Home is where your heart is

I've always thought that living abroad would be no big deal. Home would he wherever you decide is home. Your surroundings would have no impact whatsoever on how you live your life. Nothing changes. You go to work, you go home, have dinner, go to bed and wake up the next morning doing the same thing. From time to time, you socialize or you travel or do whatever else takes your fancy. The environment you live in doesn't change your lifestyle.

So then why is it that just when you're about to board the plane heading home, you develop anxiety. You start feeling jittery and start to wonder about all the things that you used to do back home and the things that you would do on this trip back. You start to remind yourself of all the friends that you would like to catch up with and all the great food that you've been missing since your last trip back.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy living in The Hague. The pace is slower compared to Kuala Lumpur. Getting around is easy, you can easily take your bike out and go for a long ride without having to worry about lorry drivers who cant see you or even acknowledge that you have as much right as they do in using the tarmac. You dont have to worry about being late anywhere as you don't have to crawl through bumper to bumper traffic.

Over the last couple of years, I've found that I enjoy my life in the Netherlands. The lifestyle there gives me more time to pursue my other interests and develop some new ones. So why is it that when the plane lands and the cabin crew is making their final announcement before you disembark the plane, you get this feeling of pure contentment when they say "To the Malaysian citizens, welcome home". When you hear that, it sounds so right.