Today I’m linking with the lovely ladies who host the travel-themed linkup and this month it’s all about ‘home’.
For immigrants, second generation immigrants, expats, students abroad, people in long distance relationships, for travellers, for second culture/third culture kids, home is a difficult concept to explain. Let’s be honest, home is something we feel in our hearts. Sometimes it’ll take you by surprise, sometimes it’s deeply rooted in your culture or in your mind, sometimes it’s a person.
My situation has always been a bit peculiar, with my parents not being from my hometown and having moved abroad 5 years ago. Often it feels as though my home is scattered around 6 difference places (if not more since I have friends across the globe). Today I reminisce about all those homes…
Montreal
I grew up in Montreal and that was home for most of my life. That’s where I was born, grew up, went to school, worked, partied. That’s where my parents still live and where I enjoy going back to see my friends who still live there.
It now feels familiar and yet distant. I always enjoy going back, and perhaps one day the Brit and I will make it home again, but for now it’s also part of the past.
Gaspésie
My mom grew up in Gaspésie, which is the tiny little bit of the Quebec province that goes into the Atlantic, right across from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. I spent most of my summers there and my mom and aunt still own the family house where we (well not me per se) still vacation to a lot. I know the house by heart and it will always feel familiar – even with all the contemporary renovation my family has done since. The Brit and I may be planning to go there next summer, which would be awesome to finally show him!
Chile
Chile – the familiar foreign place that will always be in my heart. My father moved from Chile to Canada in 1986 and most of our family still lives there. Every time we go back, all our family welcomes us with open arm. My grandmother passed away in 2011 and I haven’t been back since, but will definitely be bringing the Brit (and our future children) along one day!
St Andrews
St Andrews was my first real home away from home. It struck something in my heart as soon as I saw it. We could even say it was love at first sight, and it’s stuck with me ever since. I blogged about it recently and honestly I always enjoy going back. I just know I will be highly encouraging our future children to study there…
Edinburgh
Edinburgh was my second home in Scotland. I only lived there for four months (my first home with the Brit), but it still feels like home. Not only because I’ve been working there again since March, but because we like to head there on weekends to get to know the city better. I can now give directions, recommendations, and have friends all over the city. Like a real home.
Stirling
Oh Stirling. I fought really hard to never perceive Stirling as a home. It has a weird feel when we moved here, and weirdly enough, it has a stark separation between rich and poor. We live in the poorer area of town so it’s usually filled with drunks, drunk students, or generally inconsiderate people.
Since last year however, Stirling has had a bit of a resurgence, with a lot of cool young places opening and making the city centre a much nicer place, where we actually hang out now! Working at the University of Stirling also killed my soul a little bit, but let’s not get into that… Now that I’m working in Edinburgh, that we have a good circle of friends, and that we enjoy going out, I feel like Stirling is more of a home.
We are still considering perhaps buying somewhere else in Stirling, which is to say in the last 2 1/2 years, it’s definitely grown on me.
What/where do you consider home?xx
