Really enjoyed reading this, Stina! Thank you for such an enjoyable read!
How interestingly funny that you escaped to Cairo after high school! Cairo is my hometown and I escaped it to Berlin right after I finished university. 🤣 I had to chuckle at your description of rich boys driving in their rich parents' 4WD around the North Coast... I can really picture that image. 😁 But sounds like it was fun!
I loved reading how you're getting to know your hometown in a new way now. I relate so much, as I've been getting to know Cairo in new ways too over the last couple of years. Though I haven't returned, I feel my relationship to it shift with every visit.
Hey!!! OMG Cairo is your hometown??!!! No way! Aaah Cario the love of my life. I've been back many times since I lived there. I lived in Zamalek! In which are did you grow up??
Ah cool you live in Berlin! Have long have you been there? Whas it your dream to go there or how come you picked Germany?? Do you have any plans going back and live in Cairo or do you see Europe as your home now? So so fun to meet you!
And thank you so much for saying you liked the article!!!
What a lovely article Stina. Thank you for introducing us to your hometown. It looks cold but lovely. You obviously have the wandering spirit. I am thinking of the contrast between northern Sweden and Cairo. Were your parents concerned about you heading off into the great unknown 😉
Thanks Lucy!! Definitely have the wandering spirit! ha ha oh man, my mum was not impressed at all by me settling in Egypt. Then her and my dad came to visit me in Cairo and that just confirmed her worries over me cause Cairo is crazy ha ha!
Hi Alex! Thanks so much! ha ha I SO understand if you have not found joy and belonging in your howetown. This was me for many many years. I'm 45 now and finally I'm there he he Perhaps you wont find it and that's ok too.
Living down here in Skåne, I've somehow never made it up this far North this has me thinking I really need to fix that, so glad you found your way back!
Hi Scott! Thank you!!! It's so damn far to this part of Sweden!!! No wonder you have not been when it takes less time to go to Italy! But go! It's beautiful!
Hi Stina...I come from a small farming town,Cameron Highlands,Malaysia.Now I work for a NGO in the city but planning to move back to my farming town soon.Just missing the greens & my nature walks! Thanks for sharing.
Hi ER! Thanks for sharing! It's so interesting how some of us leave home for a bit but the plan is always to come back to their home turf, whereas others leave for good. I wonder if it has to do with the hometowns themselves, or if some of us simply can't live where they grew up!
I think it's individual choice. Some just love the city life as for me I just miss the greens, enviroment, the people I grew up with! Most importantly, just love the quiet life. Just do what I love to do 😊
I totally get that!!! So glad you've decided to live where your heart sings! By the way, I'm heading to Malaysia soon! Any pro recommendations apart from the obvious KL, Penang and Tioman islands?
Thank you, for the spotify playlist. I came home, after 15 years away from New Zealand, living in Islanbul, then Europe. I feel like there might be things you can teach me xx
Hi Di! Nice to meet you! Wowowow 15 years is a very long time! Did you come home cause you missed NZ? Does it feel like the right decision? Btw, Istanbul hey?! Such a cool place!!!!
Hi Stina. Lovely to find you here. It was an unplanned 15 years of wandering but, perhaps, all the more glorious because of that. I returned to NZ because my Dad had Dementia but wasn't ready to leave his house. My family had returned home from their European life, earlier that same year, and we often lived in other places in the northern hemisphere. Seemed odd not to share a hemisphere. And I was at a bit of a crossroads, with two jobs lined up but ... just but. I think it does feel like the right decision. I probably needed to leave the gloriously edgy kind of life I lived, where I had absolutely no idea of what might be next. And the fight or flight response is slowly, very slowly, leaving of my mind and body. In fact, now I think of it, I'm living a life that is the complete opposite of my European life at the moment, and it's quite odd to have peace to realise these things :-) Istanbul was remarkable. I loved it, passionately. I had beautiful Turkish friends, and so many adventures ... although, there was a point when I realised I could continue having a bit of anxiety however, it would kill me because there was so much for a woman from small-town NZ to be anxious about :-) so it cured me of that, and I got on with simply embracing the, sometimes overwhelming, life I lived there. Stendhal syndrome was a regular thing tho. Looking forward to reading you!
