The staring business has started again. What I mean by that is the fact that as a foreigner you’re always stared at wherever you go, as if you’re a rare exotic creature from a zoo which has been let loose. It’s kind of like a celebrity effect, without having the benefits of actually being rich and famous! And to be honest, having spent the summer in Europe, I didn’t miss at all the fact that no one’s staring at you there, trying to find out what you say, observe what you do, what you place into your shopping basket etc, (and commenting loudly on what they see without ever considering the possibility that I might understand what they say)! So, the staring business has begun again, and I have to brace myself for my life as a celebrated non-celebrity!  

Remember the water heater issue I was talking about the other day? Well, over the last couple of days, I was able to make a couple of observations. Observation #1: If I switch the handle to have more water run into the heater (following the instructions of the worker), it never heats up the water in the heater, because it just keeps running through the tank. Observation #2: If I don’t touch the handle and don’t switch anything, there’s always hot water in the heater, and the water in the kitchen tap doesn’t run out either any more. Plus it’s hot any time of the day. Conclusion: Maybe there’s no problem with the water heater after all. Maybe everything is working as it should, and there’s nothing to worry about. Maybe the worker just didn’t have any clue and got everything mixed up himself. Whatever the case, I’m just happy that the water’s been working just fine, and that there’s no problem with either – the hot water heater or the kitchen tap!

Boy, I can tell you: Nearly four months away from home can do a thing or two to your home. Most notably: those dust bunnies which delight in keeping you company as soon as you keep things untouched for just a couple of days. The dust bunnies in my apartment have multiplied miraculously over the summer, and there’s hardly any way to get them under control. In cases like this, I actually consider it a good thing that I have to move into a new place, since it also means that I can simply leave those disagreeable dust bunnies behind!

It’s funny how things change. The other day, when I was at an airport, traveling somewhere in Europe, I saw an Asian lady wearing a surgical mask. And as I watched her walking by, I thought to myself: she must be terribly afraid of catching some bug while traveling among a lot of strangers. And then a thought struck me: Only a couple years earlier, I would’ve thought this lady was terribly sick herself and trying to protect others from getting what she suffers from. And then I realized: It’s funny how a couple years abroad can change your perspective so drastically. I used to laugh (secretly, of course) about the silliness of people wearing such masks. Now, that I’ve learned to understand why they do this, I’ve learned to be a little more sympathetic with people like that Asian lady at the airport …