The Concept of Home

It occurs to me that from now on, wherever I go, no matter what, I will always be a foreigner, out of place in one way or another. I thought about this frequently over the summer when I essentially lived out of a backpack except for the times I was at my “home base”—Philly. But Philly was only home base out of necessity, because that is where my parents were and I had a place to leave my belongings for more than a short term period, and I didn’t have to sign a contract, or pay rent, or be clothed to live there. But I wasn’t comfortable (besides physically—that house is awesome), because it was only home base, it wasn’t Home, regardless of ease in saying “Oh, I’ll meet you at home.” It is a city I love and a city I miss, but no more than other cities where I have lived. 

Chesterbrook is* Home. Montreal is Home. Ramla is Home—I had a conversation with a friend one night where he said he wanted to go home, and I worriedly asked, “Ramla-home or [US city name withdrawn] home?” I forget the answer, but the question rings true even now. What defines home for you, and what defines Home? For me, home is where my passport is, and Home is where my loved ones and memories are, and where my life is (thereby contradicting my declaration that Philly is not Home, in a way). Even a place as simple and public as a train station (special shout-out to the Wynnewood and Elkins Park SEPTA stations) or a beach (here's to you, Gloucester and Lake Barcroft) can be a Home due to the emotional connection it holds.

*Note: Each "is" in these three sentences had originally been a "was", but then I remembered that Homes are forever.

It is not necessarily negative to constantly seem to be a foreigner, especially when I know in my heart that I belong wherever I happen to be. It means that people go out of their way to talk to me, to give me directions and advice, and to ask me for advice on moving to my current or past place of residence. People excuse my silliness, even when I am doing exactly what everyone else in a certain situation would do and just want to blend in and be part of the crowd. Hey, even in Israel people stared at me for looking different, and that is a country chock-full of Eastern European immigrants!

I realize that I tend to have one home at a time, but that my life is full of Homes, both past and present—places I have been, places I have lived, and places I still need to experience.