Goodbye Ari! This is our last month after 4 years of living here. My husband and I chose to live here together because we love low-rise buildings, lush green houses, and street food! People in Ari are lovely. There is a guy who sells fruit with his pushcart. I don’t speak his language; he doesn’t speak mine but we see each other so often and bow with respect every time, no word needed.

Then, Covid broke out, and slowly we felt like we were the last ex-pat couple left here after the original circle of friends had gone, and it seems hard to make new ones. I have mixed feelings about leaving. I feel sad to say goodbye but it’s time for us to return home.