It was 1 pm when I arrived in the city center. Today was a moving day. It's straightly actions after actions. After getting off the car, I moved the suitcases to the new flat, hugged my new flatmate, received a key, went out for lunch with a friend who came with me. The street outside the flat was full of life, with lots of people, cafes, shops, bicycles and cars. Lots of sounds and lots of smells.
After stuffing our stomach, we had a little stroll in the neighborhood. I said good-bye to my friend, came back to the flat, opened the door with the new key for the first time, walked into the room, and sat in front of the desk. It was a big desk, and the chair needed to be lowered. The room still had a smell of male perfume. I opened the window, looked outside for a few seconds, and came back to the desk.
For the next five hours, I was sitting in front of the laptop, working.
At 8 pm, I left the desk and lay down on the bed. Yeah... It's time to get acquainted with the room. I got up and started to unpack the suitcases. To empty two suitcases and put everything in the wardrobe, into the drawers and on the shelves, it took only ten minutes. Funny. Only now did I realize that I never unpacked my bags for the last 18 days. Maybe I was waiting, the whole time.
Seeing that everything found its own place in this room, I felt a sudden joy of relief. It was just unpacking, but it somehow brought a surprising degree of relaxation. I don't know why.
I wonder what objects other people would choose to carry to make themselves feel at home wherever they go, if they can carry only a few, light things while constantly changing their locations.
There are things -be it photos, musical instruments, or candle holders- that are not necessarily as practical as clothes or electric gadgets, but one needs to have because they give you a sense of consistency and thus, a sense of being 'at home.'
For me, those things are a moka pot, incense, and music.
So I performed the usual ritual for officially settling in - burned the incense, made espresso, and put on the music.
Soon, the room got filled with the familiar scent. It's the smell that has followed me from Japan to Korea, to Finland, to the UK, and now to Israel.
I think I feel at home enough.