Nina in Tasmania on our HoneymoonOne thing that most ex-pats that I’ve met here have in common is the occasional nagging of homesickness. What it’s for and when it hits is different for each person, but it is a common experience.
My wife and I just spent five weeks in the US over the Christmas holidays, and the thing that struck me the most, was that I didn’t think about where I was in a novel way. Living in Australia, I am constantly reminded of the differences between here and the US; the trees, seasons, sports, television, etc., whereas when I was back in the States, there was almost no novelty to it at all-I just fit.
Those of us who move to another country, even one as similar and comfortable as Australia, are aware of how much where one is raised becomes a part of his genes. The seasons, the colors, the smells and sights out our windows, become part of our internal calendar. No matter how long I live overseas, there will an untouchable part of me that will be of where I am from. The woods in Michigan, especially during Autumn, will make me feel something I feel nowhere else.
It is, I think, about the time in life that seems the most honest and free, when playing with friends and staring up at the night sky in the summer was all that it took to have a good day.
Of course this is all a bit romanticised.
After about three weeks in Michigan during late December and early January, I was ready to see the sun again and a weekend at the beach seemed damn good.
Regardless, there are times when the homesickness is completely gone and the newness of a different country provides a daily dose of something new to see, other times, the pangs for a walk through downtown Rochester, capped off by a cone at the Dairy Queen seem quite overwhelming, while at other times, there is a low-grade homesickness that usually hangs about undetected, just under the radar.
I think most people long for something just past their reach, whether it be some sort of lifestyle or level of comfort or item able to be purchased. I consider myself pretty damn lucky that the only thing that I occasionally long for is already a part of who I am and not something unknown, beyond my capacity to achieve.
1 comment:
I loved Christmas in the US! The two times I've been lucky enough to experience it were full of snow falling, open fire places, christmas tunes from every genre of music imaginable, on every radio station 24-7 and great big family feasts. To me, this is the absolute idyllic christmas holiday - and one that nurtures a sense of nostalgia even though this is not the christmas day I'd ever experienced first hand before. Its familiarity to me comes through story books, films, television shows and carols - which leads many of us in Australia to cook hearty hot roasts on the sweltering day that christmas falls on downunder!
Having said that, when away from Australia at christmas, I yearn for my small family's tradition of getting together in the outdoors for fresh seafood and copious amounts of wine. The smell of the sun on the grass, the eucalypt and the buzzing of bees fills me up.
That's what I know to be christmas, and its just as good as any European or American experiences steeped in tradition. We need to create our own traditions, separate and unique to us and the reality of our varied lifestyles in this great sunburnt country. Our own celebrations, festivals, histories and love-affairs with our land, our people, our flavours - everything that makes this melting pot the attraction that it is to foreigners. That means making peace with each other and our pasts, and moving forward in a spirit of understanding, compassion and cooperation. It means not forgetting what happened or what lead us here, respecting those who suffered and working actively to address that suffering.
We have a long way to go, by all means. I have confidence in my generation and those that are still up and coming, that these will be the major tasks of our lifetimes as Australians.
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