EuriArtes 38 - Euriade

My arrival to Rolduc - Big expectations
and even bigger outcome.
New home
Is it possible to find a home in people, and in a
place where you’ve spent only 10 days?
Most of the people think of home as only one
place, usually their permanent residence, where
their house and their family is. This is exactly what
I thought, but then this wonderful experience of
taking part in Euriade festival made me change
my mind.
I have spent most of this year travelling, and from
my trip to Holland and Euriade, I expected to be
just like any other trip: meeting new cultures and
seeing new interesting places. But from the very
first moment I arrived, from seeing Rolduc at very
first sight, I knew that it was going to be an extraordinary
experience.
The thing that made me impressed from the
first second was this breathtaking appearance of
Rolduc. The only thing I was able to say when I
saw it was: “Oh my god, It’s a castle! I’ll be living in
Hogwarts!” I never even thought that, apart from
the stunning look of Rolduc, this place will always
have a special place in my heart… I could never
have imagined that 10 days after that I will consider
Rolduc as my home. Wow! It sounds funny
that I’m already calling it home. But, isn’t home
any place where you feel comfortable? That’s exactly
how I felt during my stay in Rolduc. Home
does not have to be just one single place where
you permanently live, but a refugee from the busy
world outside. It is not a place, but a moment, and
another moment, when you build on each other,
with your words and emotions, together creating
a shelter that each of you take with you for the
rest of your life, wherever you go.
Home is important both
in a psychological as in a
physical sense. It is a state
of mind, where people
experience a communion,
mutual understanding,
secure relationships
and affirmation. I have
found a home in Euriade
in a person sitting beside
me, and in my ability
to speak to him. It is an
open-minded and openhearted
human interaction
and empathy.
EuriArtes 38
Home is happiness.
I believe home was supposed to be an institution
that we establish with a person or even with an inanimate
object. I also believe that finding home in
others is exactly what Martin Buber taught us with
his philosophy. Creating a bond between each
other. Not just listening to each other, but hearing
each other. Feeling each other. Commiserate.
The ache for home exists in everyone of us.
Home is a place where we can be ourselves without
being questioned. As we all come from different
parts of the world, it is logical that there
are so many obvious differences between us:
from the way we look, the way we speak, to different
points of view… but none of us felt this
difference while we were having a dialogue. If
there is one global thing that we all share, no
matter our race, income, belief or religion it is
our necessity to find a home in others. In multitude
of differences, we found similarities and
things that connect us, and realized that what is
important is that in the home that we create we
only need to share and understand each other.
We learned that we do not need to be perfect,
just to be honest, supportive, and able to recognize
a common humanity in each other. And
just like that we spent myriad splendid and wonderful
moments, only finding a small pleasure in
spending time with each other.
I could never have imagined that in only couple of
days I would feel such a strong bond with those
people that I have met for the first time, or that I
could ever be that lucky enough to say that I have
found more than one home.
I don’t want to use some worn-out cliché and say
that home is where the heart is, but… home is definitely
where the heart is.
And finally, if I could say that I have found a new
home in all of them, then I have to admit that right
now I feel homesick. Sounds like a paradox, I am at
my house, with my family, but part of me still feels
homesick... in a way that every single day I miss
that feeling of home that I had for those 9 days at
Euriade. I am sure that each and every one of us
will feel this way, until we meet each other again,
and spend some amazing time together again.
And i am sure I will revisit home every single time
I meet them, no matter where on Earth that is,
because I have learnt that home is not related to
just one single place, or location, but wherever
you make it with the people who make it feel like
home.
Zorana Dimitrijevic,
Zrenjanin Grammar School (Serbia)
EURIADE 2013 11