Pablo, let me explain what home means to me!
A conversation about home.
For this action I was paired with Pablo Mariano to talk about home. What is home? For both of us it was a pretty hard question to answer. Is it where our family lives? Is it where we connect the most? Could it even be a place we don’t know, yet? Pablo and I are both in a transit stage right know. I live “at home” right now, in my parent’s house but only since a few weeks – waiting to come to Vancouver soon. For me personally home is where I feel home.
Ge·bor·gen·heit /ɡəˈbɔrɡn̩ha͜it,Gebórgenheit/
We have a specific word in German that is used as a synonym for home, called “Geborgenheit”. There is no exact translation in English. What it implies is feeling secure and protected but at the same time being accepted of who you are and to be loved.
I do not believe you only feel home in the specific place where you live but there must be some kind of plurality of homes for everyone. Wherever we go we are probably adding another home, and leaving a place doesn’t mean losing a home. The feeling of home is probably for ever in our memories.
At first, I would show Pablo the landscape I live in via Skype. I took him to the vineyards and showed him around. Right now it’s actually the most beautiful time of the year as the onions and grapes are ripe and the owners and the locals help to harvest the grapes by hand in places, where the machines can not get through. Usually, you would then have the very first wine and some „onion-cake“ in the middle of the vineyards after you’re done picking.
Further, I really wanted to share how to make an onion cake. It’s something I would only enjoy at home. In the setting of some new wine, friends and family around me and the sound of the regions awkward German accent.
After being more literal to the term „home“ we actually talked a lot about what we need to feel home and shared a lot about the culture itself, about food and drinks, gestures and ended up talking a lot about music. So we started sharing music on a Spotify list and talking about it. As music is part of Pablo’s work we shared our work and I feel we learned a lot about our countries, our cultures, our individual work, and our passions.
This action made me realize that my home is where I feel that I can be who I am and where I am accepted and loved for that. It’s not tied to a specific place but it is tied to people. My family and friends. But of course, to be who I am, my home needs to be a place where I can be creative and grow.