to coffee shops by myself is because I always feel like a fly on the wall. I have my own space, I am seen, but I have the freedom to dive into my own world (writing) or look and watch people walking down the street or watch the couple sitting across the room from me. I always feel very aware of my surroundings AND myself... which I think is hard to obtain, especially in today's world.
I wore flip flops here even though it is raining because I didn't bring shoes for this weather. On the walk here at least 3 people pointed to my feet and said something to me--obviously i had no idea what they were saying. I just smiled, nodded, and kept walking...
Even though they probably said something like "aren't you cold", it is moments like that which make me feel alone because I can't communicate back or understand, but I also feel thrilled that I AM here. I remind myself that I am here because I WANT to understand... and if I want to, then I belong here, right now, at this point in my life.
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You and Shoshanah and your flip flops! lol
ReplyDeleteKaren