Home (def. the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household)

October 06, 2018

Home, indeed! I returned to Doha from Canada just over a month ago, and I've been asking myself that question ever since. Was I visiting home when I went back to Canada? Was I coming "home" when I came back to Doha? When I was living out of a suitcase in Red Deer and Cochrane, was I home? Or did I get “home” when I came back to our villa in Al Jazeera 1 Compound (see picture of our block) and put my clothes away in the drawer and the closet?

Well, to go back to the definition, I came back without Glenn, who took his mom (hi, Norma!) “home” to Newfoundland for a visit and “wee toar of the rock”). And my kids are back in Canada. But only one of my grandchildren is living there; the other is in Denmark! So, when I came back, I was not with my family—not even close. And don't they say, home is where the heart is?

So, was I home or away while I was in Canada? (Snowbirds like my friend Anne Price face a similar dilemma, although their migratory patterns (signalled in the term Snowbirds itself) suggest a slight variation.)

Now that Glenn is back in Doha, I think he may be asking himself similar questions (although mostly he's just asking what day is it?--jet lag is no fun!). And, he adds, for the first few days after he arrived, he had a strong sense of dislocation: on the one hand, he felt like he was visiting Doha, but on the other, he felt as though the trip to Canada was just a dream (although he has pictures to prove he was there).

Although these are deeply philosophical questions (and they don't even address some of the more existential crises I experienced when I returned alone, such as a 3 inch* cockroach in the living room!), the answer may be simple. Doha is home for now, and Glenn and I are really looking forward to experiencing our first Doha winter. We're off to a good start, as we both now own bikes, and we took our first trip together yesterday morning, after I came "home" from dragon boating at 7 AM Friday (yes, I was on the beach at 4:45 AM--see pre-sunrise picture). We were on the trail by about 7:45 AM and we cycled for over an hour in 38 degree heat (okay, so it's still Fall here, not Winter yet, but we've been assured that, in about 2 weeks time, temperatures are going to drop considerably).

Glenn collapsed onto the cold floor in our villa when we got back--likely heat stroke since he's not acclimatized yet (the weather in Alberta was not exactly what you'd call summer weather) and we were both zombies for most of the rest of the day, but we look forward to many more outings like this (well, cooler than this). The Souq will be bustling, major sporting events will be coming to Doha (such as world class horse jumping, gymnastics, and motorcycle racing), and there is still so much for us to discover.

I'm off to India at the end of the month (to Bangalore, which is kind of like a second home to me!), and we're planning our Christmas vacation, likely in Jordan. So life is good, and it's Thanksgiving weekend (we're joining Canadians in Qatar for a turkey dinner tonight at a major hotel). We have plenty to be thankful for, including the fact that the pest control people were just here this morning and sprayed all our drains (again). We have each other and wonderful friends at "home" in Canada. Shout out to all who put us up and put up with us in their "homes." We love and miss you and hope to see you somewhere soon. Happy Thanksgiving!

*Those of you who know my tendency to exaggerate the size of bugs I encounter, the size of this one was verified by Glenn on his return when he opened the vacuum cleaner bag and confirmed that this was one enormous bug, estimated at 2.5-3 inches.