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After a Year Abroad: The joy of coming home

/ Pernnille Oberg / 6 Comments

After having lived abroad in respectively Dublin and Berlin for a little over a year, I returned to Denmark in June in order to attend the oral exam of my MA dissertation and finish my degree at university. I passed with honours and am now saving for my next adventure starting in January. I’ve been home for almost three months now and although there has been moments of pure boredom, it’s also been nice just to be home in familiar settings – that homey feeling is underestimated. Hence, as adjusting to home hasn’t taken me long (the language, the cost of things, food, the quiet and slow pace), coming home has been a smooth and nice transition. It’s nice to come home to what you know. People that you know and that know you. Especially, as I’ve missed a lot of birthdays, Christmas and other notable events in the life of my family and friends. As such, I wondered what would be different when I came home before returning. A lot, it turned out. And at the same time, nothing. The big things are still the same – my family and friends, the scenery, the sounds, the smells and the pace of things.

Childhood homeCorn field

 

 

 

 

I’ve moved back in with my parents until January when I leave for my next adventure in Amsterdam. I like it here and on the contrary to the majority of people out there, I like living here at my parents’ place – for now. I guess it’s because I haven’t seen them and my sister in a year and I know I’ll be gone again within no time. And next time, it’s for good. I mean, I’ll actually live abroad permanently for a longer period of time than usually. As a result, I wan’t see them often. Hence, staying at my parents’ place right now is a perfect opportunity to enjoy some extra time with them and my sister. Also, after a year abroad, it’s nice to come home and reflect on things – reflect on my current life situation after university, my future and all the experiences I’ve had for the last year. Moreover, I love it here during the summer time when everything is on bloom – the scenery is, simply, astonishing! My parents live in this little cottage (see picture above) in the middle of nowhere with beautiful scenery. Therefore, it has felt like vacation for the last couple of months. However, there’s not much to do here. As I grew up in this small town named Felsted in the southern part of Denmark and studied for five years in Aalborg in the northern part of Denmark as well as abroad, there’s not much to do here as my friends either live abroad or in the northern part of Denmark. Moreover, all my friends from pre-school have moved away. But… I must admit that coming home every once in a while to this familiar, quiet place, seeing my family and recharging my travel batteries give me a newfound appreciation for this home as well as an immense appreciation for traveling. It’s all about perspective, I guess. Although… The excitement of having come home again is beginning to ware out, and I’m now planning my next adventure. I can’t wait for my next life chapter to begin. I can’t wait to travel. Because, when I travel, my mind is always occupied with experiencing new things – it’s in constant stimulus. I miss that! I miss acquiring new understanding of cultures and, implicit, people. For the next three months, however, I will concentrate on enjoying my last days in Denmark with my family.

xo P!