Ghent centrum is spectacular. If you Google the city, you’ll see the famous churches, the musical bell tower, the Leie River lined with hundreds of people sitting and standing – enjoying the sun. I love this too. It’s a big part of being at home.

I’m also a curious soul. What is life like on the edges, where few tourists ramble? Where do the locals hang their hats?

I’ve found many such places. They’re ordinary … and real. Last night I sat on the sidewalk of the Sleepstraat, a street at the centre of the Turkish community in Ghent.

I discovered an Afghani and Iranian restaurant called De Saffraan. I was welcomed with big smiles by two teenaged employees. I sat outside and over the next hour-and-a-half discovered exquisite flavours: chicken with a secret spice, saffron-laced rice, a huge flatbread sweetened by tzatziki sauce, spinach with little nuts, and a mysterious, delightful pudding.

I was going to taste an Afghani saffron beer but they were out of it. So I gladly sipped on my Duvel. Mid-meal the liquid had disappeared so logically I needed to have another.

The server, perhaps 15-years-old, was so sweet. She really wanted me to enjoy the meal. Like me, she loves Ghent. I asked if she wanted to live again in Afghanistan and she said no. Women are treated like possessions there.

I had other visitors. As I sat outside, the windows to the restaurant were open. To my left there was a large upholstered sitting area. One little boy, and later another, poked their head out and we waved to each other. They spoke their language. I spoke mine. We understood each other’s smiles.

And then there was life passing by me on the Sleepstraat. I thought of a Bruce Springsteen song:

When I’m out in the street
I walk the way I want to walk
When I’m out in the street
I talk the way I want to talk

Families walked by. Friends. Languages I didn’t know. Trams floated. (I love trams) Some young cars revved their motors. Here and there a stooped old man or woman. All of it! A few who came close smiled. Me too.

***

Did I mention I’m happy?