Towns and Places

Places have always been very important in people´s lives. One of the most important places in our life is our birthplace.
 
It is always connected with  the happiest memories from our childhood, with our parents and siblings, with friends, first boy/girlfriend. After we grow up and live somewhere else we like to come back to our birthplace to those happy days. People are strongly tied to this place and it seems that nothing can break that bond.
 
Later as adults we have to find a place to live and this place becomes our hometown. It is usually far from our birthplace but that does not mean it is less important. Hometown is  the place where we work, meet friends, live with our families, the place that is our home.  Some people choose a place that is quite, far from busy cities because living in privacy is important for them. On the other side, there are lots of people who choose a big town to be their home. They cannot imagine living far from „civilisation“ . For them towns are ideal places as they offer more opportunities for finding a job, there are educational, cultural sports facilities. You are never alone in towns, you are always surrounded by lots of people.
 
The word „home“ has different meaning for different people. To a child: „home“ means parents, toys and bedtime stories, to teenagers: „home“ means strict rules, arguments about school results, clothes and pocket money, to a working woman: it means hard work, tiring household chores and to a man: it can mean tasty meals and relaxation.
 
Most of people try hard to create „real home“ for their loved ones, a place where all the members of the family can feel safe and happy and find help whenever they need it. Some other places can become important in one´s life. For thousands of students who start studying at secondary schools and universities their campus (dorm) becomes „home“ where they spend several years.
 
At present many students are eager to learn a language they apply for a scholarship and spend several months in a foreign country. Some of them stay in a host family, live with their host parents and they have a „second home.“ There are lots of interesting places all over the world which people like to visit, especially during summer holiday. They love visiting historic landmarks, beautiful natural wonders, unique buildings and museums. Every summer millions of people set off for their holiday destinations and spend several days or weeks far from home, relaxing, having fun and learning about different cultures. Such holidays are important, since they help people find out how important home is. If their holiday is a long one, they get homesick and long for the place they know. After coming home they feel relaxed and full of energy. Very often you can hear  the well-known phrases, „East or west, home is best.“ „There is no place like home.“ or „Home, sweet home.“