This morning, it finally dawned on me that I've been here in the Philippines for about 8 months now, and it looks like I'll be hanging out here for more than a year. Why is this news? Because since 2012, I haven't lived in any one place for more than a year. In the last 5 years I've lived in 5 different countries, living out of two luggages. And mind you, I still haven't completely unpacked one of those luggages...well, not until today. I've had this little pouch with mini souvenirs/ decorations that I've been bringing around with me for a couple of years now, always wondering when will be "the" time to take them out and display - because I think to myself "what's the point, I'm just going to have to take them down and pack them away soon".
I finally decided today is the day I stop worrying about the non-permanence of my residence and start making my current space feel a little less temporary. Even if that meant drilling holes on my wall!
I bought this three-layer wall shelf from Ace Hardware.
I initially wanted a corner shelf, but they were out of stock.
Top-most shelf has a little bronze mirror with matching candle stands I got from Iran God knows how many years ago. I never use it because it's actually really small/ I can never see myself completely on the glass, so that's why it's all the way up there as a decoration. I just like that it looks antique.
Second row are some of my collections from my travels to some European countries.
I'm not a souvenir collector. I remember when I was living in England back in 2014, I'd always tell my parents about the different cities that I go to, and it wasn't until 6 months into my stay there that my Mom asked me "I hope you buy souvenirs, like fridge magnets from all the places you visit?" then I realized NO! I only buy food. Every time I go to a new place, I buy souvenirs for my belly and take photos...hardly anything to physically remind me of the place. But then I thought hey, why not? Better late than never, so during my last few months going around the continent, I managed to get myself a coaster from Sheffield, shot glasses from Edinburgh (not for drinking because I don't drink alcohol, but they happen to be among the cheapest things in souvenir shops), a London bus sharpener, a pin (with Robin Hood's cap) from Nottingham and a little tray from Paris which has my cute fridge magnet from York. Other souvenirs aren't on display - like what I got myself in Germany were books.
I think my selfies-collection is the best souvenir. I also felt it wasn't practical to collect souvenirs because traveling all the time meant having a limit on the weight of my luggages. What I can always carry around are the memories in my gallery ......and in my belly!
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| fun fact - I keep my selfies to myself; I never post them anywhere. I made this selfies-collection two years ago. Dug it out of the recycle bin for this blog post. |
Third shelf layer is... hmm, I'm calling it the "Bahá'i" shelf. These are all precious gifts from friends. *except the little car holding up the photo - I got it from a shop in Rome/ so this happens to be the odd one out on this shelf.
As for the rest - the two cards on the wall are from a sweet Bahá'i girl from Vietnam, the photo of the soon-to-be-completed Bahá'i House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia from a friend in Cambodia, quotation on the wall from New Delhi, the photo of the Lotus Temple is actually a 2016 Badi pocket calendar from my spiritual parents in Lucknow (the Vahedis), the wooden stand has a Baha'i quote from one of the friends in Iran, then a wooden necklace with the
Greatest Name from a Baha'i from Jordan.
The Bahá'i quotation is from Bahá'u'lláh:
"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor,
and look upon him with a bright and friendly face.
Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich,
an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.
Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.
Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful,
a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed,
an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.
Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.
Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering,
a tower of strength for the fugitive.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity,
a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind,
an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue,
a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge,
a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom,
a shining light in the firmament of thy generation,
a fruit upon the tree of humility."
And this is what the shelf looks like.
I'm happy to finally get these out of my bag (even though there are still a few items, especially from my year in India - which I can't display because they're a bit too big for the shelf). Nevertheless, this was a huge step for me... making a "home" out of my room. Moving from one place to another during the last five years meant I had no shelf, no table "to myself". My luggage was my extended closet until a few months ago. It feels really good placing something on my bare wall, to remind me that my nomad lifestyle on hold...
for now.