Home is where the heart is.

I always used to say that "home is where my toothbrush is", but that's not true anymore. Right now, home is where my children are.

Whenever I stay somewhere for a longish while, I get a little attached and keep the place with me. When leaving, I'm always looking back just a little, always thinkin that it would be good to be there a gain - just a little. So there's nowhere I'd call the home, if that by definition is a place where I don't dream being other places. My home is a little rural Norway, a little Edinburgh and a really wee slice of Eastern Cape. Because my heart is all these places.
 
I don't really have a 'home'. The town I was born in we moved away from just after I turned 4, so no real home-bounding took place there, i guess. Next we lived in Essen, a reasonably big city, and I assume if i had lived there in an older age, I might have really gotten a homey feeling there. But, we didn't. When i was 8 we moved to Lüdenscheid, which is just a small city I absolutely hate. I lived there til I went off to university, so til i was 18. My parents stil live there. but see, that's the thing, despite the fact that even my parents live there, I so don't like going there. When I first moved out my dad was all "you'll probably come back every weekend for the first few months" but that just wasn"t the case. From beginning on I had a more homey feeling in Maastricht. I think it might have to do with what I'm looking for in my ideal image of home. I want to live in a big city (which maastricht probably isn't either, but at least we got student life here; oh, and btw, I would also love to live in London at some point (though Australia and the US are also on my list), I love that city), in a country that is not German. I kinda don't really like Germany, I've always wanted to get out of there asap, and well, that't exactly what I did. Also, I kinda like the whole concept of having roommates, so that's also something I like about here. At home of course I had my parents as 'roommates', but they just restricted me in way too many ways, so that sort of blew.

To really find 'home' I think I really have to get out in the world a little bit and see where I really like it. And that's what I'll be doind as soon as I'm done with my studies (and even in between...I plan to do at least one semester abroad).
 
To really find 'home' I think I really have to get out in the world a little bit and see where I really like it. And that's what I'll be doind as soon as I'm done with my studies (and even in between...I plan to do at least one semester abroad).

Do that. Studying abroad is such an interesting experience. Where would you like to go?
 
Do that. Studying abroad is such an interesting experience. Where would you like to go?

My first choice would be London, but I suspect you probably need top grades for that. Actually, I've been trying to talk about that with my study advisor for ages, but she always seems to be sick.
Other locations on my list (I think we have to make a list of 5 locations we would like to spend the semester (and they should probably be more or less realistic)) include the US, Australia, Canada and Russia.
My biggest concern so far with this is that, in order to go abroad in our 3rd year (that's the preferred year), we need to have passed every first and second year course. So I'm not really allowed to fail anything now already, and in my 2nd year it"s gonna be even worse because then I "don't even have that year of study left where I could maybe cram in an extra course I didn't pass yet.
 
Third year is a good year to go out (of course I have to say that, I did the same myself 😉 ). But you seem to imply that you need to go on a pre-organised program? I organised my own year abroad. It was hard work, but absolutely worth it. Are you at a university?
 
Third year is a good year to go out (of course I have to say that, I did the same myself 😉 ). But you seem to imply that you need to go on a pre-organised program? I organised my own year abroad. It was hard work, but absolutely worth it. Are you at a university?

Yup, university. And here it's common that you can go abroad in your third year (or you stay here and choose electives) and what you do abroad counts for your study here. But since you're away than for that year they require you to finish everything, as you won't have your 3rd year to catch up. It's proably good good for their reputation abroad, only the best ones ar e out there to represent the university.
 
Home is my parent's property back in Oz.

I'll probably have a second and a third and a fourth and a fifth home...but in the end, I'll always think of that place as my home. Anytime I've ever felt the need to run from life, that's where I end up when I can. And even though I know that I don't really want to live there at this point in my life, I know that it's a place I will always want to go back to. Having not been able to go home for 9 months so far, aches. I miss the the scrub, the dirt, the air, the animals, the sense of peace. It's probably stupidly corny, but I feel like that block of land in ingrained into my soul. I can see 30 years down the line that I will still this of that place as my home, no matter what.
 
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