Home sickness..

[belizesailor]

Having been semi-nomadic most of my adult life, my "home" was just where I stored my gear between trips. However, my place on the Rio Dulce truly became a home for me, now Im struggling a bit with that...and experiencing a bit of home sickness for the first time ever.

[gunkylump]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Don't know if this is the right forum for this but here goes..
There's folks here who are ex-pats.. long term cruisers that are scattered round the world on long circumnavigations.. or just working oversea's..
What I'm kinda curious about is, what triggers a sense of home sickness in you.. I'm not talking about crap beer, food or everyday gripes.. but something deeper in the soul.
This is for those who are generally happy where they are and with what they are doing.. but every so often something triggers a sense of nostalgia and longing for your homeland..
For me.. its the Antiques Roadshow when it pops up with old shows on BBC Entertainment now and then.. the rich variety of people, accents, places I have roamed like Warwick Castle, Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, St Ives.. it reminds me what a beautiful place the UK is..
it never fails to stir something in my soul..

For me Phil, it is the passing of a high school friend, or someone I knew back in my home town....that is what really does it to me. Or my niece or nephew posting pics of them doing things with their kids.....it really makes my heart twinge at times.....but.....I am doing what I like, and love to do....I am seeing places, creating family history, enjoying MY life to it's fullest...and when I do go "home", and talk with my relatives, friends, and others.....and they tell me they can't wait for a "blog" update, or an email, or some other form of communication.....then, it drives home the point, that if we were all the same, life would be very boring.....and I am grateful for what I am able to do now....and I find peace in that.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by boatman61

.......
For me.. its the Antiques Roadshow when it pops up with old shows on BBC Entertainment now and then.. the rich variety of people, accents, places I have roamed like Warwick Castle, Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, St Ives.. it reminds me what a beautiful place the UK is..
it never fails to stir something in my soul..

Are you sure it isn't Fiona Bruce

[Caribbeachbum]

I think it unfair to call it nationalism. The UK is a beautiful place. So are Trier, and Eindhoven, and Hannover, and Zaragosa. At least one person has pointed out the whole where the heart is thing. But that was not the question.

What triggers it? Sitting alone, often with a fine wine, and memories. Think not of it as a bad thing, instead see it as part of who you are. We live in a beautiful world. Your part of it is worthy of emotionally missing of it. Relish it. And also love where you be.

cheers, matey.

.

[Tricolor]

No i am not infected with the "homesick" virus, not been in my home country The Netherlands for over 10 years. Although with a nice glass i can dream away for places i really miss and want to visit again; Shakespeare country, dwelling through Chartwell, "The Harbour Master" in Aberaeron, the mystic Orkney. But also the beauty of the "Garden Route" from Cape Town to East London or the Baikal Lake.. So many places that i don't have the time to be homesick.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Don't know if this is the right forum for this but here goes..
There's folks here who are ex-pats.. long term cruisers that are scattered round the world on long circumnavigations.. or just working oversea's..
What I'm kinda curious about is, what triggers a sense of home sickness in you.. I'm not talking about crap beer, food or everyday gripes.. but something deeper in the soul.
This is for those who are generally happy where they are and with what they are doing.. but every so often something triggers a sense of nostalgia and longing for your homeland..
For me.. its the Antiques Roadshow when it pops up with old shows on BBC Entertainment now and then.. the rich variety of people, accents, places I have roamed like Warwick Castle, Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, St Ives.. it reminds me what a beautiful place the UK is..
it never fails to stir something in my soul..

A longing to be in the UK, lets think.......... Nope. No triggers there

If anything it's friends but if the kitty needs topping up with some work on live events it's always been more likely to meet up for beers abroad anyway.

Things to miss, or rather things to look forward to when visiting , Hmmm, getting off the plane when coming back to the boat is always more exciting than the other way round

I miss the boat more when away from it.

[Mike OReilly]

The question of “home”, or “where are you from?” I find difficult to answer. Not difficult as in emotionally hard. Just difficult as in naming a place. Canada, sure… but I don’t think I feel any particular emotional link — other than it’s a great place to live. There aren’t many places I would like to have on my passport, but I don’t think it is an emotional connection. Canada is too big — to artificially defined.

