A debatable subject aptly
addressed to us ex-pats, both those who are still abroad and those who have come
back for good (or so we thought).
Who can disagree that our cherished
memories of the old hometown, rustic, rural, and crude, as it may have been
when we departed from it, are worth remembering, revisiting, and reliving with
both short visits and resettlement?
Thus for a good number of us,
decisions were made to return and resettle, and to pick up from where we left
off.
Years later and after a series
of grave disillusionment, comes now the need for re-assessment of that decision
to relocate. Has it been the right
one? Does the ugly reality of living in
the old hometown at the present time jibe with our sanitized or hopeful version
of it, one that we incubated in our minds through all the years that we were
out of it?
So is the actual living in
that hometown good enough for us to want to stay further?
Time to sit back and
re-think.
When we were still
abroad, the stubborn thoughts of the hometown were more riveting giving us bouts
of extreme nostalgic yearnings of not only getting back there, but also of
doing helpful things in our new surroundings to help ameliorate the dire
conditions of the beleaguered hometown, since someday that would become home for
us anew.
We labored hard to set aside
financial resources not only for our future but in aid of the old hometown,
with an almost addictive sense of altruism and love for it as inspired by the alluring
thoughts of what it meant to us.
Though we now hold very
negative thoughts about what it has morphed into, we still like to think that
somehow it would not be that bad. Though
in reality in our estimation it is really bad enough for us since if the need
arises we would decide against relocating the remainder of our family members
and their remaining lives in this now benighted hometown.
The growing disconnect then
becomes more apparent, though we may continue to blind our minds to the now
harsh realities in the old hometown.
We cling still to our
steadfast declaration that we cherish our beloved hometown and that still we
would do anything to assist it in its many ugly travails. But deep down we continue to harbor no plans
or inkling to get back to it. Sounds
rather contradictory? Many would think
so. But I guess our thoughts and
longings are beyond rhyme or reason, or logic.
And what about those who may
have relocated and are now entertaining similar thoughts? Is the option to uproot and re-locate one more time still a
viable option?
That is the “to be or not to
be” question.
