Expectations of Home and Living in a Different Country
by Joe BW Smith This summer, a friend of mine from Africa took her young daughter back to their country of origin for a two week sojourn. They had lived in the United States for six years. The daughter is eager, curious, has a good sense of humor, and loves being around people of all ages. After a few days of eating food she had not eaten in years, hearing accents that made it difficult to communicate, and not seeing her brothers for several days, the young girl asked her mother if they could go home soon. She was withdrawn and cranky. This was startling to her mother. Were they really home? There was familiar food. They were surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins, and shared names and physical features. There were celebrations in their presence, and boundless love. But this place in Africa was over 8,800 miles away from their "home" in the United States, and the daughter wanted to go home. Which place was home? What do we expect from the place we call home? Young