Coming home to my "home"

Moving from Germany to Canada and making all the adjustments I had to, to settle back in was a mighty feat. The cultural differences, the overwhelming sensation of having the home and people I had longed for for 365 days right in front of me, and a million over small things that needed adjusting to over took some time to get used to. Mostly I didn't notice the struggle I felt but now that I feel so settled I recognize, in hindsight, the instability I felt when first arriving home.

"Home" as I so delicately call it is a rather fluid term in my vocabulary. Having moved "homes" 4 times over a year you realize that the terribly cheesy saying of "home is where the heart is" is more true than you ever realized. Currently my "home" is a very small University dormitory room, although I like to think of it as much bigger than that. Part of my home is the library where I spend more and more of my time. Adjusting to university style learning I spend a considerable amount of time studying for the variety of tests, midterms and exams I have. Part of my home is in Val's room. Val is my quasi roommate. We live in separate rooms attached by a washroom we share. As with the library, over the past 6 months at Laurier, I have spent more and more time in her room; although less studying gets done when we hang out versus when I' in the library! My home also consist of hanging out with Rylee, Josh and Jess, 3 other people living on my floor. Where we hang out is less consistent but most often consists of meals at the dining hall, study dates in the library, or hanging out in our dorm lounge. These three people have been a pleasure to get to know and I have the joy of living with Rylee (and Val) next year in a 3 bed room apartment while we study in Waterloo next year. Another part of my "home" is my parents house in Oakville. Although I am not there as often as I would like, it is always pleasant to go back and have a home cooked meal and have the long chats over dinner that I missed so much last year in Germany.

Although all of these things are what I currently consider home, in a few short months I will be heading back to Oakville where I will live for the summer months before moving into the previously mentioned apartment with Ry and Val. As my home continues to change I hope to hold true that where I put my heart a home will be created; no matter how brief a time I consider that place my home.