Of course I feel strongly connected to certain people. But that’s not really home in the sense of a place. What I do feel is an affinity for certain types of geography; where old rock meets the sea — this seems draw me. I certainly feel more at home in wilderness. I feel alienated in urban areas. Is that a form of “homesickness?” Not sure...

I have travelled to a small number of countries, but only lived in the USA for any length of time. Canada itself is a big place; just shy of Europe in size. I’ve lived all over the country. I can tell you, Newfoundlanders are pretty darn different than Okanaganites. Quebecers ain’t the same as Prairie folk. But they also hold a lot of common traits, just like people I’ve met everywhere in the world.

Like I say… it’s an interesting question. Perhaps I should have another glass of wine and type some more. I’m sure my thinking will get clearer the more I drink

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Been travelling all my life but.. that little part in me is.. Forever England..

Born and raised in the U.S., but I have lived in Europe off and on for 3/4 of my adult life, and experience no homesickness for the States. I was deeply homesick for Europe, though, whenever I went back to the States, and that is really why I ended up settling here permanently. I don't travel to the States much anymore, but whenever I do, a week is about all I can stand before I am itching to get back on the plane and get back to Europe (I note, however, that American cities are changing and getting better and more interesting).

Which part of it is hard to say. England, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Russia -- I love them all. I suppose I feel most at home in England and I deeply regret I did not buy an apartment in London during the brief period in the early 2000's when my means and prices there overlapped.

[dwedeking2]

When I hear a local Floridian say "the surf is up" I shed a tear for the time I lived in Hawai'i. Then I share another year for the poor Floridian and his "surf". About as close to homesickness as I get

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Are you sure it isn't Fiona Bruce

Damn..!!!

To be honest I am not sure why I get this..
Maybe its just down to a post colonial early life where I lived in Pakistan from 6mths old.. Independence was 1 year old, father was pre Independence old school going back nearly 2 centuries, mother UK origin so there was always this thing about the 'Home Country' going on under the surface..
Did not really see the UK.. apart from 1 year when 9 and father had to spend a year in a TB hospital and I and mum stayed with my grandparents, attending school in Coventry.
But other than that Pakistan was home till 16 when I sailed into Liverpool on the Circassia.. and into the Navy.
So maybe its not home sickness.. just a genetic programing.. but I still feel it..

[GordMay]

“My own yearning is for a fantasy of my homeland--it never existed, but in my heart ...”

Indeed.

[alansmith]

I am the weird one here. My dad was a military navy man. So, we moved every two years or three at the most. I lived in Asian countries most of my pubescent life and teenage years. I never feel settled. I lived in S. Calif for 17 years during my marriage and raising 3 children. But i never felt at home.

So, for me, my homesickness i guess would be that i have a deep need to be moving and seeing other things. While i get ready in the next 17 months to retire...i am full of excitement to travel. It has taken a lifetime to achieve this.

So, i guess i am the opposite. I am home and feel the deep need to not be home. And when i am home it never feels like that to me. My poor wife...She will go to heaven directly after throwing in with me.

[Steven UK]

I keep telling people five years is the longest I've been in one place, and I think it's true. Asia, UK, UK, UK, Asia, US, Asia, US.... ocean. The issue for me used to be wanting to be settled. But I've given up on that now. As for the original question its the once in a blue moon family gatherings that my wife organises, the warmth of family.

P.s. Boatman I did spend five years in Cov UK at the university. Maybe we crossed paths in one of the bars....? It would have been 95-00 ish.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Steven UK

P.s. Boatman I did spend five years in Cov UK at the university. Maybe we crossed paths in one of the bars....? It would have been 95-00 ish.

No.. I was living in Poole and working at Lilliput Yacht Station then.. left Coventry and moved to Cardiff in '82.. just visited Cov from then on.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Not being able to talk to somebody that speaks English as a first language.

That used to happen to me when I lived in Miami!

One of the biggest bouts of homesickness I ever had was walking around the International Mall in Dade for two hours, a few weeks before Christmas, and not hearing English spoken once in the entire two hours.