"Are you really not coming back ?!?!?!?"

How many times have I heard this question? Countless... What changes every time is the look on that person's face, which is also the most entertaining part. Friends, family members, distant relative, former coworkers, interviewers, random people you literally just met... Every one has a different reaction when I tell them that I will never move back "home". Amused, intrigued, happy angry, disappointed, .... the list of adjectives describing people's faces is endless. By the way, the place they refer to as my "home" is Paris, France. However, I have never felt that France was where I belonged. For as long as I can remember, I knew that I wasn't meant to stay in the city where I grew up.

Since I was a little girl, my parents took every chance they got to travel. And everywhere they went, they always included me in their trips. By the time I turned 3 years old, I already had a handful of stamps on my passport. Hopping on an airplane became almost as casual as taking a metro. As I was getting older, I became more and more involved in our family adventures. I read about Egyptian Gods before a cruise down the Nile, studied the Maya civilization before our trip to Mexico, and learned how to introduce myself in Hebrew on my way to Tel Aviv. I was never familiar with anything: the food, the culture, the language, etc... and regardless, I was in love with all of it. Where many tourists saw "weird", I was simply seeing different. I will forever be grateful to my parents for teaching me how to always keep an open mind and learn from your travels.

I was about ten years old when I read a book about a French girl moving to California with her family. And somehow, it changed everything. Three quarters of the book were dedicated to the teenager complaining about US lifestyle and pointing out all the differences with her old life in Paris. Meanwhile, I am becoming obsessed with everything she is describing. From pop music to sports culture, from Oreo cookies to PBandJs,  everything seemed incredibly attractive. I wanted to be her... I hated the book and loved it at the same time. Couldn't she stop whining for a couple pages?

Going to the US was all I could think about. I started to realize that learning English was key... How would I communicate with the Americans if I couldn't speak their language? Unfortunately, English classes in the French curriculum only started at the age of 12 and I wasn't ready to wait that long... English courses on my Walkman, books from the British Bookstore, hours in front of American movies with French subtitles, it was never enough. "One day, no one will be able to tell that I wasn't born in America." When I was 13 years old, that sounded like a bold statement...

My dream finally came true when I embarked on a 2 week journey to Florida, where I was to stay with a host family. And I wasn't disappointed with my trip! I came back thrilled with my experiences. All I wanted to do was go back and explore. Everything became clear. I knew I wanted to move there in the future...

And that I did. Almost 10 years after my first trip to America, I finally packed all my bags and landed at Logan Airport. I was moving to Boston. And I have no intention of ever going back. Where will I end up living in the future? I don't know. Am I done with exploring the world just because I have found a place that I really like? Certainly not...