Home is where the heart is.

I am not entirely sure, but I do have some suppositions why Germany, specifically Berlin, has felt more like home to me than my place of birth. My guess is it is not only because I chose to come here, but most likely the investments I made to be that I fully invested myself in being here. What I mean is that even though I had no real reason to come to this place over any other, after I arrived, I was crucially dependent on any and every effort I made to survive every decision I made was a crucial one. There was no network of family or friends to fall back on just in case. I would have to rely solely on everything I had ever learned to make my way in this new environment. At the same time, I would have to forget all the things I had ever taken for granted. I would not only have to learn not only a new language from scratch, but new systems as well, and to build a support network from the ground up.

Though it was one of the most exhausting things I have ever done, I have to say that it seems to have been my greatest achievement accomplishment to date. A coup of my own status quo. In the process, I have managed not only to find new family-friends from the endeavor, but have also learned a new language on the ground and have successfully managed to integrate myself into a foreign society.

Of course, this all has not been without its share heartache of various kinds, as life usually has.However it has certainly been a most worthwhile effort, if only for the experience. My horizon has expanded in ways I never dreamed possible; understanding the world and life in ways I never had before. Every ounce of blood, sweat and tears I have put into making this place into my home has given me ownership of the kind I wonder whether I could have ever claimed by birthright. It is surely one thing that if one ever has or takes the chance to do, I would most highly recommend!

[image: Kastanienallee looking towards U-Bahnhof Eberswalder Straße, Berlin, April 2001.

Courtesy of the blogger.]