Sunday, December 14, 2008

Nostalgia


Last night I sat at a table with my peers. It was the work Christmas dinner. Wine was consumed in healthy (or not so healthy) doses and seated next to me was a coworker who I have worked with for about six months, but we have never really talked. He told me about his wife and daughter and he asked me about my plans for Christmas. I told him I was going to Turkey. He said that he had never been there, although he had travelled quite a lot. Elaborating, he told me about his travels in South East Asia. There were stories and within my mind a book opened and a page turned. It is always interesting to talk to someone you don’t know very well and discover that you actually have a common past or interest. He then went on to speak about my country, Australia, and how he and his then girlfriend travelled around it. Describing a mountain range that I have visited since I was a child was a catalyst and I began to visualise the rock formations and the lay of the land as he spoke. It seems that they had visited a lot of places near where I come from and I, probably aided by the wine, was awash with nostalgia.

I asked him if he had the opportunity to experience summer evenings where the air would become electrified and it would rain with lightning illuminating the vastness of the land. Where thunder shatters the stillness and you gain a perspective of how small you really are as a dot on a great, terracotta brown canvas. He said yes and then the main course arrived.

1 comment:

The Prodigal Tourist said...

Thanks for your nice comments. I love this photo too! I've never been to Valencia, but I have wonderful memories of Spain and would love to return.