On Tuesday, I attended a training session at a local hockey club in Geneva. Naturally curious about the new girl, I was asked by some of the players where I was from and what I was doing in Geneva. Having lived the nomadic lifestyle for 3 months now, I’ve got pretty good at explaining my job and the travelling it requires – The key I’ve found, is to speak slowly and punctuate my answer with shots!
Dream Home..
Courtesy of fruitheart.blogspot.com
One week into a month-long stint in Geneva, one of my favourite things about this city is the international community. As of 2008 44% of the demographic are not native to Switzerland. Attending a work social, it was amazing to hear the number of different languages being spoken across mojito-laden tables. It’s impossible to feel out-of-place here because so is everyone else.
When I do get the chance to go back to the UK, the question my friends and family ask the most is “Are you missing home?”, followed very closely by “Are you looking forward to going back?”. I’m always taken by surprise when I realise that both are true.
It was Dorothy with her ruby-red slippers who uttered the now immortal words
Spiritual Home..?!
Image copyright Natalie MacDonald
“There’s no place like home.” And while there are often moments when aalll I want to do is get on a plane and head for England’s green and pleasant lands, I’m finding that both Riga and Geneva are becoming like home in their own ways.
Darwinism denotes that human beings grow and adapt to fit with their surroundings in order to survive. Our definitions of ourselves adjust to meet with our environment. So too do our definitions of home change, as we take our ideas of what makes a place home and adapt it to fit with our environment. My way of doing this? Finding a hockey team. Or working out the transport system so I can go shopping. Even something simple like finding a running route can take a city from being simply a location to being somewhere more like home; albeit a temporary one.
Now I just need to work on my French..!
Home is where the Hert is
Image copyright-Natalie MacDonald
Classy and Clueless 