Hiraeth

I've been thinking alot about liberty since arriving in Philadelphia.  For those of you who don't know Philadelphia will be taking Botson outside to contest who is the real birthplace of American democracy. Now Philadelphia is better known for being a somewhat run down port city as described in Rocky ¹ and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ² . "Really?" Was the response from the lady at passport control when I told her with a straight face that I was in Philly to backpack. She seemed so sceptical that I began to worry that she'd begin to question my shiny, new, blue American passport with a picture so awful in it no spy would allow it to be used. But she seemed mollified when I mentioned I would be moving on to DC in a few days time and I escaped with no further questioning of my holiday destinations.  The historic centre of Philadelphia is a beautiful part of the city. It's got a lovely mix of Art Deco architecture from the city's hey days ...

People have been asking me this for what feels like my whole life and most of the time I struggle to answer. It's where this blog derives its name from, hireath is probably the best word to describe what America means to me. It's a Welsh word that has no direct translation to English but roughly means "A blend of homesickness, nostalgia and longing" ( BBC, 2021 ). My family left America when I was very young and with two British parents to raise me most of my experience of America as a teen and adult has been from a book or through second hand stories. It's a strange way to cobble together an identity.  Some of my earliest memories are of the first few months after we moved to the UK when I was learning to be English. That first summer when my parents were so busy trying to establish a new life in a country that they hadn't lived in for over a decade and I was handed some box sets of kids show and left to my own devices. I guess this is where the other half of...