Cultural belonging and the concept of "home"

A few weeks ago I went out to lunch with Jenny, whose wedding flowers I’ve done last year. She talked to me about the project she’s working on (and which brought her here), which will ultimately result in the creation of a play on cultural belonging and the concept of home (here is the press release in English and French). She is now in the stage of interviewing people from different backgrounds in collaboration with the History department at Concordia University, and I was so honored when she asked me if I would do an interview.

Of course I accepted, for different reasons: I think it's a great project, I love this sort of thing and would gladly help her any way I can, I’m already interested in and familiar with the topic since my master’s degree thesis was on cultural identity, its relationship with memory, and growing up/living with dual cultures (which were not French and English as you could expect, but rather French and Russian). She thought I could be a good fit since I’m a native Quebecer who grew up in a completely francophone environment, but then acquired a new perspective when I moved to a very multicultural city, learned other languages, lived abroad, and have come to earn a living and spend my entire online social life in a second language.

The three-hour interview was done in two different sessions at a recording lab, according to a script and with a videographer. It was a rather formal setting that made me a little nervous beforehand, but ultimately was quite easygoing and relaxed, especially during the second session, when it felt totally natural (and for some reason my English was "sharper" that day, although I'm probably the only one noticing such variations). We talked more about my background and personal history in the first session, while the second one was more focused on home itself, what it meant to me, where I am feeling it, what it is associated with (images, smells, music, anything...). She also asked questions on what being a Quebecer and a Montrealer means, and how it is different now than it was in my hometown while I was growing up, how could I compare the mingling (or lack thereof) of different cultures in the cities I've lived in... Super interesting, more emotional than I would have thought of, and even soul-searching, a bit.

I knew I would receive a copy of the video, and this was also one of the reasons I accepted: I thought maybe one day LP or even his kids could enjoy watching this, hearing about my grandparents’ background, the family stories, my childhood (so I dressed nicely and did my hair)... Additionally, I thought that this could help me do a similar thing with my grandparents, whose stories I’ve wanted to record for a long time, while their health is still good.

Jenny had asked me to bring some family artifacts, so I came in with the scrapbook my mom gave me for my 30^th birthday, full of drawings and pictures and schoolwork, which Jenny and the videographer seemed to really like (thanks again, mom)… Additionally, she wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but she wanted me to bring a family recipe that immediately makes me feel like home. I instantly chose my great-grandmother’s cookies. I thought this was a great idea, since for me food and meals are such important components of my memories and such vectors of nostalgia…