Home is a place that one never forgets. A place which has that warming familiarity that nowhere else does and a connection that can never be broken.
I began to realise how important home was when I left my small town for university two years ago. I always knew that it was important to understand your background and your heritage but nothing prepared me for the way I would feel when living abroad. Here are a few things that make me miss home...
History and Culture
I’ve visited all kinds of museums of French history since being here and I have enjoyed getting my first glimpses into certain periods of their past but these visits just don’t quite make it for me. I pondered over why this was for the first few weeks and then came to realise that it was because I wasn’t from here, I was a foreigner looking on. I had not been taught about it at primary school, I had not grown up with that nostalgia and I did not have that bond to the country. However much I wanted to enjoy it, there is no history like the history of your home.
Language
I’m in France to improve my French language, but it has been because of this that I have realised how proud I am to be British. I’ve often been abroad on holiday and locals have said to me how lucky I am to be from my country. I understood to a certain extent but I did not realise how true this was until I left. I think it’s important to acknowledge what impact Britain has had on the world over the last 300 years but it is equally important for us to acknowledge that the English language is most certainly NOT spoken by everybody and that we need to catch up in the race to be the best linguists!
Food
Of course, how could I write this without mentioning British food. Okay, so I adore European foods, I’m not denying that - but when it comes to British food, there is just no competition! Those home-cooked roasts or fish and chips just aren’t quite the same anywhere else, no matter how hard they try. Sorry France!
Tell us about your home. What would you miss about it if you moved away?
