The Feeling of Home

Today I am not writing to you from our flat in Narva, but from my house in Oldenburg - a place that I have, during my life, called 'home' very often.

When you are a person that has spend a long time abroad, a person that travels a lot, at some point, you will start pondering about this big and, yet, so small four-letter-word.

 One definition of 'home' that the dictionary provides for us, is the following: 

A house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.

And to me, this sounds reasonable. On any number of occasions, when I am on my way to the building, that I live in, I use to say: 'I am going home.' 

But then again I wondered, what this home is about? It can not be about the building. A building is not automatically a home, as we all know.

When I came back to my mother's house in Germany, to celebrate Christmas, everything was so familiar: the wooden smell of my room, the sound of the rustling heater in the kitchen and of course the lovely taste of the food that was served everyday.

There is a special feeling that arises in me, as soon as I'm surrounded by these things or even only think of them; a feeling of secureness, of love and warmth. 

So, I guess that in many respects, home is about what you know and are used to and also about the people that have build this up.

Then I sat down on my bike and rode through the streets of Oldenburg. And again, there was this feeling! All the streets, houses, colors and even some faces and noises were renowned and gave me this home-feeling.

So I discovered that home must not be inside a building. It can be a region and therefore very wide spread!

But for me, it does not end here...

I remember when I was in Narva, my mother sent a beautiful package to me, which contained self-made marmalade, some warm clothes, an article about St. Petersburg from our local newspaper in Oldenburg and a photograph of us two, playing in a theatre play when I was a little child. I read the article, I hung up the photograph in my room, I ate the marmalade and I wore the clothes and suddenly I found myself at home in Narva! 

And sometimes, when I am together with my new gained friends in Estonia and we talk, joke and laugh, I feel the same warmth, love and secureness.

I think everyone has to define home on his or her own. But maybe we can all say that we have felt this feeling before. Maybe home is "only" a feeling. 

However, for me, it was a big revelation that I could feel my home everywhere and that this feeling was strong enough to make another place somewhat my home.

To finish my post, I would like to announce some big news! I will move to Munich in next year's September to study there. In terms of a better awareness about what I'd like to do with my future, the EVS has been a big success already! 

This is a huge proof to me that it was the right idea to go to Estonia as a volunteer! 

(On the picture you can see the new townhall of Munich and the 'Christkindlmarkt', the Christmas market underneath!)

I wish you all a colorful, joyful and exciting New Year!