Freudian Slip

Last week I had to run some errands in Kitchener – the first city where I lived in Canada. It was a pleasant afternoon, when I could see a few friends. While I was talking with a Brazilian friend, I had an interesting Freudian slip – known by Psychoanalysts as an error in speech – or memory, actions, etc., that comes from unconscious wishes.

I was saying to my friend how different it was to come to “Joinville”, and spending some time there. Joinville is my hometown in Brazil, where I was brought up and lived until moving to Canada. It was the place that I used to call home. 

Coincidentally, this week, in one of the English Conversation Circles that I attend, we talked about this subject – “What is home?”. It was a great opportunity to know more about my immigrant friends’ stories. It is something that I am trying to read and learn more about – a new way to build my own story, identity and awareness.

According to the dictionary, there are some definitions for “Home” and some of them caught my eye. Basically, it is a place where a person lives with their family, or feels they belong, are comfortable and/or relaxed. It could be the type of family you came from, your own country, or a place where you are cared for by people.

Kitchener was a place where I met my new family and made new best friends. It is also a place where I used to drive without GPS – a familiar environment. It is a place where I’ve started to feel comfortable, like a kind of a belonging feeling. I was building my new life in a new country.

Anyway, this Freudian slip showed me that we are always able to build new homes around the world. Even if sometimes we feel homesick.