Any Place Can Be a Hometown

If you search for What Is Hometown? Google is gonna define your birthplace or where you grew up.

Normally it's a true definition. But is it really?

To me, honestly, hometown is where our heart lives, no matter where our body is. In my case, my hometown is not just a town but a whole country.

Hometown doesn't need to be your birthplace. It could be a place where you can meet your soul, befriend with it, where you can be the happiest no matter how much stressed you are. A place where you really can feel yourself can be a hometown also.

Even though I'm in Bangladesh but my heart is still living in Saudi Arabia. I spend my entire childhood in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, my hometown.

I was 5 years old when I first time went to Saudi Arabia as my father used to live there, in 1999. I was nervous as well as sad at that time as we intended to live there permanently.

But there are some things that made that unknown country my hometown.

I made some adorable friends

I didn't know the Arabic language for the very first time, thus was unable to make friends. But somehow I managed to make some pigeons my friend, my first friends in Saudi Arabia.

They used to come in the afternoon, besides my bedroom window. They used to make that moment special. I used to share my feelings with them and they used to stare at me the whole time.

I still don't know if they understood my language. But we used to talk as if we were friends for a long time. And it is the most memorable moment of my life that I can't forget anytime.

But once, my dad took me outside to play. There I met some kids. They used to live in the same building that I was living in. Soon after some days, we became friends. We used to talk in sign language. And I found it very interesting.

After some days I got admitted to a school and made more friends. And it was the time when,

I started to explore the country.

The thing that I loved about Saudi Arabia's roads.

There were Date Trees on both sides of the main roads. There may be many countries that have date trees on the sides of the road. But I saw this scene for the first time in Saudi Arabia. That's why it was special for me. It used to make my mind peaceful and fresh.

When I first time traveled to Mecca from Jeddah, I was amused to see the scenes of that place. There were mountains beside the road. I used to have a very good ride while watching the mountains. I used to talk with them and thought that they also answered me with the sound of the wind. And that sound seemed like music to me that used to make me stress-free. Especially, at night the lighting system beside the roads was beyond beautiful. Talking about the night, most of the people go shopping at night due to the heat. Because it was a desert before becoming a country. That's why without offices or jobs most of the people choose the night for going outside. This is one of the things that snatched my heart.

And, the food...

I think Saudi foods are the best food I ever had in my life. Traditional foods are amazing. But I loved the chicken broast from Al Baik the most. Al Baik is a brand that has no section in another country of the world except Saudi Arabia. I eat chicken broast from many brands now, but nothing beats the taste of Al Baik to me. And the date fruit. It's beyond yummy. Especially, the Medina's dates. It tastes like chocolate. I've had many kinds of dates, but I still can't get over the dates of Medina.

But these things weren't enough to make a place of hometown in my heart. After 6 or 7 years we came back to Bangladesh. Then I understood what place Saudi Arabia has in my heart.

I really understood that what hometown is. I understood that my hometown doesn't need to be my birthplace or where I grew up. A Hometown is a place that gives us a feeling of peace and relaxation, no matter how depressed, stressful, or busy we are. It's a place where we find happiness in every work we do, no matter how profitable it is or unprofitable. A place where we can spend our whole life happily with our loved ones.

"Home is where the heart is."-

Pliny the Elder

Last But Not Least

There are many tourist places in Saudi Arabia, but that isn't the reason for making the place of hometown in my heart. These silly things have made Saudi Arabia my hometown.

It's been 7 years, I'm living in my motherland Bangladesh. It's an overpopulated country, yet beautiful. I love my country but it couldn't capture my heart.

I don't know if I can visit my hometown ever in my life. But my heart, my soul still lives in the places of Saudi Arabia. A smile comes to my face when I think about Saudi Arabia. I've left my memories far left behind, but can't forget them in my life, ever. But, nothing can take place of Saudi Arabia in my heart, my mind, and my life.