They say home is where the heart is. That is true. And for me it’s also where I make my nest so to speak. I can feel at home in most cities, places, even hotel rooms. The trick is to unpack everything right away and place things similar to where you would place them at home. As soon as my toothbrush is in the glass next to the sink, and my PJs are tucked under my pillow, I am home.
Munsterbilzen, Limburg, Belgium – my first breaths after coming home from the hospital.
Beverst, Limburg, Belgium – my first steps, smiles, hugs, words. Fond memories of: neighbors and running after chickens.
Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium – becoming a big sister. Fond memories of: singing loudly in the hallway to chase away the ghosts. If ever there was a scary apartment for kids, it’s this one.
Beverly Plaza Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan – the exhilarating life of expats in the eighties, hotel receptionists were babysitters, taxi drivers friends. I went to a local Taiwanese school, where I picked up Mandarin. Fond memories of: dinners with my dad’s colleagues in fancy Chinese restaurants, letting my shoe drop in the staircase from the top floor of a skyscraper and mom making me go get it, seeing a double rainbow out of our penthouse suite window, and many sightseeing trips across south east Asia.
Zhong Shan Bei Lu, North Taipei, Taiwan – learning to read and write in English, making it my second native language. Fond memories of: attending St Vincent de Paul school, holding hands with my first boyfriend VeeJay – at 8 he was twice my age, finding a live bat in bed with my sister.
Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium – readjusting to life without taxis, hotel rooms or typhoons; starting elementary school in Dutch. Fond memories of: weekends playing with cousins in grandparents’ backyard, first grade teacher.
Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium – moved across town following my parents’ divorce. Fond memories of: living in same building as best friend, going on vacation twice now.
Borgerhout, Antwerp, Belgium – starting middle school; discovering music, trends and trying to fit in with the cool crowd; changing schools, first summer jobs, graduating from high school with honors. Fond memories of: wild, crazy, teenage roller coaster ride of semi-adolescent experiences: youth center, downtown Antwerp cafes with pool tables, clubbing, friends, boys, working in the theater bar.
Keller, Texas, USA – first experience as an exchange student and first time in America. Fond memories of: meeting my future husband, driving around for hours in Anita’s Volvo.
Argyle, Texas, USA – that tough time in an exchange year when everything seems to fall apart, and then magically gets better. Fond memories of: the temporary host family and their enormous mansion.
Houston, Texas, USA – a new style of exchange experience and host family, college focused friends. Fond memories of: drinking Orange Juliuses at hip downtown Houston hangouts, taking all sorts of cool classes like photography and TV & Radio.
Loonbeek, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium – living with my mom and step dad and working throughout the summer getting ready for the next chapter. Fond memories of: enrolling in university.
Heverlee, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium – first university and dorm experience. Fond memories of: how I met some of my closest and best friends, staying up all night to study, party or gab.
Tainan, Taiwan – another exchange student experience, this time with my own apartment – though here too I moved four times. Fond memories of: everything! This was one of the best years of my life. Learning to ride a scooter, speak Mandarin fluently, play Magic with Canadian friends; teaching English; discovering every alleyway, temple and night market in town; traveling all over Taiwan; and best of all: going camping in the mountains with scooter and tents for new year’s eve.
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium – readjusting to life without scooters, tropical climate or late night shopping; starting my Master program and living in the tiniest of rooms. Fond memories of: getting closer to classmates.
Kessel-Lo, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium – writing my Master thesis, living in a super spacious apartment, getting a second Master degree, after graduation finding first jobs, boyfriend moves in. Fond memories of: trip with besties to sun soaked Crete, having the time of my life in the exchange student environment of my Advanced Master class, getting my cat Simeon.
Bertem, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium – here we are. Love, heartbreak, breakup, new job, better job, re-prioritizing life, new paramour, struggling to advance career. Fond memories of: becoming engaged, getting married, defining those life-long friends, acceptance of Self, lots of travel.
That’s 20. Phew. 21 needs to be more significant. Maybe to a house in the US?
