Sparat under: General Blogging
So, here we are, in Sweden. Recent move, messy house, but at least we’re making progress. ”Welcome back,” says some. ”Welcome home,” says others.
But it doesn’t feel like that. The house already feels like home, the area feels like home. And it is our home. But we’re not ”back”, and we’re not ”returning home”. At least it doesn’t feel like it.
Of course, Gothenburg (or to be specific, Kungsbacka), where we’re now living, wasn’t our home in the first place. But Sweden was. Yet, at least Caroline (my sister) and I have been abroad too long to feel like it’s our home country.
So what is our home country then? Finland? No. Denmark? No. Caroline feels most at home in Denmark, but I don’t think she considers it ”home” in that sense. I liked Denmark the most while living there, but since three years have passed since then, the country has drifted away from me. And Finland never really appealed to me in the first place.
In short, I don’t feel I have a home country in the mental way. When cheering for a sports team, there’s no clear choice. When I’m asked if it feels good to come back to Sweden, I don’t know what to answer.
Both for good and bad, I do believe Sweden will grow to me, though. I’m likely to spend quite a few years here before it becomes relevant to move to another country once again.
But then again, what does the country matter when all you need is friends and family, something which I already have here, and am likely to get more of (referring to the former rather than the latter) in the future. Kungsbacka and Gothenburg are great places, and I’m sure I’ll like it here. But is it really where I’ve always had my heart?
