The Furthest I have Ever Been from Home
This post is inspired by a 30 day writing prompt thing I cannot guarantee I will complete, but I will attempt to. Enjoy.
I think the furthest from home I have ever been, physically, is St. Petersburg, Russia. If we are counting home to be where I grew up. I never really lived at home for extended periods of time. I went to boarding school in Ogun state, 2 hours from where we lived, when I was 9 years old. Spent the next 5 years after that in Ogun state for University. Home has always been just for holidays. I went to Benin to serve not long after and spent the next year of my life there. Barely two years later, in 2016, I moved to Paris, France. In between, I lived with my uncle and my cousin for a total of 8 months. I guess for me, my mother’s house has always been more of a base than a home. But a significant base for me. I think that that is why I feel like I never got a chance to plant my roots anywhere. Because I have always been on the move. Anyway, St. Petersburg happened because of work. Our project partners are at the university of St Petersburg in Russia. I liked the city, but I have heard of the famed racism of the Russians, and being the only black person on my team, I could not bring myself to experience the city the way my colleagues did. They went bar hopping, while I settled into my room, sending nudes to someone while showing them my really big room. What struck me, beyond the boat dinner we had, were the deep underground metros. I do not think the metros in any other city I have visited are as deep underground as those in St. Petersburg. In addition, there are or were, too many people in the city. I felt like I was living in a refurbished Balogun market. Oh! I was scammed, someone paid me fake Russian rubles. A fact I would not realise until I tried to change some at the airport in Budapest.
I currently feel most detached from home because I have lived abroad for far too long, returning in 2019 for a brief visit. I would love to visit again, but corona and the state of my pocket will not let me. I think mentally, I am furthest from home I have ever been. I am trying hard to now build connections to my family. Especially my sisters and my mother. I hope it is not too late, because I have finally accepted that in everything, no matter, everything, they will always be home to me. No matter how much my mother annoys me (and even if you have only known me for 20 seconds, you know that she annoys me A LOT).
Originally published at https://telegra.ph on May 3, 2021.
