Universidad Nacional de Cuyo
When I was thinking about my first post, the title of my blog came instantaneously to my mind: “My Home Mendoza”, immediately followed by the question “What is home?” It sounded like a pretty silly, basic question, but I wanted to come up with a deep answer to it. I looked the word up in the dictionary and I found the following definition: “The place where you came from or where you usually live, especially when this is the place where you feel happy and comfortable.” The first part of this definition I already knew; it was the second part that struck me the most. Was Mendoza really my home? Was it indeed the place where I felt at ease, cheerful and where I felt I belong?
Being more than 6,300 miles away from Mendoza, these searching questions seemed to touch deep into my soul. The simple, obvious answer would have been “Yes, it is my home because that is where I was born.” But I knew now that home meant much more than the place one was born. Therefore, I set out to find reasons that made Mendoza my home.
Sitting on the grass with a pen in my hand, the sun beaming through the clouds, I remembered the cloudless, blue sky of Mendoza. I flew over a few scattered clouds and looked down on the earth. I saw my house, my father taking the car out the garage early in the morning to go to work, my mother watering the plants. I shivered at the thought of how far away from them I was now.
I kept moving and suddenly I realized I was over the majestic mountains shining with different colors as the sun blazed down on them. I remembered many days and nights I had spent there, camping, hiking, and cycling.
I turned right and I noticed a beautiful dam. I recognized it quickly, Dique Potrerillos. How important it was for irrigation in Mendoza, a province which is a desert turned into an oasis thanks to the human action.
I turned around and faced a huge green area, Parque General San Martín. How could I forget the bikes rides, soccer matches with friends, and other adventures I had experienced there!
Someone poked at me. Surprised, I woke up from my dream and realized that my eyes were full of tears. The person next to me, with concern showing in her face, asked, “Is everything all right?” After an instant of silence, I replied with a smile on my face, “Yes. It is perfect.” I stood up, closed my notebook, and headed for my room with a slow pace. Yes, everything was perfect. Yes, I was glad. I had experienced in my heart what home was and where my own home was.
