© Anushka Bose. All rights reserved.*
Home is where the heart is,
And also where the foot is
Home is the smell of freshly baked za’atar filling the aroma of the commissary,
Home is the creation of beginnings in a new city
Home is the Arabian sunshine and desert, the palm trees and the souks,
Home is sitting with the unsettling feelings of change, and embracing the life that touches your feet
Home is scouting for pashmina shawls and oriental rugs, eating baklavas, and enjoying the embrace of your family,
Home is the crispy weather and brunches with friends, talking about plans for the summer
Home is the aroma of the Arabian oud, fancy malls, and King Khaled Street,
Home is pausing to remember a memory from halfway across the world in the middle of a mundane task
Home is Christmas in the desert,
Home is warm hugs and glossy eyes at airports
Home is a million places all at once,
it’s the food, shelter, memories, aroma, togetherness of the past,
and the current embrace of the present
it’s the places we have been,
places we are in,
and the longing for the places we will go
Because no matter what,
the life of a global nomad ensures one thing:
your heart be in one place
and your foot in another
Both creating their own brand of magic.
Anushka is a Graduate Student at Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She spent her youth growing up in Dhahran, where she attended Dhahran Elementary, Dhahran Middle School, and Dhahran Academy. She loves learning about new cultures and is fascinated by the diversity that brings us all together, especially the expatriate community, where the only thing that is common is that we are all different, in culture, religion, and the perspectives we hold. One day she hopes to publish a book on the third culture kid experience. Dhahran holds a big place in her heart.
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