Where Is My Home?

 As usual, I was walking around the shopping mall. Two cleaners worked there, both from the Philippines. Passing by one of them, he smiled at me, I smiled back, and he said something. Not quite hearing him, I came closer. He asked if I was bored. I said not at all, and he was very surprised. Sure, from the outside, my job might seem boring, and maybe it even is, but since I’m often lost in my thoughts—usually about something good and interesting—I don’t get bored. We started talking about mundane things and our home countries. When we talked about food, I was surprised that they usually eat rice three times a day, while he was shocked that in Ukraine, people don’t typically eat the same dish every day for their whole lives. Overall, there weren’t that many differences, since the Philippines is also a poor country, maybe for similar corrupt reasons. He said he really missed home, where his wife and young daughter were waiting for him. His friends and entertainment, which just don’t exist in this small, rough town, were there too. He asked if I missed my home. It was a good question because, by all rules of decency, I should miss it. My parents, family, and friends are there—even though I haven’t talked to some of them in years, I’d be happy to see them. I also love Ukraine for its nature, its living land, fragrant and beautiful forests, and vast fields generous with harvests. But at the same time, I didn’t feel homesick. Honestly, I didn’t miss the place where I was born and raised. It felt a bit wrong, even a little callous, but I knew it was true. I think it’s because Ukraine is only tied to my past. Right now, I’m in Canada, and I don’t have any plans for Ukraine in the future. Of course, I’d like to go back and live there for a while, but not in the city—somewhere in a village, closer to the forest. But if I don’t get the chance, I won’t be upset at all.

I’m more and more starting to live in the here and now, not in the past or the future, so I realized my home is here. “Here” isn’t Canada or any other country or continent—“here” is wherever I am right now.

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