Monday, March 06, 2006

Where is home?

This is a quote from my online chat with an Indonesian friend. She has been living abroad for so long. She did not like Jakarta much when she returned there. She is now working in another city in Indonesia.


Me: So how often do you return to Jakarta?
Me: Well, “return” may not be the right word. Sounds too much like home.
She: You bet. It is more appropriate to say “how often do you visit Jakarta?”
Me: Ha ha, I was about to say the exact same word.
She: I can VISIT Jakarta one week every two months.


It is amazing how one do not call the city where (s)he has spent more than half of his/her life home. But then it is possible. Look at my friend, for instance. People say home is where the heart is (hey, look, I am using a cliché)

Me? I have three homes: Indonesia, Scotland and Spain.

Or perhaps, if my home is where my heart is, then my home is where my heart really is: within me, wherever I go.

Or perhaps, if I have to be honest, then my home is where He, The Ultimate Truth, is, where I really long to be. One day, one day.

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