My hometown is where my stuff is.
I was told by a native-Parisian, now-Rhode Islander colleague. True. My stuff has been based here for the past two weeks and I already feel at home. Many trips in the last two years have made me so familiar with this place.
Here = this place = Rhode Island.
The smallest state of USA. The first state prohibiting slavery. The first rebelling against the British empire. The state discovered by an Italian (Giovanni da Verrazzano) and hosting today the highest % of Italian-Americans in USA (19%). The birthplace of the renowned America’s Cup. The state where JFK got married. The place where the democratisation of the most sophisticated food on earth – the lobster – takes the name of lobster roll.
In another life I might decide to settle down here. In this life RI is just one of the many places around the planet where I simply feel at home.