Traveler and Resident - Rotterdam, Netherlands
The Hands Handing Me Frites, The Hands Putting Down a Taste of Home
한국어 버전을 보고 싶거나, 이야기를 계속해서 받아보길 원하시는 경우 아래 페이지로 이동해주세요.
(작가 블로그 가기)
A City with a Familiar Face
Meeting someone you know abroad is special.
The same street feels different when you’re not walking alone.
Just having someone beside you saying, “That place is good,” or “This area is like this”, is enough to make a city feel warm.
He bought me a nice meal because I came from far away.
I was only there for a few days, but he went out of his way to welcome me.
Almost enough to make it hard to leave.
Handing me some frites, he walked me through Rotterdam, explaining the buildings one by one.
Who designed this, what award that won.
His kindness still stays with me.
I simply marveled at it all through the eyes of a traveler.
The architecture is beautiful. The canals are stunning. The streets are clean.
Hands at the Market
We went to the market in front of the Cube Houses.
He stopped at the Korean food section.
He chose things carefully. Picking them up, checking the price, putting them down, then picking them up again.
Back in Korea, he never shopped like this. He was the kind of guy who just tossed things into the cart while laughing.
“These cold noodles are so good! I used to eat them all the time back home.”
Then, he quietly put them back on the shelf.
The Gift
We walked together through the night streets of Delft.
He talked about the dreams he was carrying,
And what he was studying to achieve them.
His voice was calm, yet full of strength.
I pulled out an apron I’d secretly bought while exploring alone.
It wasn’t much of a gift, but he opened the bag and stared at it for a long time.
Then he smiled. But that smile actually made my heart ache.
Same City, Different Day
Watching his day unfold beside me,
It felt like we were experiencing the exact same city in two completely different worlds.
The market I photographed for being “pretty” was where he carefully budgeted his groceries.
The night streets I admired for being “charming” were just his daily commute home.
I had only been seeing this place through a traveler’s eyes.
Could this exciting travel destination be nothing more than a mundane, exhausting routine for someone else?
Would my ordinary life in Korea feel like a thrilling adventure to someone else?
How great would it be if we could always look at the world through a traveler’s eyes?
(End of Ep.1)
Micro-Mission: An Invited Routine 🏠
Since this trip, my daily life sometimes feels a little different.
Like a sense of déjà vu, I walk my streets as if I’ve just arrived for the first time—
Yet walking through a place that is deeply familiar.
Travel gives us this joy.
It makes us see the familiar in a new light, helping us discover the special things hidden within.
Today, I’m looking at my everyday life through a traveler’s eyes.
As if I’m a traveler, invited into my own routine.