Home 'Sweet' Home

What is the one thing that makes a place home? I’ve always heard the saying ‘home is where the heart is’ which is not well worded because your heart is always wherever you happen to be. I had taken the saying to mean that home is wherever the people are that you care the most for. In today’s modern age of satellite internet connections, cell phones, and internet phones even though you may not be near people you can still keep in pretty close contact with them from anywhere around the globe. Because of that and the fact that I have multiple homes due to my family living all over the world I’ve decided that there must be something else that makes home, home. This past week I came to the realization of what that certain something is....food. No matter where you are the food of home can make the place you’re staying seem like you’ve always been there. This outstanding epiphany came about because of a couple of packages that Neil received last week. They both contained seasonings, something that we have been doing mostly without for a while now. Saturday night Neil decided to use one kind of seasoning to make a dish like his mom makes. I forgot what it’s called but he did a remarkable job and the kitchen reminded me of smells from his house back in Roseburg (thank you Mrs. Patel for sending that stuff..it’s amazing:). So that meal and Neil’s and my recent talks about how soon we’re going to get to eat at Taco Bell have settled in my mind the issue that food makes a place home. Oh and on a side note we aren’t going to get to eat at Taco Bell until June 10, 2009 at approximately 3 pm in San Francisco during our layover.

Let’s see, what other interesting stuff have I been doing? On Sunday evening we had our first group movie night. Neil and I have had movie nights each Saturday night be we finally got together with Lydia (German nurse) and Lucas (pharmacist) to watch a movie we borrowed from the doctor. Oh, last Thursday a new nurse, Ina, arrived here from Germany. She’s going to be here for a whole year. She stopped in Arusha on her way here and brought us a package from our friend Katie who’s working at Cradle of Love there (thanks tons Katie! :).

The weeks are in a nice routine and have been flying by. It’s hard to believe that we left Portland two months ago. Also rapidly approaching is our trip down to Maputo, Mozambique to spend Christmas with my family. I’m looking forward to that very much! Between seeing my family, eating lots of amazing food, and getting access to unlimited internet usage I’m sure that the time there will be quite enjoyable! It is also going to involve a train ride. I’ve never traveled anywhere by train before but we’re going to be spending two nights and one day on a train going from Kigoma all the way across Tanzania to Dar es Salaam. Should be pretty fun...at least for me:), Neil loves going places just not all of the traveling it takes to get there:).

Even though Thanksgiving hasn’t come yet I’ve already started listening to my Christmas music in preparation for the holiday season. Some people have said that Christmas music should only be listened to from Thanksgiving to the 25th of December but I am of the opinion that Christmas music can be listened to all year long. When discussing this with others I then cite the study that has shown listening to Christmas music lowers the chances of a person becoming depressed (I just need to find out if a study like that has been done yet).

Well I’m writing this late Monday evening and I don’t think my brain is fully functioning anymore so I apologize for any muddled ideas and jumbled sentences. Have a fabulous week!

Justin