Introducing Your Hometown - C2

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Ali — a twenty-six-year-old primary school teacher who grew up in London and has lived in Manchester for the past two years. I grew up in Croydon, in south London, and, perhaps less obviously, I remember the local market my grandmother used to take me to. Beyond the immediately apparent, I moved away for work two years ago. At the same time, I still go back for football matches with old school friends, if only because the alternative rarely serves anyone well. What I find myself returning to, more than anything else, is that I think the food and the noise of the streets is what I miss most. If nothing else, I hope this makes clear that what defines me is less any isolated fact than how a hometown stays part of you even after you move away.