Where are you from?

 

Where are you from?

I’m from Tokyo! No wait, I’m from Halifax! No wait, Vancouver’s my hometown! Or is it Toronto? For anyone who lives in one city and grew up in another, or has moved so many times they can’t remember their last postal code – the idea of home is pretty vague. What about those who have travelled to a foreign country and immediately felt at home - does that become your home. Is my “home” defined by my passport; my birthplace; my parents; or the place I hang my hundred hats. The truth is, it changes, based on my mood or crowd.

In a business meeting when someone asks me where I’m from – I tell them Vancouver. It’s a short answer. They don’t really care. They’re just making small talk.  In a social circle – it’s either Toronto or Vancouver – depending on how many Torontonians are in the crowd.

With my friends and family, it changes daily based on what in my life I’m happy with at that time. If I’m having a good week, where my husband is a sweetheart, the house is clean, my clients are agreeable – Toronto by all reason is making a good home. When I miss my family, it’s Vancouver – because that’s where they are – that’s where my heart is that day.

When I want to claim a part of Canada as my home – it’s Halifax – because that’s where I feel most at home in this great country, and I am thrilled to call myself an honorary Nova Scotian. 

And on a day when I am most honest with myself, when I am not afraid to admit I've been around the globe,; when I'm prepared for people to tell me I don't look Japanese; when I’m not apprehensive about offending my spouse or parents – my home is Tokyo.

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