Saudade de Sana'a

Tonight a friend asked me what I would miss most about Yemen. On the spot I didn't have a great answer, but luckily enough we were interrupted by a shisha emergency and she didn't come back to the question. On the way home in the taxi I thought of several things I am going to miss... Here are just a few:

• the sound of the call to prayer several times a day no matter where you are
• driving down "wedding dress lane" - the street that has one wedding boutique after another, with some of the most outrageous peacock-style dresses 
• "kebab square," the bustling area in the old city where you can sit out in the open and eat freshly grilled kebabs and drink tea
• my morning drives with mohammed
• the sight of saleh mosque with the mountains in the distance
• abdulla othman, our office driver who shares my appreciation for old soul and motown music and who has been my personal soothsayer and advisor 
• tea with marwan at the little place across the street from our office, and all the young guys who work there, especially the one with the "New Pork" t-shirt
• kudam, the multi-grain bread rolls that were originally made only for the military
• the perfect weather
• morning text messages from my friend ibrahim wishing me a "sweety" day
• the barber shops of beirut street

In Angola we learned the word "saudade," which roughly translates as "nostalgia" in English. But that translation misses out on the deep longing and wistful emotion that the word carries in Portuguese.

One of the hardest things about this type of work is the leaving. It's funny how you can get attached to a place, even a place where the experience wasn't always positive, like Iran. For me, Yemen has been fascinating, funny and chaotic and there's no doubt I will miss it. 

But, as always, it's good to go home.