In Georgia, I lived by the river in Tbilisi, but often went to the sea, which I loved a lot.
Before I moved in Shanghai, I lived in Suzhou, the city of rivers and lakes. I loved living around nameless rivers. But as my last place in Suzhou, I lived by the lake, 100 meters away. And sometimes when I walked or jogged by the lake, I felt like it was too small, the fact that it didn’t go anywhere or it didn’t come from anywhere and was instead just standing still, made me feel suffocated. I much prefer moving body of water, I don’t like lakes. I prefer rivers. I love seas more than rivers and I don’t know I have only stayed by the ocean for 3 weeks. And I loved it too. But I absolutely feel suffocated by lakes.
The fact that they are still and small makes me feel like I need to go somewhere else. Somewhere not so still, and not so cozy. Somewhere where water tells the story.
So far, I like Shanghai. It’s lively, It’s not still, It makes me feel that I am alive.
