WRITING PROMPT RESPONSE

A Different Kind of Neighborhood

My life as a perpetually migrating bird between various homes

As a modern-day nomad who doesn’t stay longer than six months at one place a time I probably relate more to migrating birds than the societal expectation of a woman’s life. And I’m pretty okay with it.

The one thing you’re lacking though when constantly moving your home is the relationship to neighbors. It surely doesn’t mean you can’t get to know your neighbors when staying less than a year at one place. But it makes it more difficult.

Neighbors from different cultures

I’ve got one of those neighborhood memories from my time living in Thailand. It was still early in our stay there. We had just moved into a house and were still borrowing an old scooter from a colleague while on the lookout for a new one.

One morning, as it comes, we were trying to start that scooter and it just wouldn’t get going. We were staying in a complex all surrounded by local Thai families. The neighbor opposite of our house came out, quickly looked at the scooter, told us to push it back into our yard and use his one for the day.

We were so perplexed, we didn’t argue, we just took his bike and drove to work. I don’t know what we would have done without him because getting a bike fixed at 7 a.m. was not going to happen. Thanks to this neighbor and his kindness we got to work without a delay.

That evening we came back, thanked him, and asked if we could give him some beers as a thank you. He smiled, accepted the beers, and went back inside. We always greeted each other but conversations were difficult due to the language barrier.

But once again it showed that culture and language barriers don’t stop you from being kind and helping others. We were fascinated by the humble and selfless gesture of this man.

Being a good neighbor

As I am thinking about it now I can also mention a few places we stayed in over the years where we had little to no contact with our neighbors. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. The opportunities aren’t given or the way the flats are built, you simply don’t get in contact with anyone living around you.

But wherever you are, you always have the option of being a good neighbor yourself. By simply greeting people on the street or in the hallway you present yourself as approachable and if someone is in trouble or needs help, they know to approach you and don’t hesitate to ask.

Helping others in small things like carrying shopping bags up the stairs or keeping a door open can go a long way.

My animal neighbors

I grew up without any contact with domesticated animals. Maybe spiders on the wall of my teenage room were as much as I got in contact with animals as a child. No wonder I grew up fearing dogs and touched a cat for the first time in my life when I was 21.

This all changed once I left home and became a nomad. Living and traveling through several African countries I slowly but surely turned into a dog lover and was house and cat sitting for friends.

I learned to see the character in those animals, went for walks, or accepted the cat sitting on my lap despite having a cat hair allergy (discovered with 21 when I first touched one).

Today I am living in a small flat in an even tinier village in the heart of Germany. Playing fetch a ball with the landlord's dog that always visits us on the terrace and waking up with the first call of the chickens in the morning.

I have for sure a closer relationship to pets today.

When I am going for walks in the neighborhood I pass a herd of goats that comes to greet me. The young ones jump for joy and climb up the trees for me to capture them.

The herd of sheep on the other side of town is rather boring. Sheep just stand there and stare at you. They don’t jump. They don’t run. They actually don’t even move when you get to the fence. They just look at you for a while and then continue grazing.

I’ve done a handful of horse rides over the years on different occasions and in various countries. But I’ve never grown a relationship with them. It might have been something I dreamt of as a girl but I was rather happy just reading books about horses and playing handball instead of going horse riding.

Today I often stop by when passing the horse stables and greet the different animals. I always have to laugh when we see a pony and my husband judges them as being stupid. I laugh because I know he got bitten once by a pony in his younger years and hates them ever since. After all, growing up in Africa is tough!

However, there are more feathered friends along the way. When I lived here last year not having any motorized vehicle I drove every day for about 30 minutes with my bike to work. And one regular stop along the way was at these geese’s compound.

They always came to greet me at the fence and spoke a few words too. Not sure what they said but I think they were talking about the weather. I went back there yesterday by foot and greeted everyone. It was nice seeing them again.

Another group of feathered friends that remind me more of my own life is a flock of Egyptian Geese. I’ve seen them only once last year and yesterday again. Picking for seeds and worms in a soccer field at the town’s end.

They don’t seem to stay longer and quickly move on to their next location. Just like me. When I’m fed up with a place, get bored or simply follow the warmth of the sun, I pack up my bags and leave.

Migrating like a bird

And that is what I describe as my life as a migrating bird. I do for sure have friendships in all kinds of corners of the world. I build relationships in the neighborhood I stay in. Sometimes deeper ones, sometimes more shallow ones.

But as a nature lover, I always look out for what nature has to offer me. And that are for sure those furry and feathered friends which are always part of my neighborhood. Since I’m no city person and couldn’t ever see myself living in a big city I’ll always have the countryside open and farm life all around me.

Final words

The presentation of my neighbors might have been a bit different from the usual neighborhoods but so is my life. Different. And I like it. I like the change of sceneries I give my life every few months. And I enjoy meeting new people (or animals).

Sometimes friends and family members don’t understand my life decisions or places I pick as a destination. But that’s okay. It’s not their life. It’s mine. But whenever I’m back in their neighborhood (or country) we just continue as if I was never gone.

My understanding of neighborhoods is a bit wider than the one of the average citizen but that is because I fly more between countries than the average person too.

“Free as a bird to settle where I will.” — William Wordsworth

I hope you enjoyed my writing prompt response and invite you to present your own neighborhood or relationship to neighbors as well. Let’s exchange words and celebrate the diversity in our lives!

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