The Concept of "Heimat"

[breakingthrunow]

When I try to explain the concept of "Heimat" to people, it doesn't translate well. In German, it can sound cheesy but I think it's still valid and everyone can relate to a degree. I have come across it so many times now that I decided to goggle and see how others describe this typical German word in English. One thing I found that I believe sums

Comments

[mokusan]

Maybe because I'm not German, I've only just started learning the language, and I live literally on the opposite side of the Earth, but at first I found this concept a bit difficult to grasp. I kept reading the comments, however, and the idea started to make much more sense, and I really like the meaning behind it. I think that the word "home" is key here, because not only is it different for everyone, but it's generally the place where someone feels the most attatchment to, which is similar to Heimat.

Much like lirren said, I don't think of myself as "American" right off the bat; I think of myself as an Oregonian. Like someone else said, I think this is because America is such a large country, and each state and region within itself almost seems to have it's own culture.

I have lived in the same house my entire life, and my family has a history here, and because of that, I think, I have a very strong sense of loyalty to my small town, my state, and in turn, my country, despite its issues (that's another story entirely). So I suppose my "Heimat" would be my town - I'll always consider myself a "Grover", no matter where I move, and I have always had the intention of remaining in my city even after I move away from my parents.

(It's late, I'm tired, and this probably isn't structured very well; I apologize!)