What is home?

I had the house to myself last night and I used the opportunity to catch up on some writing in my diary. As I wrote I came upon the fact that I have been here in tropical Tanzania for nearly two months. It will be two months sometime next week.

And I was astounded. Not least because work is still being incompetent about getting me a work visa and putting me to useful work after two months but also because it really has felt like time has flown. I just feel so comfortable here in so many ways and have since the very start.

I've lived abroad before, taking in one year in Germany, a year in Japan and a summer in the States and three and a half years in London over the past decade or so (my mother is beginning to think she did something wrong, but really I just love to travel and experience new places) but I don't think that I've ever felt settled this quickly.

I started to think about the reasons behind this, if any. Of course it helped that my boy had everything prepared for me to come out to- phone, car, house and even a ready-made circle of friends. But, most of my moves were relatively easy with a good secure job waiting for me and a safety net of people in similar positions. And yet, home was always back where I had just come from, with my family and my friends.

The difference this time is that this time I got to take "home" with me in a way. My boy being out here means that it feels like "home". Rather ironic when you consider that we haven't actually lived in the same country in two and half years prior to this. That old cliche, "home is where the heart is", has turned out to be very true. And I'm delighted. I miss my family and my friends of course but if it only takes having my boy around me for me to feel at home, I can't help but feel that I am one lucky, lucky girl.

Photo credit: weheartit