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A scent of place
Smells have an uncanny way of transporting me back to some far-away place, often without my even realizing what's happening. For an entire year, every time I jogged past a nearby house I was smacked with memories of Ireland, where I lived for six months. Finally, after nearly making myself crazy trying to figure out what the smell was, I realized that they were burning coal. It was the scent of coal smoke that reminded me so much of Ireland, though I can't recall ever noticing it when I lived there. And when I arrived in Bangkok for work last fall, I couldn't stop smiling because all the smells I had forgotten about were slamming me. The city mixes a chunky scent stew of frying oil, curry, exhaust, urine, incense, and wet cement. I love it - it's Thailand to me.and I love Thailand. In reverse, when there I'd walk into an air-conditioned Starbucks, with its somewhat sanitized coffee aroma, and feel like I was back in the States.
I usually never noticed these scents when I was constantly surrounded by them. But their sudden appearance out of context (or upon revisiting a place) will jolt my memory completely unexpectedly.
What smells do you associate with a specific place?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Janice May 4th 2009 12:55PM
It's so true! The smell of coal fires and damp stone in the Yorkshire Dales - after spending time there in my teens, the scent memory hit me like a truck on my return last year.
Jamie Rhein May 4th 2009 1:30PM
When I went to Nigeria, as soon as I walked into the house where I would be staying in Kano, the smell of palm oil reminded me of The Gambia. I knew I was back in West Africa.
Brenda May 4th 2009 2:34PM
very very true! i have the worst sense of smell, so when i actually DO smell something it stays with me like a little identity card of a special place. thanks for this one, catherine!
aloha,
bren
Willy May 4th 2009 2:59PM
I cooked my meals over a fire for three years in the Peace Corps, so when ever I smell burning wood, I think of Zambia.
Tom Betz May 4th 2009 3:32PM
Flying into Delhi one can smell the charcoal kitchens on approach.