Hey Di! So fun and interesting to learn about your story. I'm sorry your dad is not well. My dad had dementia too. That period when they kind of know they're not well but refuse to be taken care of is the hardest, I found it. How sweet you managed to live in the same hemisphere with your family. My family def did not move hemisphere when I lived in Melbourne ❤️ I'm happy it feels like the right decision to move back....15 years is a lifetime! Perhaps it's not forever, but being there for your family in times of hardship, it's really what matters. I know it too well. I was not there for a family member many years ago. Too busy living my fun life travelling...I was 20 back then, so perhaps you're not supposed to be thoughtful when you're that young but I still regret not being there for that person. Now, I take every opportunity to help out. Life hey...
Aaah man, the old fight or flight response! TOTALLY understand! It takes time right? I imagine living in Istanbul must have been like living in Cairo; absolutely madness at times. But yes, I also grew so much from living in the middle of chaos and learning to embrace it. Rough with the smooth and all that hey.
Looking forward reading you too!!! Have a great day!
You lived in Cairo! Oh my, I went there, with the curator of an exhibition I was working as a photographer on, she was collecting pieces to display and invited me along. Cairo blew my mind, I have to confess. The long tunnel into the heart of the city, and then the clamour of life not in the touristy section of the city. Maybe I had been in Antwerp for too long by then, or perhaps my familiarity, in the end, with Istanbul made life there seem less huge. But I was so happy to fall into my plane seat, after a few days, and leave. And as we climbed into the sky, on departure, I remember looking down a remembering the Pyramids!! There they were, in all their glory, and I had been too busy working to even think of them :-) And yes, for a long time, Dad thought he was fine but, of course, his memory was so gone. 20 is so young. I didn’t fly from New Zealand until I was 38, such a different age.
Nice piece Stina. Coming home to Australia again after a while away and have been thinking about these issues a lot. I am so grateful and lucky to have been born here and if I am unsure about coming back its a lot to do with what home represents, rather than Australia per se and so, being appreciative of where one comes from and being able to love it is so important. Youve given me a few more angles on which to chase my thoughts so thx for that🙏
Hey! Thank you, and thanks so much for sharing your story! Ah maaan yes exactly this, so grateful to have been brought up in a small Swedish town but happy to have left behind the insecure teenage version of me, and all that came with it. Hard to not fall back into family dynamics of the 90s too 😎
So you're an aussie! Where from? I lived in Melbourne for a year and going back in a couple of weeks on holiday!
I love your writing, always. And I love how adventurous you’ve been from such a young age. How long did you live in Cairo? I feel like we’re one and the same. I loved Egypt and her people too. Though, I was only there a few short weeks.
I have two versions of home. My early childhood was in Oregon in a small coastal town, where my mom still lives, and San Francisco, where my dad is. I haven’t been back to Oregon in eight years, but it still feels like slipping into an old, cozy sweatshirt. Funny though, I’m a different person there. A return to the shy, slightly awkward kid-version of me.
San Francisco is where I feel most like myself. The city gives me energy. A little louder, edgier, and bustling. My soul renews whenever I spend time there. I’m heading back in a month and can’t wait!
Brandiiiii! Thank you and thanks so much for sharing! So fun to know where you grew up and how you feel about it today. Oh man, I so understand that thing about returning to the old version of yourself, especially if you spend time with your family...like you've grown and changed so much over the years and in two seconds you're back with the same characteristics you had in 1998. Family dynamics being exactly the same! So fun you were awkward, I definitely was, too!! ha ha
San Fransisco! Wow! I've only been once and wowwow what a place! Such a vibe. How wonderful to have your dad there!
Egypt is the best! I love it so much and I'm so glad you do too!! A lot of people don't right?! I was there for a year!
Yeah, not many people I spoke with loved it either, but they also didn’t seem as open-minded as most travelers I’ve met. Some felt more focused on crossing sights off a list than actually engaging with the culture or people. A full year is amazing though. I imagine you collected some pretty unforgettable experiences.
It's funny how we come full circle. So happy that you're enjoying your heritage, Stina, and sharing it with us. p.s. I think you're lucky you're not a WAG!
Erin! Yes yes FINALLY full circle, only took me 30 years on the road ha ha WAG-life is probably not the most thrilling thing. Can you imagine these girls that got together with the hockey players are still with them 30 years later?!
Really enjoyed reading this, Stina! Thank you for such an enjoyable read!
How interestingly funny that you escaped to Cairo after high school! Cairo is my hometown and I escaped it to Berlin right after I finished university. 🤣 I had to chuckle at your description of rich boys driving in their rich parents' 4WD around the North Coast... I can really picture that image. 😁 But sounds like it was fun!
