Posted by Vahe Tachjian
It’s likely many of you have had this same experience: You
live far away from your birthplace, in a very different social environment, and
when you get the opportunity to return, you are euphoric about the journey.
Your imagination takes flight, and you begin to form plans in your mind—meeting
friends old and new, visiting places known and unknown, eating delicious
authentic meals. Then, you reach your birthplace…and suddenly are faced with
its negative aspects which, it seems, were set aside and forgotten in all that
enthusiasm. The dreadful noise, indescribable traffic, terrible heat, damp
air—it had slipped from your memory. At the end, you’ve only achieved a few of
your plans and, satisfied with that little, you return to your country of
residence.