Home: A Working Definition

As our British Airways plane circled for an extra 45 minutes over London last Thursday, at the end of an already brutally-long 10 hour flight from San Francisco, I took a few minutes to contemplate the word "home." What is home anyway? Is it a place? Is it people? After a two-week solo trip to the West Coast (Bryan had to stay in London and work), spending a total of 14 nights in 8 different beds, in 5 different cities, visiting family and friends from various periods of my life (childhood, college, graduate school), clocking over 25 hours in the air, I am now home in London. But just last week, I was home in California, 5,000 miles from where I sit now, with a vast ocean in between. Home is a tricky thing, I've decided. Webster's Dictionary has several definitions for the word "home" - a place of residence, the social unit formed by a family living together, a familiar or usual setting, or a place of origin. London is my current place of residence, though my family lives in a few different states, all the cities I visited in the past two weeks were familiar, and California is my place of origin. Alas, perhaps home is none of these places, but simply all of these people. Home may well be, as the cliche goes, where the heart is.

So, there you have it. Home is where my heart is - all over the place. Just like my 2-week itinerary - all over the place. I began my trip in Seattle, for a good friend's wedding, where I spent time getting pampered (yay for my first pedicure since October!) and catching up with friends from college. I then flew to San Diego, for a quick four days, attending various medical appointments and visiting with friends, eating meals at my favorite restaurants, and having wine night with the girls, breakfast at the beach, and late night slumber parties with my mom. I ended my trip in Northern California, spending time around the pool with friends, visiting with my grandparents in the Bay Area, having a Morrison family dinner in San Francisco, helping my brother organise his new apartment, and seeing family during an overnight in Sacramento. And of course, throughout the course of the trip, I stocked up on various cosmetics and food (such as Secret brand Deodorant, Healthy Pop Kettle Corn, and Tide stain pens), and spent a couple lovely hours roaming around Target (ahh...bestill my heart) and Trader Joe's with my mom. A few of my favorite pics from the trip (regrettably, my camera did not make it out of my purse for all of my dates with friends and family...so for those of you that I saw, but don't have pictures of, I'm so sorry!)....

The Santa Clara Girls at the Pre-Wedding BBQ Seattle

An Amazing Pic of the BBQ Backdrop (Great pic Tyler!)
At the Wedding Reception
With the Bride
Ladies Wine Night Reunion in San Diego
My Family in San Francisco

Poolside with Dad
Mother Like Daughter
With Jana (Bryan's Mom) & My Mom
My Two Lovely Grandmas

Though the teary-eyed farewells in each city were reminiscent of those we experienced just prior to moving in October, the emotions and discussions were vastly different this time around. A lot has changed in the past 10 months:

• What I lack now in concerns about the unknowns of starting life in a new country, I've made up for in excitement about my work, my life overseas with Bryan, and all of our past and future travels.
• The internal dialogue is different, and I have new answers to my own questions. Turns out we are not crazy for giving up two steady jobs and a familiar, comfortable existence in San Diego. The months of unemployment and challenges of starting over and living abroad have been well outweighed by the sense of accomplishment we now have, turning our dream idea into reality. That being said, the internal dialogue is still running - there are always new questions to answer and mysteries to solve when living abroad.
  
• Your questions are different now too. Though the questions "where will you live?" and "how will you find jobs?" have ceased, new questions have arisen with great fervor and intensity. "Are you ever coming back?" "How have you and Bryan not gone crazy living together in that studio?" "How are things with Bryan?" Yes, we are coming back, eventually (hoping to stay through the end of our visas - September 2012). Yes, living in a studio with someone else does make us crazy at times, but we've learned how to handle it (and have decided to upgrade to a one-bedroom place next month!). And, as for the third question, we're absolutely loving our adventure together abroad, with all its challenges and opportunities, and have successfully survived 10 months together in a studio, which is a massive accomplishment for any relationship... :)
  
• As some of you noticed (and teased me about), my vocabulary has expanded to include some British-English. Yes, vacations are now holidays, lines are now queues, fries are now chips, restrooms are now toilets, and I adore the adjective "lovely." It's all part of learning and leading a new routine in a new country, and being able to communicate effectively with the locals. It won't last forever, but it's a necessity for the time being. Speaking of which, at what point do we become locals? :)
• I am a true Cadbury girl these days (sorry Hershey's), and have a new appreciation for the concept of working hard to live (versus living to work hard). I'm guessing no explanation is required for either of those!
  

But, some things will never change. Girls in San Diego still wear Ugg boots with mini skirts - perhaps I've taken for granted the fact that Londoners tend to dress more weather-appropriate. I suppose four distinct seasons will do that to people. Target still smells the same - that's right, Target has a distinct smell when you walk in the door, something I've just discovered after a 10-month long hiatus (let the withdrawals begin again). Perhaps it's just the first time I've ever walked into a Target, and paused to take a deep breath! Trader Joe's is just as fabulous as I remember - too bad only one bag of baked blue chips could fit in my carry-on bag. Like a fine wine, those will be saved for a special occasion. My place of origin will always be Northern California, regardless of where home is (or isn't). And, most importantly, good friends and family will always be good friends and family, no matter the distance - it just takes more effort to keep in touch. Fortunately, effort is something I'm so eager to give.

Much love, and many, many thanks. Hope to see you on our side of the pond soon!

-Brandina

"Where thou art - that - is Home." ~Emily Dickinson