feet may leave a place, the heart does not
Three months ago I came to Australia, excited, nervous and open minded. I did not realize at any moment of the journey that after my parents will leave, I will have another 4 months left in this amazing country. I did not want to overthink it, so I just ignored it. Now, months after my first day in Robina, the frighting few hours of moving into the villa in the shores, the exciting first encounters with other international students, I must say that up until now I still wasn't fully aware of me having settled in! Yes, I've been enjoying life down under, seen many beautiful places and extraordinary animals, I made friends and I met some people I just can't cope with, I had good moments and bad ones, from smiling from ear to ear, to crying my soul out...I had it all and I'm glad I did. I live here now, I settled in...the thing is, now that I come to the conclusion how much I got used to this place and how it became yet another home for me, I have to leave in less than 4 weeks! Ironic isn't it?
As a matter of fact, it is not the first time something like this happens to me. As a human being infected by Wanderlust, I've got a few places I would call my home! First is of course Luxembourg, to be more specific Beringen! I love it, I miss it and would never trade my hometown for any other city. I'm happy that I grew up in this tiny town, the people know each other, my whole family lives there and it is the place I spend most time at. Of course it also my home because of the people I grew up with. Family is home, so I guess wherever I would met up with them it would feel like home, because it is the only place where one can be exactly himself without fearing rejection. Then there are my friends, the ones it seems that I'd always known such as Sharon my best and oldest friend, but also those who gained a place in my heart later on in my life (JvB I guess I mean you guys).
At the age of 20 I went to Costa Rica for a month. I know, four weeks don't seem like an awful lot of time, but it depends on how intense the time is you spend at a place, and believe me those were four intense and amazing weeks! I lived in host family, sharing a room with two other girls and the house with several other volunteers. As we were all there for the same reasons, to see more of the world, experience other cultures and help children. We shared the same values and interests, I guess you can imagine that we all got along very well. The house immediatly became a home, our host mother's cooking skills were amazing, the whole family seemed so happy and friendly, and those friends I made over there...let's just say: good people! I loved every bit of this journey and Samara has a special place in my heart, just as much as Chinampas where I teached English to 20 adorable and sweet kids. They may have been used to different volunteers coming up there and leaving again, but every day they were excited to see our faces once more, to learn from us and more importantly talk to us. I could get used to doing this for a very long time, and I think that's already indicating that Samara became yet another home for me.
After my A-levels (or as we call it: 1ère) I moved to England, to study at Kingston University in London, eager to learn, to grow up and have fun. Living in student accomodations has been a challenge, its tiny rooms drive you insane at times and I cannot tell you how much I hated this impractical kitchen or minuscule bathroom. My flatmates turned out to be nice, but moving in with people you have never met in your life, into such a small space...that is something very frightning! It turned out to be okay, not that bad actually. I got along with my flatmates, we weren't exactly what you would call best friends but we talked to each other and I liked them. It was just as the rooms: okay, I guess. Hold on. If it was only 'okay' and bearable, why would I call this home? I lived there for a year: I studied there, celebrated my birthday, had long skyping sessions, cried because of uni stress, bursted out laughing because of a stupid movie, got homesick, had friends staying over and enjoyed living on my own for the first time. I lived there, enough said! All in all, it was an experience and even though I would never choose to move in there again, I know that if I would go back now and step into that hallway, it would feel as if nothing had changed. It would feel like coming home...to my tiny room, way too small bed, awful carpet, annoyingly cold shower and those horrible fire alarms going off in the middle of the night (well in the morning, but I'm a student hey!).
All of these experiences made me come to the conclusion that home does not have to be a place, it can be a memory and remembering emotions or situations, it just makes you feel alive and like you belong somewhere. Memories are always related to feelings and if there were only one or two happy situations you can link to a place, it means that it somehow gained a place in your heart and head. Isn't that what we all want? Something to remember, to back someday and tell our stories, the places we've seen, the people we've met... In the end I want to be able to say that my home cannot be located to one place, it is the world and its people.
Credits for that last sentence, and all in all for inspiring me on writing something like this, go to my sister, Jill, who has made this statement a million times before me, 'die Welt ist mein Zuhause'. My family likes to travel, especially my grand-ma who is always touring the world, and I guess this desire to see more of this planet comes from that side of the family, even though the other side was also very interested in other cultures. However, I think that my sister was my biggest influence, we always had a strong bond and I guess it is normal for younger sister to look up at older ones and kind of imitate them. So yeah, I think my sister definitely encouraged me to become so fond of travelling and I'm thankful for that.
Anyways, there's a new home waiting already...GVSU! I hope it will be just as good as the one I found at the Gold Coast. Not yet sure whether I'm sad to leave this place or excited to start somewhere new. We'll see, all I know is despite all those lovely places I haven been and yet have to see, at times I really do miss home home and cannot wait to get comfy and see those familiar faces I miss most once I'm back 'home'. (Nothing and nobody can beat childhood memories)
until then, lots of kisses from far far away!
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