I loved reading how you're getting to know your hometown in a new way now. I relate so much, as I've been getting to know Cairo in new ways too over the last couple of years. Though I haven't returned, I feel my relationship to it shift with every visit.
And I loved the photos of the snow! 😍
Hey!!! OMG Cairo is your hometown??!!! No way! Aaah Cario the love of my life. I've been back many times since I lived there. I lived in Zamalek! In which are did you grow up??
Ah cool you live in Berlin! Have long have you been there? Whas it your dream to go there or how come you picked Germany?? Do you have any plans going back and live in Cairo or do you see Europe as your home now? So so fun to meet you!
And thank you so much for saying you liked the article!!!
What a lovely article Stina. Thank you for introducing us to your hometown. It looks cold but lovely. You obviously have the wandering spirit. I am thinking of the contrast between northern Sweden and Cairo. Were your parents concerned about you heading off into the great unknown 😉
Thanks Lucy!! Definitely have the wandering spirit! ha ha oh man, my mum was not impressed at all by me settling in Egypt. Then her and my dad came to visit me in Cairo and that just confirmed her worries over me cause Cairo is crazy ha ha!
I love that you found the joy in your hometown. I admit, I am guilty of not doing this. Örnsköldsvik sounds like such a nice and special place!
Hi Alex! Thanks so much! ha ha I SO understand if you have not found joy and belonging in your howetown. This was me for many many years. I'm 45 now and finally I'm there he he Perhaps you wont find it and that's ok too.
Living down here in Skåne, I've somehow never made it up this far North this has me thinking I really need to fix that, so glad you found your way back!
Hi Scott! Thank you!!! It's so damn far to this part of Sweden!!! No wonder you have not been when it takes less time to go to Italy! But go! It's beautiful!
Haha. Yes absolutely.
Hi Stina...I come from a small farming town,Cameron Highlands,Malaysia.Now I work for a NGO in the city but planning to move back to my farming town soon.Just missing the greens & my nature walks! Thanks for sharing.
Hi ER! Thanks for sharing! It's so interesting how some of us leave home for a bit but the plan is always to come back to their home turf, whereas others leave for good. I wonder if it has to do with the hometowns themselves, or if some of us simply can't live where they grew up!
I think it's individual choice. Some just love the city life as for me I just miss the greens, enviroment, the people I grew up with! Most importantly, just love the quiet life. Just do what I love to do 😊
I totally get that!!! So glad you've decided to live where your heart sings! By the way, I'm heading to Malaysia soon! Any pro recommendations apart from the obvious KL, Penang and Tioman islands?
Just update me when you are flying in to Malaysia!
Sure.... I will, check out Sabah & Sarawak.
Borneo right?! Looking forward!
Yes
I have lived in Sabah & Sarawak. Orang Utan Sanctuary is Sabah. If you love nature, it's a great place to visit.
I have lived in Sabah & Sarawak. Orang Utan Sanctuary is Sabah. If you love nature, it's a great place to visit.
Thank you, for the spotify playlist. I came home, after 15 years away from New Zealand, living in Islanbul, then Europe. I feel like there might be things you can teach me xx
Hi Di! Nice to meet you! Wowowow 15 years is a very long time! Did you come home cause you missed NZ? Does it feel like the right decision? Btw, Istanbul hey?! Such a cool place!!!!
Hi Stina. Lovely to find you here. It was an unplanned 15 years of wandering but, perhaps, all the more glorious because of that. I returned to NZ because my Dad had Dementia but wasn't ready to leave his house. My family had returned home from their European life, earlier that same year, and we often lived in other places in the northern hemisphere. Seemed odd not to share a hemisphere. And I was at a bit of a crossroads, with two jobs lined up but ... just but. I think it does feel like the right decision. I probably needed to leave the gloriously edgy kind of life I lived, where I had absolutely no idea of what might be next. And the fight or flight response is slowly, very slowly, leaving of my mind and body. In fact, now I think of it, I'm living a life that is the complete opposite of my European life at the moment, and it's quite odd to have peace to realise these things :-) Istanbul was remarkable. I loved it, passionately. I had beautiful Turkish friends, and so many adventures ... although, there was a point when I realised I could continue having a bit of anxiety however, it would kill me because there was so much for a woman from small-town NZ to be anxious about :-) so it cured me of that, and I got on with simply embracing the, sometimes overwhelming, life I lived there. Stendhal syndrome was a regular thing tho. Looking forward to reading you!
