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@Home is where you are @peace


I’ve just returned from a whirlwind 10 days in Dubai, visiting friends and promoting my book @Home in Dubai.  A realization came flooding in as I was wined and dined, housed and loved by so many Dubai friends that, home is not only where the heart is (mine is spread all over the world) but also where you are at peace.

The main purpose of my trip was to launch my book in Dubai by way of a book signing and coffee chat at my favorite coffee shop (Central Perk), where the manager I had met before when attending an event for Room to Read, welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to take over half the shop. I felt at home.
Book signing at Central Perk
I also took the opportunity to meet with book buyers from all the local bookshops (some of which are international). I was met with very encouraging words as they all forwarded sample copies to the National Media Council in Abu Dhabi, which must approve the book before it’s sold in the UAE.  I am hopeful that the approval will be forthcoming. Then my book will find a home on Dubai bookshop shelves. In the meantime, it's on Amazon (both print and Kindle versions) and probably in other bookshops elsewhere in the world (if you see one, let me know...rumor has it that someone bought a copy in London).

So, back to being @peace… I’ve been an expat since 1993 and I always thought of ‘home’ as little ol’ Halifax, Nova Scotia, where my mom still lives in the house I grew up in.  Every time the plane comes in for a landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport a feeling of contentment washes over me. I sit in my mom’s living room and I feel at peace. I am home. 
Me and my mom, cozying up to read a good book (I know...it was a few years ago but still feels the same).
However, my heart is also with my husband anywhere we go. So home is also with him and I feel at peace when I’m with him and where I have some of my favorite things surrounding me (including my beautiful cat, Zorro). 
Zorro, the Muse
But wait, I also felt at peace when staying with my friends Joanna and Wendy during this trip to Dubai. They, and their families, opened their homes to me and it felt just like staying with extended family. In the warm embrace of my friends, I felt at home.

So, as I write this it makes me realize that the main message in @Home in Dubai is how important it is to find peace as you’re setting up a new home. Once you find it, you will be home, no matter where you are.

Here I am now, @Home in Phuket (hopefully the next in the @Home in... series).
 Where and how do you feel most @Home?





Comments

Miss Footloose | Life in the Expat Lane said…
I've been at this expat life much longer than you have and I agree that home is where you are at peace, and that is where my husband is. However, now, after so many countries and so many years, I no longer have "roots" in a place where "people know my name" so to speak.

Every few years I leave, go somewhere else, lose friends, find friends, lose them again, find new ones. Where do I belong in the end? Where will I grow new roots when the time comes to settle down? And where will all my friends be? Spread around the world, not where I will be. It's a bit scary to think about.

I've never been to Dubai, but I'm curious, so I'll buy your book!

As a writer, I know how exciting it is to have your book out, and I wish you lost of success!
12 March 2012 at 16:54
Anne Louise O'Connell said…
Thanks for the note! It is definitely difficult to keep those long distance friendships thriving for sure! Even after being away from "home" almost 20 years, I still visit twice a year (I'm very lucky)!
Thanks for buying the book! Let me know what you think.
Happy Trails,
Anne
P.S. I LOVED the Carlos the mad driver story! I'm trying to decide which crazy taxi ride to share...I'll be back.
12 March 2012 at 20:42
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