The world is my playground but home is where I belong

On my flight back, I finished reading Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, Clifton's Christmas present to me . It speaks about a Santiago, an Andalucian (Southern Spain) boy who was brought up to become a prist but chose to become a shepherd because it was the only way that a boy from a poor family could travel.

He had 2 identical dreams about a treasure in the Pyramids and half belived that it was true. After consulting a gypsy and by following his instincts, he was convinced that searching for the treasure was his destiny. He sold his cattle and duly set off to the Pyramids in search of his treasure, even though he did not know the precise location. Besides having to cross the treacherous Sahara desert, he also had to deal with losing all his money and almost getting killed in a tribal war. He also agonized over whether to give up his destiny because he could not bare to leave Fatima, the woman that he loved more than the treasure. Fortunately, he had many companions and teachers such as the alchemist and the king of Salem who kept his mind on track, constantly urging and guiding him towards his destiny. During his journey, he learned many things about life, which improved him as a person. These were above all, important skills that also enabled him to wade off repeated dangers. When he finally reached the Pyramids, he met a mugger, who mocked his hunt, claiming that he had a similar dream about a treasure that was buried in an abandoned chapel in Andalucia, incidentally, back where Santiago had his dream about the treasure. He immediately understood where his treasure laid and made his way back Andalucia and fulfilled his destiny by retrieving the treasure.

In a way, the storyline of this book closely mirror my experience in Europe. The boy, like me is passionate about traveling. Like him, I set off to a faraway land to search for my treasure and during this time, gained so many wonderful experiences. I was also thrown into many difficult circumstances which I had to learn to deal with. So many times, I had to deal with anger, dejection and disappointment, which is magnified in an uncomfortable foreign environment.

Like Santiago, I am fortunate to have Clifton, Cherilyn and Xiaoyu to accompany me during my journey. There were such great companions and soul mates. They were also my teachers. I learned many things from them through the advice that the give me and also by learning from their strengths. All of them wonderful people who taught me something important about family, friends and home.

As much as I love the travel experiences that I've gained in Europe, the most rewarding thing is still discovering how important my home is to me. It is my treasure. A treasure which I had to go to a faraway place before I could discover it. And like the Andalucian shepherd, my treasure is hidden in the place where I started out. The people and the environment that I can only learn to fully appreciate after traveling the entire journey.

Coming home is an incredible feeling, back to the place where I can find all the people who love me and all the people who I love. The world is my playground but home is where I belong.