Home is where the heart is!

There is a popular Jamaican song that resonates in the mind of every Jamaican. I don't know if it's because of it's sweet lyrics, it's catchy beat or if it's because the song speaks to many of us.

"Welcome to Jamaica, one more time again!
Welcome to Jamaica, ladies and gentlemen!
Welcome to Jamaica, boyfriend and galfriend!
Welcome to Jamaica, all the pickney dem!"

The singer continues:
"Welcome home Jamaicans, welcome home it's christmas".

The difference between this song and the writer's experience is that the season currently underway is the summer season. But nonetheless, i think the words are very fitting. The words are designed to heal the nostalgia that so many of us face when we are away. When we land in Jamiaca, all we feel is sheer joy. Words cannot express the way we feel. This most times results in clapping from the passengers on board when the plane touches down at the Norman Manley International Airport.

For those of us in school, there comes a time when we long for home. We don't need to be overseas to be overcome with this emotion. This feeling of nostalgia causes us to miss home. We miss our family, we miss friends, we miss the good parties. We just plain and simple- miss our homes! And why is it that amidst all the turmoil in our country that we miss Jamaica so much? The answer lies in the popular christmas song- "there's no place like home for the holidays".

Studying for exams, i could see myself being driven home from the airport and i sighed everytime i realised that it was only a mirage! This morning thanks to the wonderful Caribbean Airlines staff, my mirage became a reality at 3:33 a.m. The song says coming back from a long, long journey, don't know where to run, Home is where the heart is and that's where i belong!

I dare to borrow from Dororthy on the Wizard of Oz: "There's no place like home! There's no place like home! There's no place like home!"