Hey Di! So fun and interesting to learn about your story. I'm sorry your dad is not well. My dad had dementia too. That period when they kind of know they're not well but refuse to be taken care of is the hardest, I found it. How sweet you managed to live in the same hemisphere with your family. My family def did not move hemisphere when I lived in Melbourne ❤️ I'm happy it feels like the right decision to move back....15 years is a lifetime! Perhaps it's not forever, but being there for your family in times of hardship, it's really what matters. I know it too well. I was not there for a family member many years ago. Too busy living my fun life travelling...I was 20 back then, so perhaps you're not supposed to be thoughtful when you're that young but I still regret not being there for that person. Now, I take every opportunity to help out. Life hey...
Aaah man, the old fight or flight response! TOTALLY understand! It takes time right? I imagine living in Istanbul must have been like living in Cairo; absolutely madness at times. But yes, I also grew so much from living in the middle of chaos and learning to embrace it. Rough with the smooth and all that hey.
Looking forward reading you too!!! Have a great day!
You lived in Cairo! Oh my, I went there, with the curator of an exhibition I was working as a photographer on, she was collecting pieces to display and invited me along. Cairo blew my mind, I have to confess. The long tunnel into the heart of the city, and then the clamour of life not in the touristy section of the city. Maybe I had been in Antwerp for too long by then, or perhaps my familiarity, in the end, with Istanbul made life there seem less huge. But I was so happy to fall into my plane seat, after a few days, and leave. And as we climbed into the sky, on departure, I remember looking down a remembering the Pyramids!! There they were, in all their glory, and I had been too busy working to even think of them :-) And yes, for a long time, Dad thought he was fine but, of course, his memory was so gone. 20 is so young. I didn’t fly from New Zealand until I was 38, such a different age.
Nice piece Stina. Coming home to Australia again after a while away and have been thinking about these issues a lot. I am so grateful and lucky to have been born here and if I am unsure about coming back its a lot to do with what home represents, rather than Australia per se and so, being appreciative of where one comes from and being able to love it is so important. Youve given me a few more angles on which to chase my thoughts so thx for that🙏
Hey! Thank you, and thanks so much for sharing your story! Ah maaan yes exactly this, so grateful to have been brought up in a small Swedish town but happy to have left behind the insecure teenage version of me, and all that came with it. Hard to not fall back into family dynamics of the 90s too 😎
So you're an aussie! Where from? I lived in Melbourne for a year and going back in a couple of weeks on holiday!
God bless you 🙏
Thank you!
I love your writing, always. And I love how adventurous you’ve been from such a young age. How long did you live in Cairo? I feel like we’re one and the same. I loved Egypt and her people too. Though, I was only there a few short weeks.
I have two versions of home. My early childhood was in Oregon in a small coastal town, where my mom still lives, and San Francisco, where my dad is. I haven’t been back to Oregon in eight years, but it still feels like slipping into an old, cozy sweatshirt. Funny though, I’m a different person there. A return to the shy, slightly awkward kid-version of me.
San Francisco is where I feel most like myself. The city gives me energy. A little louder, edgier, and bustling. My soul renews whenever I spend time there. I’m heading back in a month and can’t wait!
Brandiiiii! Thank you and thanks so much for sharing! So fun to know where you grew up and how you feel about it today. Oh man, I so understand that thing about returning to the old version of yourself, especially if you spend time with your family...like you've grown and changed so much over the years and in two seconds you're back with the same characteristics you had in 1998. Family dynamics being exactly the same! So fun you were awkward, I definitely was, too!! ha ha
San Fransisco! Wow! I've only been once and wowwow what a place! Such a vibe. How wonderful to have your dad there!
Egypt is the best! I love it so much and I'm so glad you do too!! A lot of people don't right?! I was there for a year!
Yeah, not many people I spoke with loved it either, but they also didn’t seem as open-minded as most travelers I’ve met. Some felt more focused on crossing sights off a list than actually engaging with the culture or people. A full year is amazing though. I imagine you collected some pretty unforgettable experiences.
It's funny how we come full circle. So happy that you're enjoying your heritage, Stina, and sharing it with us. p.s. I think you're lucky you're not a WAG!
Erin! Yes yes FINALLY full circle, only took me 30 years on the road ha ha WAG-life is probably not the most thrilling thing. Can you imagine these girls that got together with the hockey players are still with them 30 years later?!
Yes, I can imagine what the WAG life would be like -- which is why I don't wish it for you! 🤗