"So, where is home for you?"
That is the question that I have, frequently, had to answer for almost a decade now. I admit I find it quite difficult to answer especially that I have lived under sixteen different roofs since I was fifteen years 'young'. From a cramped to comfortable boarding houses when I was studying at the uni in the Philippines, to some small rental rooms and farm accommodations when I started to get employed in Luzon; and in Australia-- in some old country town residences, in a caravan, in a relatively modern room and a few apartment units.
Having been granted with an Australian residency and eventually with an Australian citizenship didn't make answering the same question easy at all. It has, honestly, made it a bit challenging to answer especially that (I have accepted this fact because I could never change it, I don’t mean to discriminate myself here that) my skin, eyes and hair colour is quite unique from the majority of the people living in this country where I work and live. Besides, I have this very strong accent and sadly, no matter how I tried, I still communicate using my broken spoken English.
I have been living in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia for more than a year now. This is a lovely regional city with elegant architecture and has been proud of it's history (Victorian gold rush, mid-1800's) to have been literally founded on precious gold! It was recorded that the first dwellers of Bendigo moved to this place because of their desire to, obviously, find and accumulate treasure.
For almost fourteen months of being a Bendigo resident, I have never been sure if this is where I actually live... still quite uncertain if this city is actually 'home' for me. Yes, it feels great to be coming 'home' to my unit every weekend but I also feel 'at home' in those countless motels, hotels, serviced apartments and other accommodations where I would stay every time I'm off for a fieldwork on weekdays. The drinks and the familiar musty and beery smell of the carpet at the small-town pubs, the meals at RSLs, those take-away lunches from the fast food while on the road and those refreshments onboard the aircrafts- all these make me feel ‘at home', too!
I am yet to meet a few great friends in this community; it has never been easy to establish friendship especially that I have been always on-the-go. Don't get me wrong, though, because I love who and where I am now, and I definitely enjoy what I have been doing for a living. Honestly, they're more than enough for me to confidently say that, somehow, I have found my treasure in this 'place'!
So, where is home for me, then?
For now, I'd say that that 'place' is this earth. The world is my oyster! Yes, this is my 'home' because I live in this world.
[Typed on my phone while on flight QF 679 Melbourne to Adelaide. 20.08.2016]
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That is the question that I have, frequently, had to answer for almost a decade now. I admit I find it quite difficult to answer especially that I have lived under sixteen different roofs since I was fifteen years 'young'. From a cramped to comfortable boarding houses when I was studying at the uni in the Philippines, to some small rental rooms and farm accommodations when I started to get employed in Luzon; and in Australia-- in some old country town residences, in a caravan, in a relatively modern room and a few apartment units.
Having been granted with an Australian residency and eventually with an Australian citizenship didn't make answering the same question easy at all. It has, honestly, made it a bit challenging to answer especially that (I have accepted this fact because I could never change it, I don’t mean to discriminate myself here that) my skin, eyes and hair colour is quite unique from the majority of the people living in this country where I work and live. Besides, I have this very strong accent and sadly, no matter how I tried, I still communicate using my broken spoken English.
I have been living in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia for more than a year now. This is a lovely regional city with elegant architecture and has been proud of it's history (Victorian gold rush, mid-1800's) to have been literally founded on precious gold! It was recorded that the first dwellers of Bendigo moved to this place because of their desire to, obviously, find and accumulate treasure.
For almost fourteen months of being a Bendigo resident, I have never been sure if this is where I actually live... still quite uncertain if this city is actually 'home' for me. Yes, it feels great to be coming 'home' to my unit every weekend but I also feel 'at home' in those countless motels, hotels, serviced apartments and other accommodations where I would stay every time I'm off for a fieldwork on weekdays. The drinks and the familiar musty and beery smell of the carpet at the small-town pubs, the meals at RSLs, those take-away lunches from the fast food while on the road and those refreshments onboard the aircrafts- all these make me feel ‘at home', too!
I am yet to meet a few great friends in this community; it has never been easy to establish friendship especially that I have been always on-the-go. Don't get me wrong, though, because I love who and where I am now, and I definitely enjoy what I have been doing for a living. Honestly, they're more than enough for me to confidently say that, somehow, I have found my treasure in this 'place'!
So, where is home for me, then?
For now, I'd say that that 'place' is this earth. The world is my oyster! Yes, this is my 'home' because I live in this world.
[Typed on my phone while on flight QF 679 Melbourne to Adelaide. 20.08.2016]
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