Realizing "home" doesn't feel like it anymore

by Heather Markel
(USA)

When I repatriated, from France to America, it hit me very hard that the place I had always referred to as "home" (New York) no longer felt that way. When you live overseas, you adapt in subconscious ways to your environment, and so when you repatriate, it's a big shock to realize you don't feel at home, even in a place you spent most of your life.

It can be the food, the actual pavement you're walking on, the types of trees you're looking at, the stores - it sounds silly, but it's often the most basic of things that bring up a pang in the heart, and leave you yearning to leave, even though you're supposed to feel at home.